Approximately 18 million Americans experience obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a sleep disorder that can cause serious problems such as excessive daytime sleepiness and fatigue, memory loss and lack of concentration. These individuals have an increased risk of heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure.
Inspire is great because we can do a sleep endoscopy to make sure we’re tailoring the surgery for you. Success rates are 90-92% for reducing sleep apnea from moderate to severe down to essentially no sleep apnea, whereas with traditional sleep surgery, patients will go from having severe sleep apnea to less severe sleep apnea.
Tony K. Peter, MD | Collin County ENT
Common signs of OSA include chronic fatigue, morning headaches, snoring, mood changes and difficulty concentrating. Leaving sleep apnea untreated can impact your heart health, mental wellness and overall quality of life.
For people who haven’t found success with CPAP therapy, Inspire® therapy offers an advanced alternative that doesn’t involve wearing a mask or using external equipment.
How Inspire Therapy Works
Inspire is a hypoglossal nerve stimulator. The hypoglossal nerve is what controls the movement of the tongue. Often when we sleep, we lose muscular tone, which can cause our tongue to basically collapse back and be the reason for obstructing or blocking our airway while we sleep, which is the source of sleep apnea.
Tony K. Peter, MD | Collin County ENT
The device contains three parts: a small generator, a breathing sensor lead and a stimulation lead. Patients use a small handheld remote to control the device, turning it on or off and pausing it during the night if needed. The stimulation is typically painless, and its strength can always be adjusted using the remote if needed.
What To Expect During the Procedure
The Inspire device is implanted during an outpatient surgical procedure using general anesthesia. It is placed beneath the skin of the neck and chest via three small incisions. Most patients recover fully from surgery within a couple of weeks.
Inspire takes about an hour and a half in the operating room, and you’ll go home the same day. There are two incisions, one on the chest and one on the neck. We go through surgery, and make sure that we see that the actual device is working. We test it right after we implant it to make sure it’s working appropriately, that the nerve is stimulated appropriately and the chest wall sensor is working appropriately.
Tony K. Peter, MD | Collin County ENT
Recovery and Adjustment Period
Healing from Inspire implantation is typically quick and comfortable. You may notice mild tenderness or swelling near the incision sites for a few days, but you can easily manage it with medication. The device remains inactive for about a month while your body recovers. At your follow-up visit, your sleep specialist will turn the device on and fine-tune the settings to match your breathing patterns.
Is Inspire a Long-term Solution to Sleep Apnea?
A recent three-year study concluded that many patients noted significant improvements in their quality of life and daytime functioning abilities. 78% of patients experienced a reduction in OSA, and 80% reported soft or no snoring.
Take the Next Step Toward Better Sleep
If you’re looking for a comfortable, mask-free solution to sleep apnea, Inspire therapy may be the right fit. Our experienced team will review your medical history, perform an evaluation and determine whether you’re a candidate for this innovative treatment. Contact Collin County ENT today to schedule a consultation.
*Candidates for Inspire must have been diagnosed with moderate to severe OSA and are unable to benefit from PAP therapy. They must not be significantly overweight.