Replay of: Coblation ENT Surgical Procedures at Blackburn Royal Infirmary

Coblation Tonsillectomy & Coblation Assisted Upper-airway Procedures for Treatment of Snoring and Mild Obstructive Sleep Apnea

First Seen Live Webcast: May 26, 2004
10 am (United Kingdom) 11 am (Central Europe)

Blackburn Royal Infirmary

BLACKBURN, UNITED KINGDOM- Surgeons at Blackburn Royal Infirmary used the Coblation technique to perform a tonsillectomy and a snoring surgery (CAUP -Coblation Assisted Upper-airway Procedure) via a live Webcast from Blackburn Royal Infirmary at United Kingdom 10 hours, May 26, 2004.

	Coblation Tonsillectomy

Mr Michael Timms, Consultant ENT Surgeon, performed a Coblation tonsillectomy. Mr Timms has been one of the pioneers using this method since 2000 and has published several articles demonstrating the benefits for the patients including reduced bleeding, less postoperative pain and shorter recovery time than with conventional methods. 1, 2, 3

Tonsils are oval-shaped masses of lymphatic tissue located at the back of the throat which aid the body in fighting infections. Approximately 5 000 000 tonsillectomies are performed world wide annually, making it one of the most common surgeries performed. Although tonsils need to be removed because of repeated infections, they are more likely to be taken out because they have grown too large for the patient's airway which can result in snoring and interruptions in breathing at night causing daytime tiredness and learning difficulties.

Dr Magne Tvinnereim, MD and PhD, performed the CAUP - Coblation Assited Upper-airway Procedure and has by now treated more than 3000 patients for snoring and mild obstructive sleep apnea in the UK, Denmark and Norway. His data shows very favourable results with reduction in apneas, daytime tiredness and improvement in quality of life. 4, 5, 6

Many hundred of millions people are suffering from snoring and about 4% of these are suffering of obstructive sleep apnea causing daytime sleepiness, hypersomnolence. Dr Magne Tvinnereim is using a new technique to treat these syndromes. Using the CAUP - Coblation Assisted Upper-airway Procedure he is able to combine the conservative atraumatic treatment with the necessity of being able to treat the whole upper airway region.

Derived from the words "controlled ablation", Coblation uses radiofrequency energy to convert saline solution into plasma. The energized particles in this plasma have sufficient energy to break molecular bonds, excising or dissolving soft tissue at relatively low temperatures (typically 40 to 70 C), thereby preserving the integrity of surrounding healthy tissue. It has been shown in several published studies that using Coblation for upper airway surgery leads to significantly less post-operative pain and quicker recovery time.

The live Webcast is free. Click the "View Live Webcast" button located in the top right corner of this Web page to view the archive. You must have "Real Player" to view the Webcast.

Media Contact:
Janice Atkinson
East Lancashire Hospitals Trust / Blackburn Royal Infirmary +44 1282 474 467
Janice.Atkinson@cd.burnleyhc-tr.nwest.nhs.uk


1 Timms MS, Temple RH. Coblation Tonsillectomy: a double blind randomized controlled study. The Journal of Laryngology & Otology, 2002: 116: 450-452

2 Timms MS, Temple RH. Paediatric Coblation Tonsillectomy. Journal of Pediatric Otohinolaryngology.

3 Belloso, A, Chidambaram A, Morar P, Timms MS. Coblation Tonsillectomy Versus Dissection Tonsillectomy: Postoperative Haemorrhage: The Laryngoscope 2003; 113(11):2010-2013

4 Tvinnereim M, Hansen, RK, Haighth J. Low frequency radio wave treatment in snoring and sleep apnea gives favourable results after only one treatment. Abstract at the 7th World Congress of Sleep Apnea, Helsinki, Finland 2003.

5 Tvinnereim M, Sama A, Haighth J: Surgery in addition to CPAP treatment for Sleep Apnea Hypopnea Syndrome (SAHS). Abstract at the 7th World Congress of Sleep Apnea, Helsinki, Finland 2003.

6 Tvinnereim M: Snoring and OSAS treated by cost-effective, low pain, pharyngeal volume reduction in local anestesia: The Coblation Assisted Upper-airway Procedures (CAUP) (2002)