My exhausting sleep apnoea was cured by 50p-sized implant

factors, due to the extra weight of tissue around the neck, it’s not always to blame. In many cases, as with Matthias, it’s simply due to a weakness in muscles in the throat.

Yakubu Karagama, the ear, nose and throat surgeon at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital in London, who implanted Matthias’s device, says: “Even children can have sleep apnoea.

“Some people are able to control it by sleeping with a CPAP mask on at night but an awful lot of them stop using the machine within the first two years.

“One patient told me recently it felt like trying to sleep while someone had their hand on his face.

“The machine blows air into the throat so the noise can also keep patients awake – as well as their partners.”

The chest implant, which has so far been fitted in three patients at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital (the first NHS trust to use it), is only sanctioned for use in those who have repeatedly tried and failed to cope with CPAP therapy.

“It’s not suitable for everyone,” says Mr Karagama. “But it could be a solution for those with moderate to severe sleep apnoea where other treatments have failed. I’m delighted that it is making a huge difference for our patients, and that Matthias has seen such positive results.”

The operation to insert the stimulator takes a couple of hours under general anaesthetic.

At bedtime, the patient switches it on using a hand-held remote control and switches it off again in the morning.

“At first, patients might feel their tongue moving slightly when they turn it on but they can adjust the power setting using the remote control,” says Mr Karagama.

The £18,000 device remains in place for the rest of the patient’s life, although the batteries need replacing every 10 years or so, a 30-minute procedure done under local anaesthetic. Matthias had suffered for four years before the chest implant came to his rescue.

“CPAP helped but was unpleasant and inconvenient, especially on travels,” he says.

“It might have controlled the sleep apnoea but it wasn’t the right solution for me, considering I have statistically another 35 to 40 years left to live.

“This therapy has been a tremendous success. I now only have two or three episodes per hour for a few seconds at a time and then the device jumps in so I can breathe.

“It took some time to get used to but now it’s comfortable and doesn’t wake me up in the night.

“It’s very exciting to be part of such an innovative pioneering treatment.”

‘‘ Severe sleep apnoea can result in you waking up every few minutes