Could laser surgery finally put the curse of snoring to bed?

ANYONE who has ever shared a bed with a snorer knows the torture of sleepless nights and the arguments that can follow. Now surgeons hope a revolutionary laser technique could solve the problem for many chronic snorers in Scotland. A private clinic in London is to start offering the surgery to patients in Edinburgh over the next month, at a price of £1,900.

It is thought that Scotland's obesity problems make it a prime target for the treatment, with much snoring caused by people being overweight. But experts warned that surgery should be a last resort and that it was not always successful. The news came during National Stop Snoring Week.

George Mochloulis, from The Private Clinic on Harley Street in London, has performed thousands of surgical procedures to help chronic snorers. He believes snoring is a serious issue which cannot be ignored. "We have seen big changes in the way that people live their lives which means people are busier and cannot afford to lose sleep," he said.

"In the past they may have put up with it, but now I am seeing more and more people who come and say: 'I have got a very busy life, I work long hours and I am not getting enough sleep because of my snoring.' It also affects the partners of people who snore. They are also losing sleep."

Mr Mochloulis said a major cause of snoring – thought to affect 15 million people in the UK – was obesity: "People are becoming fatter and so they snore more. I have seen a dramatic increase in patients being referred to me because of obesity. GPs are becoming more aware of the treatment options available and refer patients to a specialist. This increase has occurred over the last five years."

Mr Mochloulis said that, as well as overweight people, those at risk from snoring included bodybuilders with thick necks and people with nasal blockages and other health problems.

"I have had some very serious cases," he said. "I had a patient come in recently and when I asked how bad his snoring was, he said his next door neighbour had complained about the noise.

"Other people say when they go on holiday they have to book two rooms because their partner cannot sleep in the same room because of the snoring."

Snoring can be surgically treated using radio frequency to scar the tissue that causes the snoring at the back of the throat. This tissue can also be removed by laser in a treatment known as laser-assisted uvulopalatoplasty (LAUP).

Mr Mochloulis said his clinic hoped to be offering the treatment in Edinburgh in the next four to six weeks. At the moment, patients seeking treatment must travel to London. The service is set to be offered at Edinburgh Sleep Centre.

The surgeon said patients were given other advice on how to help them stop snoring, such as losing weight, but many opted for surgery to help end their problems: "We have many patients who stop snoring completely after treatment. It is most effective in those who lose weight. Someone who has lost weight has an 80 per cent chance of getting improvement to their snoring. In someone who is obese it is 40 to 50 per cent. We get a lot of good feedback from patients who have had major improvements in their snoring and wish they had known about treatments before."

Other solutions to snoring can include the use of nasal strips to keep the airways open, as well as drops and sprays. People are also advised not to eat just before going to bed, or drink heavily.

Mr Mochloulis said that with Scotland's high obesity rates – second only to the United States among developed countries – snoring was a major issue.

He added: "I have seen a massive increase in people coming to see us, including many people from Scotland. I think they were not aware of the possibility of treatment but are now becoming more aware that something can be done."

Marianne Davey, from the British Snoring and Sleep Apnoea Association, said surgery for snoring was "a treatment of last resort". She explained: "It should only be considered when everything else has been tried and failed. There are lots of different reasons why people snore and there are many different treatments. Surgery only targets one possible cause of snoring by removing the excess tissue which may be causing the problem."

Ms Davey said the laser treatment was available on the NHS, but consultants tended to be reluctant to go down the route of surgery because there were so many other options open to them.

"The long and short-term research results are not really that encouraging," she said. "The problem is that you could have the surgery and then if you put on weight, especially around the neck, the problem can come back.

"If people are considering having laser surgery they should be asking questions about what sort of success rate they can expect because if it is only going to reduce snoring noise by 50 per cent, that is not really going to make a big difference to a partner sharing the same bed. There is a place for surgery and for some people there are good results. But there are other less invasive solutions which might work as well."

How it works

LASER assisted uvulopalatoplasty (LAUP) was developed in 1984 by Dr Yves-Victor Kamami.

The technique involves using a laser to remove the vibrating soft tissue on the sides of the uvula, which hangs at the back of the throat and causes the snoring sound. The area is then reshaped to try to prevent further snoring.

The procedure is performed under local anaesthetic, with the patient sitting in a chair like they would at the dentist.

Over 20,000 LAUP procedures have been carried out in the UK to cure snoring, according to The Private Clinic in London.

The clinic says studies showed that using the procedure to free the airways and increase oxygen supply could improve quality of life, "bringing more refreshing sleep, lifted mood, more energy, better memory and even improved libido".

Around one in four people in the UK are thought to suffer from snoring.