First UK patients fitted with app-controlled nerve stimulator for sleep apnoea

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. It comes as UCLH became the first centre in the UK to offer sleep apnoea patients a choice of nerve stimulators – the Genio Nyxoah or the Inspire implant. Consultant ENT and sleep surgeon, Ryan Chin Taw Cheong, said: “I’m very optimistic about the way things are moving, and I’m hoping that we will be able to make this technology and make this implant more available for the right patients.” During her operation, surgeons made a 6cm incision below Mrs Boller’s chin and used a microscope to pinpoint the nerves that make the tongue protrude. I was very hopeful about the surgery Genio Nyxoah patient Natalie Boller Mrs Boller, a mother of six from East Sussex, has suffered from sleep apnoea for a decade and told PA she has tried “everything” to alleviate her symptoms, including a Cpap machine. They’re going to have me back in for another sleep study early next year.” Ms Rushton said she was initially “terrified” of having the operation as it was her first ever surgery, but added: “It was actually a very quick recovery.” Mr Cheong also hailed the recovery time as “incredible” compared to other sleep surgeries, which can involve reconstructing the palate and cutting out parts of the tongue.