Pillar Procedure

The Pillar Procedure is a recently-introduced, innovative surgical technique to reduce snoring. It may also have some benefit in treating mild sleep apnea. The procedure involves placing permanent implants into the soft palate to stiffen it. Our success rate at reducing snoring to acceptable levels has been excellent. There is far less post-operative pain than with any other surgical treatment for snoring, and the results are as good or better. It is done in one treatment session in the office under local anesthetic and requires no prescription pain medication or days missed from work during recovery. The procedure is very safe, is FDA approved, and is reversible if necessary.

You can see details, including a video of the procedure at the manufacturer’s website .

Our standard indications (which may differ from the manufacturer’s website) are snoring, associated with no, or mild, obstructive sleep apnea. All patients must have some type of sleep testing prior to the procedure. We can arrange testing for you after consultation. If you have already had a sleep study, please bring it with you. With some exceptions, we only recommend this procedure for patients with a respiratory disturbance index (RDI) of 15 or less, and a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or less. You can calculate your BMI at this website .

We do not consider this procedure to be a substitute for CPAP in patients with moderate or severe apnea. Therefore, we do not recommend coming in for consultation for the Pillars if you do not meet these criteria. Some patients are found to be poor candidates for the Pillar procedure, based on their throat anatomy. This can only be determined by examination at the time of your consultation.

As with any snoring treatment, most medical insurance plans do not cover the cost of the procedure, though the consultation to evaluate your condition should be covered. (read about our health plan participation.) Although payment for the procedure is expected on the day it is performed, you will likely find our fee for the procedure to be lower than many other offices in our area.