Telemedicine for preoperative visits?

Posted by & filed under Sleep Apnea, Snoring, Surgery.

As a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, I receive electronic access to the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. I browse the Table of Contents but generally find that most of the articles are related to general surgery or subspecialties within that field (which used to be true for head and neck…

Maybe I am not the only one concerned about tongue tie surgery and myofunctional therapy for sleep apnea

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Yesterday, the New York Times podcast “The Daily” focused on tongue tie surgery in children with “The Booming Business of Cutting Babies’ Tongues”. The podcast pointed to the explosive growth in aggressive tongue tie surgery for children. Simple snipping of tissue under the tongue has been done for centuries, with proven benefits for some children…

2024 Advances in Sleep Apnea and Snoring Course Highlights

Posted by & filed under Sleep Apnea, Surgery.

We have just completed the 29th Advances in Diagnosis and Treatment of Sleep Apnea and Snoring course in San Francisco. It is so enjoyable to be one of the course directors, where we can think about the newest developments in the field and other topics to incorporate as we develop the program. As I do…

Palate shape is associated with Inspire Upper Airway Stimulation outcomes

Posted by & filed under Sleep Apnea, Surgery.

The Upper Airway Stimulation system from Inspire Medical Systems has been an important and exciting addition to the array of treatment options for obstructive sleep apnea. I was the first surgeon in the Western US to offer it to patients after FDA approval in 2014, and I have seen the tremendous difference it has made…

Will there be a new era of (sleep apnea and snoring) medical education conferences?

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On February 16-17, 2024, we will hold the 29th annual Advances in Diagnosis and Treatment of Sleep Apnea and Snoring course. We are delighted to have an outstanding faculty to speak on what we feel are interesting and provocative topics. As I do every year, I will share what I feel are some of the… Read more »

ISSS and AAO-HNSF 2023 Sleep Surgery Research Highlights

Posted by & filed under Palate Surgery, Sleep Apnea, Surgery, Tongue Surgery.

Nashville, TN was the site of both the 2023 International Surgical Sleep Society (ISSS) Educational Symposium and American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery Foundation Annual Meeting. It is always wonderful to see colleagues and long-time friends. However, I wanted to take the chance to share some of what I found to be… Read more »

Does surgery work BETTER than CPAP for obstructive sleep apnea?

Posted by & filed under Sleep Apnea, Surgery.

In the United States and many other countries, obstructive sleep apnea surgery is generally considered a second-line therapy for patients who do not tolerate or benefit from positive airway pressure therapy (for example, continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP). This is based on two arguments: Surgery clearly has greater risks than CPAP Surgery does not… Read more »

Can we stop publishing “systematic reviews” of myofunctional therapy for obstructive sleep apnea?

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UPDATE: a version of this has been accepted for publication as a letter to the editor in the medical journal Laryngoscope. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses are supposed to be high-quality reviews of the medical literature that represent the highest level of scientific evaluation and evidence. Unfortunately, all that glitters in not gold. I have written… Read more »

UCLA: My New Career Adventure

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I am excited to announce that I have now started a new adventure in my career, joining the UCLA Department of Head and Neck Surgery. I have been fortunate to train and then work at outstanding places with such talented people. This move will be no different, as the UCLA team has consistently been one… Read more »