TODAY’S PATENT – APPARATUS FOR COSMETICALLY REMODELING A BODY STRUCTURE

This invention “Apparatus for cosmetically remodeling a body structure” was invented by Stuart D Edwards assigned to Gyrus Ent LLC and was granted a patent on 13th April 2000 by Australian Patent office bearing patent grant number AU718288B2 to the patentee.

This invention relates to a method for maintaining upper airway patency in human patients, and more particularly to a method that utilizes electromagnetic energy to debulk selected sections of the tongue and/or lingual tonsil without damaging the hypoglossal nerve.

Description of Related Art Sleep apnea syndrome is a medical condition characterized by daytime hypersomnomulence, morning arm aches, intellectual deterioration, cardiac arrhythmias, snoring, and thrashing during sleep. It is caused by frequent episodes of apnea during the patient’s sleep. The syndrome is classically subdivided into two types. One type, termed “central sleep apnea syndrome”, is characterized by repeated loss of respiratory effort. The second type, termed obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, is characterized by repeated apneic episodes during sleep resulting from obstruction of the patient’s upper airway or that portion of the patient’s respiratory tract which is cephalad to, and does not include the larynx.