We have extensive experience with all aspects of sleep disordered breathing with our initial experience dating back to the early 1980’s. We perform all stages of sleep apnea surgery, and perform diagnostic polysomnography in an in-patient setting. For those patients troubled by snoring without apnea, we offer the most effective and least invasive techniques as they evolve.

Our sleep laboratory is located in Bourne Mass. at the intersection of County and Trowbridge roads. The facility provides a quiet comfortable setting in which diagnostic sleep studies can be performed. The sleeping rooms are configured to reproduce that sleeping in your own bed feeling. Each private spacious room is provided with cable TV and a nonalcoholic wet bar for patient comfort. Fresh towels, toiletries, shower facilities and morning coffee and pastries make the diagnostic experience more pleasant. The testing usually will begin at around 8 or 9 PM and conclude around 5:30 -6:00 approximately. The laboratory utilizes state of the art diagnostic digital computer data recording and analysis as well as infrared video monitoring. We are all dedicated to providing our patients with the most comprehensive and up to date diagnostic studies currently available in a setting of unmatched comfort and security. Although we take great care to provide a comfortable facility and state of the art diagnostic equipment we are most proud of the quality of the care delivered by our professional staff who take great pride in taking care of you.

Snoring and sleep apnea can prevent a good night’s sleep, for the sufferer and for those trying to sleep nearby. While snoring and sleep apnea affect three times as many men as women, these conditions can affect relationships by preventing both parties from sleeping soundly. Children also can snore or have sleep apnea, affecting behavior and performance in school.

Snoring is caused by the soft palate relaxing too much during sleep; the soft palate then vibrates during breathing and that causes the noise that others can hear. Often the person will wake up several times during the night, interrupting sleep cycles.

Sleep apnea, which may include snoring, is a condition in which a person stops breathing for short periods of time while sleeping. The person will arouse enough to start breathing again, but this interrupts the sleep cycle. The person may be unaware of the sleep/wake cycles.The majority of people with sleep apnea don’t even know they have a problem.

Untreated sleep apnea also can lead to depression, high blood pressure, and higher risk for heart attack and stroke.

Sleep apnea can be properly diagnosed with the help of a sleep study. Jordan Hospital-affiliated surgeons Anit Patel, MD (shown at left), and Bernard Durante, MD, offer state-of-the-art techniques for diagnosis and management of snoring and sleep apnea.

“Once a proper diagnosis is made, the most common treatment for sleep apnea is a machine known as continuous positive air pressure, or CPAP. The patient wears a mask during the night that allows air to flow into the nose during sleep,” says Dr. Patel. “For those who can’t tolerate the mask, surgery may be warranted.”

For snoring without apnea, the doctor will inject an inflammatory material into the soft palate causing it to thicken so it doesn’t flap during breathing. A second option to stiffen the palate is implants. These are procedures conducted in the physician’s office. For more information, contact JordanCall at 800-750-5343.

Bob Barker, a financial planner from Mashpee, was diagnosed with sleep apnea in 2001. He tried a CPAP machine but was unable to tolerate it due to a deviated septum. His sleep apnea left the financial planner tired all day, but unable to sleep soundly at night. His wife, Patricia, described his snoring as “roof-shaking” and she would race to get to sleep before he did. On a family vacation, she noticed that the noise even kept the children from sleeping well, “I hadn’t really thought that it touched so many lives.” A schoolteacher, Patricia’s sleep was disrupted so often that she took a nap in the afternoon and was still exhausted at bedtime. She also was concerned about Bob’s sleep apnea leading to heart disease and heart attack.

As a last resort, Bob had two surgeries at the same time last December with Dr. Patel. One removed his uvula and tissue from his throat and soft palate; the other corrected his deviated septum. Patricia says that within a week of the swelling going down and the nasal packing being removed, she noticed a huge change. Bob puts it best, “I have more energy than I’ve had in years.”

Our Team

Bernard J. Durante, MD, FACS

Anit T. Patel, MD, MBA

William F. Lane, DMD, Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery

Steven V. Aveni, DDS, Dentistry & Oral Appliances

Sandra Lombardo, RPSGT

Laurette Francisque, Sleep Technologist

Deborah L. Cristofori, RN

Lynn Braley, Resource Coordinator

The Team Approach
A New Sleep Lab in Bourne

South Shore Sleep Diagnostics (SSSD) began operations in November, 2006 at our new sleep lab located at 1 County Road in Bourne, Massachusetts. The location of the lab is approximately ½ mile from the Bourne Rotary. This location was specifically chosen for its excellent highway access, yet quiet out of the mainstream setting.

One of our main priorities in establishing this new sleep lab is to obtain accurate diagnostic sleep data utilizing state-of-the-art equipment and to rapidly proceed to titration studies in the same visit when at all possible. With the permission of the referring physician, therapy can be initiated for high risk patients soon after the diagnosis is made pending any formal consultations.

THE EARLY YEARS

In the early 1980’s, as a resident-in-training at the Medical College of Georgia, I had the privilege of participating, with Dr. John Harmon and Ed Porubsky, in some of the earliest trials of surgical intervention for sleep disordered breathing. Most of these patients were morbidly obese and, in addition to gastric stapling and UPPP, tracheotomy was the mainstay of airway management.

LONG TERM MANAGEMENT

We believe that long term follow-up and tailoring of therapeutic parameters, particularly in our patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), is essential. Compliance rates with both CPAP and BIPAP can be quite poor overall and must be monitored closely, with appropriate adjustments made regularly.

TAILORING THERAPY TO PATHOLOGY

Accurately tailoring upper airway intervention to the individual patient is key to successful treatment of OSA. Non surgical interventions are always applied as our initial therapeutic option of choice. Surgical therapy when necessary is specifically targeted to the pathology of the individual patient.

OUR PHILOSOPHY

Sleep disordered breathing and other sleep related disorders are currently under-diagnosed and under-treated. Since many of these entities are associated with significant morbidity and mortality, particularly in the geriatric population, our focus is to treat these patients early and to avoid any significant interim morbidity while more permanent solutions are sought.

OUR APPROACH

We believe the depth and breadth of experience and expertise available at SSSD (from in-depth experience with the gamut of surgical interventions available to pharmacological and pulmonary management) allows us to provide seamless and tailored therapeutic options to our patients.

MULTI-MODALITY THERAPY

Just as multi-modality therapy works better than a single modality in treating malignant neoplasia of the head and neck, so too the patient with sleep disordered breathing will likely benefit from a combination of therapies including pharmacologic, surgical, and external appliances.

ACCURATE ASSESMENT

Today more sophisticated polysomnographic testing and a host of pharmacologic, behavioral, and minimally invasive surgical techniques supplement an expanding armamentarium of ventilatory airway stabilization modalities.

South Shore Sleep Diagnostics

“We are committed to the diagnosis and treatment of those who suffer from sleep related disorders.”

Bernard J. Durante, MD
Anit T. Patel, MD

Also visit us on the web at www.PlymouthENT.com