Athletic Improvement with LATERA

Athletic performance is often very dependent on nasal breathing. There are many articles that illustrate the importance of nasal breathing to improve oxygenation in the lungs. Many athletes wear nasal strips to help with nasal breathing.

By opening the nasal valve and decreasing collapse of the upper lateral cartilage, nasal breathing and airflow during athletic performance are greatly improved. Even non-athletes just looking to improve their ability to exercise can suffer from nasal obstruction due to nasal valve collapse.

Improving this condition can help improve nasal breathing for exercise, meditation, and even snoring.

What is Latera?

LATERA is a dissolvable implant that helps reduce the collapse of the upper lateral cartilage during inspiration (breathing). Athletes often use nasal strips to help open the nostrils. This is a modified cottle maneuver that helps increase the diameter of the nasal valve and open the nose. LATERA allows for a permanent solution to this problem. It can help those with nasal obstruction due to collapse and help athletes gain an edge in nasal airflow.

Who Is A Good Candidate for LATERA?

One way to see if LATERA will work for you is to use Breathe Right strips during athletic training or sleeping. If your breathing improves dramatically you may be a good candidate for LATERA implants. LATERA implants can be placed in the operating room in conjunction with a septoplasty or in the office as an isolated procedure.

Take a short quiz to see if LATERA is right for you

What Are The Benefits of LATERA?

LATERA has a very high level of success and provides improved breathing in almost every patient. Results can take 4-6 weeks but patients often notice improved breathing within one week.

Recovery After LATERA

LATERA implants are often covered by insurance in the operating room and can be done in the office for cash pricing. Office implantation is painless and takes 15-20 minutes. Recovery generally takes 1-2 days and full results can be expected in 4-6 weeks for our Los Angeles LATERA patients. There is no downtime and minimal recovery time before you can get back to training.

Other Information: Mouths are for eating, not breathing.

Do you wake up with a dry mouth? Catch yourself taking the occasional deep breath through your mouth instead of your nose? Seem to constantly feel congested? You may have an undiagnosed nasal obstruction - and if you do, you’re not alone.

More than 20 million Americans suffer from nasal obstruction, many of them undiagnosed. There are many reasons why we may suffer from nasal obstruction, mouth breathing, or a chronic stuffy nose, but one very big reason is the collapse of the alar cartilage during breathing. This collapse is called vestibular stenosis.

LATERA for Vestibular Stenosis

The main cause of vestibular stenosis is a defect in the lateral nasal cartilage that can cause a paradoxical closure during inspiration. This can lead to nasal obstruction - a closure while we breathe in and difficulty breathing through the nose. LATERA is a nasal implant that dissolves with time and helps to stent open the nose to improve nasal breathing.

This procedure takes only a few minutes, but it can improve your life forever. The Los Angeles Center for Ear, Nose, Throat, and Allergy is one of the few practices that can perform LATERA in the Los Angeles area. We strive to deliver the best LATERA Los Angeles has to offer.

How does LATERA work?

LATERA is a minimally invasive outpatient procedure that can improve your breathing immediately. The LATERA implant is an absorbable injection about 0.9” long that acts as a stent, supporting the upper and lower cartilage in your nose and counteracting the effects of vestibular stenosis and nasal airway obstruction.

Once LATERA is injected, the implant supports side wall cartilage on each side of the nasal wall, reducing nasal obstruction and allowing you to breathe through the nose more deeply and without discomfort. As the implant dissolves over the next 18 months, a fibrous capsule forms in its place, maintaining the integrity of the implant for about another year (although some patients have reported the effects lasting even longer).

Are You Suffering from Nasal Obstruction Symptoms? The NOSE Knows

The Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation (NOSE) list is a quick way to self-identify the symptoms of nasal obstruction. Simply ask yourself if you have the following issues:

• Nasal congestion or “stuffiness”
• Nasal blockage or obstruction
• Trouble breathing through the nose
• Trouble sleeping
• Dry mouth after sleeping
• Unable to get enough oxygen through the nose during exercise

While these problems may seem like run-of-the-mill annoyances, the long term effects of persistent nasal obstruction can actually be quite serious. Studies have shown that patients who undergo nasal valve surgery report an increased disease-specific quality of life. The improvement in sleep quality alone can improve your mood, reduce fatigue, boost memory, fight disease, and even help you live longer.

Patients who went through the LATERA procedure reported measurable improvements in each of the symptoms listed above. If you read this list and thought “that sounds like me,” you might be a candidate for LATERA.

Is My Lateral Wall Contributing to My Nasal Airway Obstruction?

You might be thinking to yourself, “Ok, I may have nasal obstruction, but there’s nothing wrong with my nose! I just have allergies/a stuffy nose/a cold!” Well, there’s a simple test that you can perform right now that will determine in literally two breaths whether LATERA could help you. It’s called the Cottle Maneuver.

Try it now. Did your breathing improve when you pulled on your cheek with your finger? If so, come see the ear, nose, and throat specialists at LAENT about ways you may be able to improve your lateral nasal cartilage support. You might be a candidate for the LATERA implant.

LAENT: Your Los Angeles LATERA Specialists

LATERA is a novel and specialized approach to opening your nasal passages. That makes the Los Angeles Center for Ear, Nose, Throat, and Allergy one of the few places in the area to carry this innovative treatment option.

For residents of Los Angeles LATERA is available for your convenience at each of our six locations; Hollywood, Downtown, East L.A., Glendale, Montebello, and Huntington Park. No matter where you are in L.A., LAENT is there to help you breathe easier. Book your appointment now online or by phone and experience, the difference LATERA can make in your life.