\n The Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has become the first in the South West to offer a pioneering implant for people with obstructive sleep apnoea.\n<\/p>\n
\n The device provides a new treatment option for patients who cannot tolerate traditional CPAP therapy.\n<\/p>\n
\n Joseph Sinnott, ear, nose and throat consultant at the Trust, said: “This is a very exciting development for our patients.\n<\/p>\n
\n “While CPAP remains the gold standard for many, we know it doesn\u2019t work for everyone.\n<\/p>\n
\n “Being able to offer this implant gives us a new way to support people whose sleep apnoea has been difficult to manage.\n<\/p>\n
\n “For the right patients, this treatment can be life-changing \u2013 improving sleep, reducing daytime fatigue, and lowering the risk of serious long-term conditions such as heart disease or stroke.”\n<\/p>\n
\n The implant can be placed in the chest or under the chin.\n<\/p>\n
\n It works by stimulating muscles to keep the airway open during sleep, reducing snoring and breathing interruptions.\n<\/p>\n
\n Catherine Turnbull, the first patient in the region to receive the Inspire device, described the procedure as “revolutionary.”\n<\/p>\n
\n Ms Turnbull said: “I stop breathing many times in the night because my tongue falls over my airway and I snore, badly.\n<\/p>\n
\n “The device is revolutionary, I think.\n<\/p>\n
\n “I won\u2019t be tied to a CPAP machine, nobody knows its there and I can just live my life normally.\n<\/p>\n
\n “If I want to stay away somewhere for the night, I won\u2019t need to think about taking anything with me.\n<\/p>\n
\n “When I\u2019m travelling, I won\u2019t need to lug a CPAP machine with me anywhere.\n<\/p>\n
\n “It\u2019s really good, really exciting and will mean I can prolong my life.\n<\/p>\n
\n “It\u2019s definitely the way forward.”\n<\/p>\n
\n Obstructive sleep apnoea affects thousands of people across the UK and is commonly treated with CPAP machines.\n<\/p>\n
\n However, some patients find the machines difficult to tolerate or claustrophobic.\n<\/p>\n
\n The implant offers a promising alternative.\n<\/p>\n
\n Ed Holyoak, Director UK & Nordics for Inspire Medical Systems GmbH, said: “We are truly grateful to Mr Sinnott and the whole team at the Great Western Hospital for their trust in Inspire therapy.\n<\/p>\n
\n “It takes significant commitment to pioneer a new program like this.\n<\/p>\n
\n “Congratulations on this milestone, which opens up a huge opportunity for patients in the South West who cannot benefit from CPAP.”\n<\/p>\n
\n Patients will be assessed by the Trust\u2019s multidisciplinary sleep team to determine if the implant is appropriate for their condition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has become the first in the South West to offer a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":699140,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[102,2960,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-699139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/699139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=699139"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/699139\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/699140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=699139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=699139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=699139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}