Apparatus for treatment of air way obstructions

An apparatus to reduce a volume of a selected site in an interior of the tongue, comprising:

• a handpiece including a handpiece tongue interface surface;
• an energy delivery device at least partially positioned in the interior of the handpiece, the energy delivery device including a tissue piercing energy delivery surface, the energy delivery device being advanceable from the interior of the handpiece into the interior of the tongue;
• an energy delivery device advancement and retraction member coupled to the energy delivery device and configured to advance at least a portion of the energy delivery device to a placement position in the interior of the tongue, wherein at the placement position the energy delivery surface delivers sufficient energy to reduce a volume of the selected site without damaging a main branch of the hypoglossal nerve, wherein the advancement and retraction member advances at least a portion of the energy delivery device through the handpiece tongue interface surface in a lateral direction relative to a longitudinal axis of the handpiece;
• and
• a cable coupled to the energy delivery device.

An apparatus to reduce a volume of a selected site in an interior of the tongue, comprising:

• a handpiece including a handpiece tongue interface surface;
• an energy delivery device at least partially positioned in the interior of the handpiece, the energy delivery device including a tissue piercing energy delivery surface and has an energy delivery device advancement length extending from an exterior of the handpiece to the interior of the tongue, wherein the advancement length is sufficient to position the energy delivery device energy delivery surface at the selected site and deliver sufficient energy to reduce a volume of the selected tissue site without damaging a main branch of the hypoglossal nerve, wherein the advancement and retraction member advances at least a portion of the energy delivery device through the handpiece tongue interface surface in a lateral direction relative to a longitudinal axis of the handpiece;
• an energy delivery device advancement and retraction member coupled to the energy delivery device and configured to advance and retract at least a portion of the energy delivery device;
• and
• a cable coupled to the energy delivery device.

An apparatus to reduce a volume of a selected site in an interior of the tongue, comprising:

• a handpiece including a handpiece tongue interface surface;
• an energy delivery device at least partially positioned in the interior of the handpiece and advanceable from the interior of the handpiece into the interior of the tongue, wherein the energy delivery device has a tissue piercing energy delivery surface with a geometric shape configured to reduce a volume of the selected site without damaging a main branch of the hypoglossal nerve;
• an energy delivery device advancement and retraction member coupled to the energy delivery device and configured to advance and retract at least a portion of the energy delivery device, wherein the advancement and retraction member advances at least a portion of the energy delivery device through the handpiece tongue interface surface in a lateral direction relative to a longitudinal axis of the handpiece;
• and
• a cable coupled to the energy delivery device.