Sleep apnea is a pathology that affects between one and two million people in Spain, although less than 10% are diagnosed. The symptoms that patients first detect are snoring or daytime tiredness, but it can be accompanied by many other disorders that affect the cardiovascular and cerebrovascular systems. In severe cases it involves high mortality.
Treatment of sleep apnea with CPAP
The most effective treatment for sleep apnea is nocturnal positive pressure air insufflation (CPAP). It consists of keeping the patient’s upper airway open during sleep to avoid obstruction by introducing air with a mechanical device. For this treatment to be fully effective it must be personalized. If the patient’s evolution is not properly observed, it can fail in up to 50% of cases.
At Ruberdental we have the first comprehensive and multidisciplinary SAHS (sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome) Unit in Madrid and one of the first in Spain. It is integrated by pneumologists, maxillofacial surgeons, dentists and orthodontists.
We provide the full spectrum of treatment, from mandibular advancement devices to surgery. However, special emphasis is placed on CPAP management. To ensure the success of the treatment we screen the patient and make a firm diagnosis using sleep testing to tailor the treatment to each case. We work with the best CPAP equipment on the market, with customizable masks, humidifiers and heated tubes. The personalized follow-up by our staff clearly improves the patient’s well-being and therapeutic adherence.
Surgical treatment
Patients who have associated facial abnormalities or who do not adapt to the use of CPAP can resort to surgical treatment, which is performed in two phases following the Stanford Unit protocols. Surgery for sleep apnea is now well developed, with a resolution of over 93% in phase II of treatment, in which the facial skeleton is modified to increase the volume of the upper airway. This indicates that in the right hands sleep apnea has a surgical solution and that the results obtained are completely satisfactory for the patient.