My experience and many research studies indicate that most patients with obstructive sleep apnea have what is often called multilevel obstruction. This term refers to blockage of breathing in both the Palate Region and the Tongue Region. Choosing the right sleep apnea surgery is based on careful evaluation of an individual patient and then weighing the risks and benefits of… Read more »

With the explosion in interest in sleep surgery has come the need to improve training opportunities in this field.  Sleep surgery encompasses the surgical evaluation and treatment of obstructive sleep apnea and snoring, and it is like anything in life: the more experience you have, the more likely it is that you will develop expertise…. Read more »

May and June are busy months for major medical conferences.  May had the 8th meeting of the International Surgical Sleep Society that we hosted at the University of Southern California, and I recently returned from giving lectures at the Sleep 2017 meeting in Boston.  Later in June, I will be speaking at the International Federation… Read more »

On May 5-6, 2017, the 8th meeting of the International Surgical Sleep Society was held at the University of Southern California.  It was a true pleasure to organize the meeting with invaluable input from many colleagues.  The conference covered a broad spectrum of interesting and relevant topics in the surgical evaluation and treatment of snoring… Read more »

Final preparations are in place for the 8th International Surgical Sleep Society Meeting in Los Angeles on May 5-6, 2017.  The conference program includes virtually all of the international leaders in sleep surgery, and I am excited for it.  The International Surgical Sleep Society is the world’s main organization dedicated to the surgical evaluation and treatment… Read more »

When I chose to focus my career on snoring and sleep apnea surgery, one key factor in my decision was the idea that this was a new field with many unanswered questions and a need for more sleep apnea surgery research.  There was so much to learn when it came to surgery for snoring and… Read more »

We have just finished our 23rd annual Advances in Diagnosis and Treatment of Sleep Apnea and Snoring course in Orlando, Florida.  This is one of my favorite events of the year because it includes a combination of surgical and nonsurgical topics and incorporates the true advances in sleep apnea and snoring.  My talks focused on… Read more »

One of the true privileges of being President of the International Surgical Sleep Society (ISSS) is the opportunity to organize our upcoming meeting.  This will be held on May 5-6, 2017, at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.  The ISSS is the world’s primary organization dedicated to the surgical evaluation and treatment of obstructive sleep… Read more »

For adults with obstructive sleep apnea, the standard treatment is positive airway pressure therapy (such as CPAP, BPAP, or APAP).  Surgery is reserved for patients who are unable to tolerate or benefit from positive airway pressure therapy.  For children, adenoidectomy and/or tonsillectomy for sleep apnea is the standard treatment.  Positive airway pressure therapy is not… Read more »

Nasal obstruction, or trouble breathing through the nose, can be challenging to treat because there are multiple potential causes.  Each of these causes has their own series of treatments, and often multiple treatments for nasal obstruction may be required in the same patient.  One common source of nasal obstruction is collapse of the sides of… Read more »