Surgery for obstructive sleep apnea often involves surgery of the throat that removes, repositions, and/or tightens tissue. Although the goal is to improve or eliminate the sleep apnea, the risks include the potential to disrupt normal function, especially speech and swallowing. Fortunately, speech changes have always been rare, but changes in swallowing have always been… Read more »

We have just completed the 27th Annual Advances in Diagnosis and Treatment of Sleep Apnea and Snoring course in San Francisco, California. It has been wonderful to be a co-director for about 15 years, and I learn so much myself in every course. This year we did something different: a virtual format! We can thank… Read more »

Like most surgical treatments throughout medicine, research studies typically evaluate short-term outcomes. In sleep surgery, most studies report results at 3-6 months following surgery. There are notable exceptions – including 5-year outcomes reported for Inspire Upper Airway Stimulation in the STAR Trial presented at the Sleep 2017 meeting and then published in the medical journal… Read more »

Well-done randomized trials offer the highest-quality scientific evaluation of any medical intervention. Unfortunately, randomized trials of surgical interventions are extremely difficult to perform, for numerous reasons. In sleep surgery, there have been a number of randomized trials showing that surgical treatment of obstructive sleep apnea can offer important benefits that matter to patients. These include… Read more »

One of the many benefits of working at an academic medical center is the opportunity to work with residents and fellows, where I am often explaining the research evidence supporting the decisions I make in taking care of patients. In every field of medicine, there are decisions that we make in the absence of perfect… Read more »

One of the wonderful things about sleep surgery is that it remains a relatively small field. I have had the pleasure of getting to know leading sleep surgeons from around the world through various organizations, such as the International Surgical Sleep Society. Because we know each other well, we share experiences (good and bad) and… Read more »

We have just completed the 26th Annual Advances in Diagnosis and Treatment of Sleep Apnea and Snoring course in San Francisco, California.  I wanted to share some interesting updates and new topics from the course.  I have truly enjoyed being a co-director of the course and look forward to it every year, learning so much… Read more »

While sleep apnea mostly affects men, women (especially those who are hoping to become pregnant) are at risk too. Learn about Jose’s and Rachel’s road to recovery. I love writing about the latest research related to the surgical evaluation and treatment of snoring and obstructive sleep apnea.  Research studies are important, but sometimes it is… Read more »

Inspire Medical’s Upper Airway Stimulation therapy is a treatment option for many patients with obstructive sleep apnea who do not tolerate positive airway pressure therapy (for example, CPAP).  There are a few steps to determining whether a patient is a good candidate, including performing drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE).  If you are interested in more background… Read more »

Recently, our international, multicenter study examining drug-induced sleep endoscopy and surgery outcomes in those with obstructive sleep apnea but without markedly enlarged tonsils was published in the medical journal Laryngoscope.  I have written on this blog about the research findings and the implications for sleep surgery and the decisions that sleep apnea surgeons make for their… Read more »