How do I arrange my treatment?
The process starts with a consultation and pre-assessment where our clinician will explain the causes of snoring, the treatment available, and our procedure. We assess your suitability fully and then propose the radiofrequency treatment best suited to you.
Consultations can be arranged by calling one of our clinics – Manchester 0161 839 7663, Leeds 01132 43 93 43 – or by using the form on the right.
How long will the stop snoring surgery treatment take?
The attendance with the Consultant typically takes 20 – 30 minutes. The stop snoring surgery treatment starts with the ENT Consultant providing an endoscopic examination and explanation of the stop snoring procedure. The actual application of the radiofrequency is normally less than 10 minutes.
How soon will I experience some improvement?
The radiofrequency snoring treatment shrinks the tissue(s) that cause the snoring problems over a period of time. This will vary from patient-to-patient, but most patients should expect to see some improvement in around four to six weeks.
How much does a typical procedure cost?
The total cost for the surgical procedure, performed by an NHS consultant, including all consultations, endoscope examination and medical assessment fees is £2,495.
The cost of the initial consultation and medical assessment is £70 which is fully refundable should the client and ENT Surgeon agree to undertake and perform the procedure. There are no additional charges for medicine or tablets. At the consultation the client is under no obligation to proceed should they not wish to. We do not employ sales persons; patients are in contact with medical practitioners at all times.
What are benefits of radiofrequency snoring treatment?
Radiofrequency snoring treatment offers many advantages over other methods of treating restricted airways and blocked noses. It is:
- A safe, effective and clinically proven procedure with a high success rate
- Minimally invasive and leaves no side effects
- A simple outpatient procedure.
Patients are thoroughly vetted prior to the procedure so that only suitable candidates will be treated.
What does the radiofrequency snoring treatment involve?
A local anaesthetic is injected in the areas to be treated. A bipolar applicator probe is introduced to the soft palate tissue that is causing the problem. A low radio frequency current is generated via the probe for just a few seconds at selected points. This heats the soft tissue which will then harden and shrink over a period of time, thus eliminating the problems that cause snoring.
When the treatment is finished, the patient can take over-the-counter painkillers such as paracetamol to counteract any slight discomfort and can resume normal activities after a short recovery period of around thirty minutes. We will then arrange a follow-up appointment to check that the treatment was satisfactory and successful.
Who performs the stop snoring treatment?
The procedure will be performed by an ENT consultant who is also registered on the Specialist ENT list managed by the General Medical Council. He has been performing snoring treatments initially using traditional surgery then found the radiofrequency procedure to be more successful, having dismissed the laser LAUP as been too aggressive and poor clinical outcome.
When making your choice of surgeon make sure that they are currently working within their area of specialty in the NHS, as this ensures that they are kept abreast of new developments and best practice.
The surgeon’s full CV is available from the clinic upon request.
What causes snoring?
Snoring is often related to a physical obstruction to breathing during sleep. The muscles of the palate, the uvula and the tonsils relax during deep sleep and the air breathed in causes them to vibrate noisily. Anything that narrows the airways will contribute to the problem so excessive tissue bulk at the back of the throat is a major cause. A blocked nose can also restrict nasal respiration and will encourage the vibration we know as snoring. Advanced snoring problems are often associated with obstructive sleep apnea, which can sometimes indicate a serious medical disorder.
How common is snoring?
Habitual snoring is a problem for 30% of all men and 10% of all women, and it gets worse as people grow older. At the age of sixty, snoring affects 50% of men and 30% of women.
What is the social impact of snoring?
Snoring certainly affects the sleep pattern of the snorer so restful sleep is difficult. The snorer is not fully refreshed when he or she awakes and the effect on other members of the family can be even more devastating. Snoring can completely disrupt family life. Sleeping partners, even people trying to sleep in nearby rooms, can lose excessive amounts of sleep and this often causes resentment. In a survey carried out in 2001, 40% of the couples interviewed said that snoring had adversely affected their relationship and 80% of these couples had resorted to sleeping separately to escape the noise.
What is the cost of more extensive surgery should I require it?
For some patients the treatment of the uvula or blocked nose will assist with reducing the snoring noise. The cost of this surgery is an additional £495, providing it is undertaken at the same time as the standard surgical procedure.
Is the treatment painful?
The treatment is tolerable as patients are given a local anaesthetic, similar to that given during dental treatment. Patients may feel a very slight discomfort after treatment which is readily counteracted by everyday over-the-counter tablets such as paracetamol.
Is your clinic registered?
Yes, it is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Our registration service number is 1-101634797. We are specially allowed to perform this treatment to the precise protocols devised and agreed with the inspectors within the CQC.
Why choose this method of snoring treatment?
There are several types of artificial aids to combat snoring including nasal strips, nasal dilators and moulded mouthpieces, but at Skin Medical we feel these have limited success and do not offer a long-term cure. There are also laser-assisted treatments. Although we use laser treatment for many types of skin ailments at Skin Medical, we do not think laser is a suitable snoring treatment as it is aggressive and results in the loss of the uvula, can cause side effects, is extremely painful for the patient during and after treatment and it has a lengthy recovery period. In addition, its is expensive. Patients often regurgitate food through the nose and are left with the permanent sensation of a lump in the throat.
We chose the radiofrequency method because it has proven to be the most successful treatment method to stop snoring at clinical trial, provides a long-lasting remedy and patients experience comparatively minimal discomfort.
How successful are radiofrequency treatments?
At Skin Medical, over 95% of our patients obtain significant noise reduction from the single procedure. The remaining patients have recorded some noise reduction.
Patients that we treat who are not satisfied are invited back for a follow-up procedure, although this is rare due to our strict policy on patient selection. We will not treat patients who fall outside our selection criteria.
Early surveys by the radiofrequency equipment provider in 2004 revealed that more than 80%+ of patients obtained significant noise reduction. The other obtain some noise reductions of varying success rates. So why have Skin Medical improved the success rate? Our ENT Consultant has from experience created a screening process that helps identify potential obstacles for optimum results. For these cases we would either (i) Not recommend the treatment be undertaken, (ii) Recommend an additional procedure to optimise the outcome or (iii) Recommend an alternative procedure.
At Skin Medical, we screen suitable clients thoroughly at our pre-assessment clinic in order to obtain higher success rates for first time treatments.
