How to Recover From Sleep Apnea Surgery

Sleep apnea is a health condition that can be very severe in some people. It causes the walls of the thorax to become weak during sleep, which results in them closing in and becoming narrower. This can then lead to breathing problems while individuals are asleep. As a result, they are likely to suffer from very disrupted sleep, which can reduce their life quality by quite a significant amount.

If you think you are suffering from sleep apnea, you should book an appointment with an ENT doctor. They will want to hear all about your symptoms and medical history. There’s a good chance that they will also want to give you a quick examination, especially to take a look at your throat or neck. If you are suffering from the condition quite badly and the lack of sleep is leaving you incredibly fatigued, then your ENT doctor might suggest having surgery for it.

There are different procedures that your doctor might suggest, but these are some of the most common:

• Tracheostomy
• Tonsillectomy
• Adenoidectomy
• Sinus surgery

Recovering from your sleep apnea surgery

Surgery to treat sleep apnea will be a serious procedure, no matter which one you and your ENT doctor decide is the best one for you. The majority of them will be done under a general anesthetic so you will be asleep throughout. This also means that you will be required to stay in hospital for a night or two after the surgery so that your doctor can keep an eye on you and ensure that you are responding well to the procedure.

You will likely be discharged after a couple of nights in hospital even though you might not be fully recovered. In fact, returning to full health could take a couple of weeks. In order to aid your recovery, these next few tips will be a big help.

• Always follow your doctor’s instructions. Before they discharge you, your ENT doctor will likely give you a quick rundown of the things that you can and can’t do once you leave. They will also prescribe you any medication that you need to continue to take. It’s essential that you follow these instructions as doing so will help you get on the right track to a full recovery. If you ignore your doctor’s advice, you could end up lengthening your recovery period or facing some complications.
• Try to prevent infection. If you don’t do this, then you could very easily end up in hospital again with a dangerous infection. So, after your sleep apnea surgery, be sure to always wash your hands after going to the bathroom. Everyone else in your household should be doing the same. If you are required to wash or change your own dressing, make sure you do this as often as instructed.
• Be careful when sneezing and coughing. These actions can put a strain on surgical incisions, so try to cough and sneeze with as much care as possible.

Follow these tips to shorten your recovery time after sleep apnea surgery!