ADVISORY/FDA Clears First-of-its-Kind Treatment for Sleep Disorder Affecting 20 Million Americans.

--(BW HealthWire)--

Interviews with Stanford Physicians and Patient, B-Roll of

Somnoplasty System Available via Satellite Today -0-

WHEN and WHERE: A Video News Release and B-roll will be broadcast via
     satellite on:
     Thursday, Nov. 5, 1998 at 2:00-2:15 p.m. EST. Ku-Band / SBS-6 /
     Transponder 3 / Audio 6.2 & 6.8 / Downlink Frequency 11.774 MHz
     (Horizontal).
     Friday, Nov. 6, 1998 at 1:30-1:45 p.m. EST. C-Band / Telstar 5 /
     Transponder 16 / Audio 6.2 & 6.8 / Downlink Frequency 4020 MHz
     (Horizontal).

WHAT: The Somnoplasty System -- hailed last year as a revolutionary
     new treatment for the millions of Americans who snore each
     night -- is now cleared for marketing by the U.S. Food and Drug
     Administration (FDA) for the treatment of obstructive sleep
     apnea, a debilitating sleep and breathing disorder that affects
     20 million people in the U.S. During sleep, obstructive sleep
     apnea patients frequently stop breathing due to excess tissue
     that blocks the upper airway -- leading to excessive daytime
     sleepiness and a higher risk of automobile accidents, as well as
     significantly increased rates of cardiovascular disease. The
     Somnoplasty procedure is performed under local anesthesia and
     treats obstructive sleep apnea by shrinking soft tissue in the
     base of the tongue. Somnus Medical Technologies, Inc.
     (Nasdaq:SOMN), of Sunnyvale, Calif., developed the device.

WHY: Obstructive sleep apnea affects 24% of men and 9% of women in the
     United States and is associated with 38,000 cardiac deaths each
     year according to the National Institutes of Health's National
     Center on Sleep Disorders Research. The Somnoplasty System, which
     has already been cleared by the FDA for the treatment of habitual
     snoring and chronic nasal obstruction, offers obstructive sleep
     apnea patients an alternative to highly invasive surgery or the
     nightly use of cumbersome forced air ventilation therapy.
     Preliminary results of a study at Stanford University Medical
     Center show that patients treated with the Somnoplasty procedure
     experienced an average of 17 percent and as much as a 35 percent
     reduction in tongue tissue volume, a range that is comparable to
     conventional surgical techniques.

HOW: A Video News Release and B-roll include interviews with: San
     Francisco-area patient James Bendick; Dr. William Dement,
     director, Stanford University Sleep Disorders Research Center;
     Dr. Nelson Powell, Somnus clinical investigator and director,
     Stanford University Sleep Disorders Research Center; Stuart
     Edwards, founder, president and CEO, Somnus Medical Technologies;
     and footage of the Somnoplasty procedure.