This operation was made possible through the collaboration between South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust (STSFT), The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. This landmark procedure highlights the importance of collaboration, with a multidisciplinary team of respiratory physicians, neurologists and surgeons of the three trusts working together to assess patients.
Left untreated, OSA can raise the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.
OSA is a common sleep disorder which causes a person’s airway to repeatedly narrow or close during sleep, interrupting breathing. Many individuals wake up exhausted however long they have slept and may suffer from poor concentration and memory problems. Left untreated, OSA can raise the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.
The usual treatment for OSA is continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). This is a mask worn during sleep which keeps the airway open. It works well for many people, but some patients find it uncomfortable and struggle to use it consistently. Inspire offers an alternative for these patients.
The Inspire implant is a small device placed under the skin. It prevents the tongue from blocking the airway by gently stimulating the hypoglossal nerve, the nerve which controls tongue movement. The hypoglossal nerve starts in the lower brainstem and travels through the neck to the tongue muscles. Patients switch on the implant with a handheld remote before bed, allowing the implant to synchronise with the patient’s natural breathing pattern. The means the patient’s airway is kept open throughout the night, meaning the individual can breathe more normally whilst they sleep.
The trust's plan to offer the surgery in Newcastle, means that more patients will be able to be treated locally.
A patient from Newcastle has become the first to receive this pioneering implant, having the operation at Sunderland Royal Hospital. The trust's plan to offer the surgery in Newcastle, means that more patients will be able to be treated locally. Whilst CPAP remains the first-line treatment, the Inspire implant offers an alternative for patients who have not found CPAP effective.
Miss Helen Cocks, a consultant ear, nose and throat (ENT) surgeon and STSFT clinical director for head and neck, performed the operation with fellow ENT consultants; Miss Arpita Singh and Mr Benjamin Cosway, from South Tyneside and Sunderland and Newcastle Hospitals respectively. Miss Cocks called the project a ‘fantastic example’ of the trusts pooling their expertise and resources, with the overall aim of giving patients the best care possible. Sharing skills across trusts means new treatments can be introduced without hospitals building a service alone. This approach could be used to bring other specialist treatments to the North East. Miss Cocks said, "We hope this first patient, and many others, will benefit from this technology."