According to the NHS,, external the condition sees people’s breathing stop and start while they sleep.
Other symptoms include waking up a lot, loud snoring and gasping, snorting or choking.
Those who have the condition can often feel very tired, find it hard to concentrate and suffer from mood swings.
Having read about HGNS, the implanted treatment for patients who cannot tolerate CPAP, Turnbull said she was “extremely grateful” to have been chosen as one of the first patients to have the device fitted.
The treatment has mainly been rolled out in Europe and United States, with about 125,000 people worldwide having the surgery.
It involves an operation where a generator is implanted into the patient’s chest.
A lead then goes up to the nerve that pushes the tongue forward so that every time they breathe, the airway is opened by the tongue leaning forward.
It is controlled by a small remote, that looks like a computer mouse, which the patient turns on each night when they go to bed.
Joseph Sinnott, an ear, nose and throat surgeon at GWH, said the first treatment was still CPAP but if a patient was really struggling, then this was a good second option.
In Wiltshire, only a few patients a month would be offered the treatment as there was a “very strict criteria for inclusion” and only for “extreme cases”, said Sinnott.
