Some predict this type of procedure could change the future for athletes of all sports, allowing them to breathe more easily and thus perform better. For years, Runyan had suffered from chronic tiredness, and his loud snoring had bothered his wife and irritated his National Football League teammates when he bunked with them on road trips. But it wasn't until last fall that he finally was diagnosed with sleep apnea, a disorder marked by brief but repeated interruptions of breathing during sleep. "I've had apnea for so long I thought that's how people felt -- you just felt tired all the time," Runyan apnea surgery sleep apnea says. Once diagnosed, he found quick relief through use of a continuous positive airway pressure machine. The person using the machine wears a mask or device that fits over the mouth or nose, and the machine pumps in air at a pressure high enough to keep the airway open while the person sleeps. "It was an amazing feeling to wake up and not be sore and stuff, to actually feel rested," Runyan says. Then, in early February, doctors used the laser and radio-frequency treatment to shrink excessive tissues in the soft palate, uvula, tonsils and nasal passages that can restrict breathing, explains Dr. Mansoor snore no more sleep apnea Madani, director of the Center for Corrective Jaw Surgery, in Bala Cynwyd, Pa., where the procedure was done. Runyan's airflow through his nose and mouth was obstructed by enlarged tissues in the back of his throat and nose, Madani says. "The idea was to open it up," he says. "We hope eventually he'll be able to breathe tremendously better." The seven-minute procedure can be done under local or general anesthesia, Madani says. And it could do more than improve Runyan's sleep. When athletes have difficulty breathing, it can affect their performance, Madani says, so clearing those airways should help them increase their stamina and neonatal apnea sleep apnea performance.
