I have written previously about international research efforts, whether one showing the benefits of drug-induced sleep endoscopy or investigating cardiovascular benefits of sleep apnea treatment with INCOSACT.  Generally these collaborations bring together major centers from around the world to increase the numbers of study participants, but they can also examine research questions with a more-diverse… Read more »

I often get asked how I decided to focus my career in snoring and sleep apnea surgery and how a surgeon can learn more about this field. I was fortunate to attend medical school at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine at a time when it was one of the few medical schools that… Read more »

We have just completed the 25th Annual Advances in Diagnosis and Treatment of Sleep Apnea and Snoring course in Orlando, Florida.  I wanted to share some interesting updates and new topics that I have not discussed previously, such as with my blog post about the 2018 course.  I have truly enjoyed being a co-director of… Read more »

Before performing any surgery, it is important to collect information that can help in making decisions about what type of surgery to have and what the results of surgery might be.  Sleep apnea surgery is no different.  Drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE) is an evaluation that can be performed in patients with obstructive sleep apnea who are considering… Read more »

Obstructive sleep apnea and snoring are commonly worse when someone is sleeping on the back compared to sleeping on their side or stomach.  One clue may be the sharp elbows that are used to nudge someone to roll onto their side instead of sleeping on their back.  In some cases, the differences that occur with… Read more »

Shared decision making was characterized in 2008 by Barratt as “an approach to medical decisions in which patients and clinicians work together to reach a mutually agreed upon decision that is consistent with the best available evidence, as well as patients’ preferences”.  This concept was not new, as Sackett had defined evidence based medicine in… Read more »

The 2018 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Surgery (AAO-HNS) was held earlier this week in Atlanta, Georgia.  It was a wonderful opportunity to share experiences with long-time colleagues and some that I had not met previously.  In addition to my presentations related to drug-induced sleep endoscopy, Tongue Region Surgery,… Read more »

  Inspire Medical’s Upper Airway Stimulation technology is a powerful (no pun intended) addition to the array of options for individuals suffering from obstructive sleep apnea.  As a surgeon who implants this therapy, I see patients (whether my own or those coming for a second opinion) where Upper Airway Stimulation is not working well.  While… Read more »

Two months ago, I developed two videos related to drug-induced sleep endoscopy that I posted on my YouTube page.  One video discussed drug-induced sleep endoscopy and provided some example videos, and the other discussed how drug-induced sleep endoscopy can be used to improve the selection of treatments (surgery and oral appliances) and enhance results.  Just… Read more »

Snoring is common, with estimates suggesting that it affects 100 million adults (and anyone bothered by that snoring) in the United States alone.  Whenever I share what I do at work, there is a pause before that person either volunteers that they have been told they snore or mention that they want me to meet… Read more »