Cook Medical and Zelegent, a company out of La Jolla, California, announced that the FDA cleared the Elevo Kit Snoring Intervention Device. The Elevo is used to position special sutures so as to lift the soft palate, the rear roof of the mouth. Alexander K. Arrow, MD, the CEO of Zelegent, which developed the Elevo, likens the procedure to a facelift, but for the soft palate. Cook Medical will be leading the distribution efforts.
Zelegent has named the procedure “elevoplasty,” which can be performed under local anesthesia in the physician’s office. Three bi-directional resorbable barbed sutures are delivered into the roof of the mouth using a special tool. Before finishing, the physician is able to make adjustments to make sure there’s sufficient lift.
Some details according to Zelegent:
The process is iterated three times, providing 1-4 millimeters of lift, thereby expanding the mean diameter of the airway. Even a small increase in the diameter of the airway can make a noticeable difference in airflow at night. In a typical snoring patient who doesn’t have sleep apnea, the airway is just barely obstructed by the soft palate. Therefore, a couple millimeters of soft palate shortening can mean that the airway is no longer obstructed during sleep, reducing or eliminating snoring.