How Painful is Laser Surgery for Snoring and Sleep Apnea?
Dr.K.O.Paulose FRCS DLO, Consultant ENT Surgeon, Jubilee Hospital, Trivandrum, Kerala, India.
Is it Painful?
Nasal surgery is not at all painful but uncomfortable. The main difficulty is blockage of the nasal airway for the first week after surgery and the dry mouth that results from this. Most discomfort is readily handled by simple pain medications such as Paracetamol (Panadol).
Surgery of the palate and tonsils is painful dependant on the procedure and on the patient’s individual pain thresholds or ability to withstand discomfort. The pain and discomfort may last up to a week but rarely longer. The operation itself is usually pain free following the establishment of local or general anesthetic.
There may be some discomfort that evening. The pain experience may be more significant three to four days after the procedure itself. The painful period usually ends by seven to ten days after the procedure
Coblator surgery of the throat is less painful, but discomfort able for up to two or three days after the procedure, but the patient can usually return to work the following day.
Pain control with medications like narcotic analgesics will be required. Discomfort can be experienced on swallowing worse in the morning.
But at the end: “No gain without Pain” or live a life on CPAP for ever.
