Re: [ACEsthetics] Tongue burning

Yes, I have heard of it for many years, Guy, and even showed videos of it in my lectures, but decided the other info I had was more salient to share in the two days. The method of making incisions and removing tongue mass is ablation (or coblation, which is cold ablation) of the tongue. This has better results than somnoplasty, which sounds like what your buddy is doing there. You are correct that this is fairly worthless, as it has to be redone many times afterwards, and can become a racket. Somnolasty has been around a long time, and has been used for tongues, tonsils and other pharyngeal tissues. I never recommend any of these procedures unless there is no other option...last resort type stuff before the tracheostomy.

OK, the weather here in the T&C islands is inclement today, and our dives are delayed by an hour, so I had time to check a few emails.....hopefully won't have any more time for the next 10 days :-D

Kent Smith DDS, D-ABDSM
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At 04:09 AM 7/31/2013, Guy Moorman wrote:

Kent, et. al., I had an ENT call and want to start sending me patients with apnea for MAD appliances.  He dropped off the face of the earth suddenly as far as I was concerned.  Suddenly I hear from patients that he's selling this "new" procedure of burning the back of the tongue to cure apnea.  I was surely interested so I got on Google and found "tongue burning for apnea" and watched a supposedly "easy" operation where the patient is under general with some local.  The surgeon made an incision at the base of the tongue in muscle and took what looked like a cryogenic wand or laser wand and emulsified the muscle at the base of the tongue.  Patient cured…very expensive operation not covered by Medicare or most insurance. 
 
I was at a hospital board meeting last night and at the end of the meeting I asked him about this ENT doing this.  He got pure apoplectic, red faced mad and this is a guy who played tight end at Georgia.  It seems that our ENT is not even doing that.  He's got three machines of some sort that he keeps at his office and two sleep centers.  He gives them a little lidocaine, hangs this thing in the back of the tongue and goes out and has a cup of coffee for ten minutes and collects his money.  He's not doing this in OR conditions…just in the sleep center lab and his office which has a surgicenter.  The GP last night says it is outrageously expensive and a damn pure rip off in his opinion.
 
Now if I know one thing about the tongue, I know it is a muscle and muscles go as used.  This area of muscle destruction is going to return to near normal in a 12 month period.  It is sort of like the fight I've mentioned on here before where the lady got hit and lost half her tongue and I told the physician it would grow/swell back…and it did in six months…scar on the end but filled the mouth.  When did this racket start?  Is there anything to it because this guy's goal seems to burn every tongue in Douglas…hey, no CPAP, no MAD, just a little easy expensive surgery.  Have you heard of it…anyone?
 
Guy W. Moorman, Jr., D.D.S.
The Swamp
Douglas, GA 31533
912-384-7400
 
 
 
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