Unmasking The Problem

The Inspire sleep apnea device gives a Savannah woman the best sleep she’s had in years

Virginia Snedeker had read a few things online and had seen a commercial or two about a sleep apnea device that doesn’t require a mask, but she hadn’t given it serious thought until she learned that “Dr. W” was in town.

“A friend at my gym said that there was a new ENT in Savannah, Dr. Tyler DeBlieux,” Snedeker recalls. “And that one of his specialties was implanting the Inspire device for people who can’t handle the CPAP mask.” 

Dr. DeBlieux (who makes life easier for everyone by explaining that they can pronounce his last name as the letter W) set up a sleep study for Snedeker in collaboration with her pulmonologist Dr. Masood Ahmed.

Snedeker had gone to Dr. Ahmed because she was waking up each morning with headaches.

“They weren’t sharp headaches, but still I knew something wasn’t right,” she says.

Snedeker was diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea, and like most patients with this condition she began using a continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, machine. The device sits by the bed and connects through a hose to a mask that the person wears throughout the night, increasing the air pressure in the throat to keep the airways open.

“Some people put the mask on and it almost works like a pacifier,” Snedeker says. “They fall asleep and they’re perfectly happy. I wasn’t one of those people.”

For some patients, the CPAP can dry out the nasal passages, which in turn produce too much mucus in order to counteract it. Snedeker experienced this side effect whenever she was able to keep her mask on throughout the night, which wasn’t often.

“I always fought with the mask; I just couldn’t keep it on,” she recalls. “I tried several different kinds of masks, too.”

The sleep study would determine whether or not Snedeker had another option. Not all patients are appropriate for the Inspire device, depending on how their airway collapses.

“It’s sad to me that not everyone is a candidate,” Snedeker says. “But my advice to anyone who is thinking about it is to get that sleep study. It’s worth that step to see if you’re a candidate.”

Dr. DeBlieux determined from Snedeker’s study that an Inspire device would be effective for her. She says the surgery was easy, and she doesn’t even notice the device—which sits inside her upper chest—is even there.

Instead of a CPAP machine next to her bed, she has a small remote that can activate or deactivate the device at any time with a simple click.

Snedeker’s husband said, “It’s the best decision you’ve ever made.”

By the time she met Dr. W, though, there really was nothing to decide for Snedeker.

“I knew I’d be happy with Inspire,” she says. “It’s amazing not to have to deal with the CPAP mask. And now I have the best sleep ever. I hadn’t had this kind of deep sleep in years.”