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 »
Palate Surgery
Learn About Two of My Patients Who Were Affected by Sleep Apnea and Retired Their CPAP Machines
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 »
What if my drug-induced sleep endoscopy shows I am not a good candidate for Inspire Upper Airway Stimulation?
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 »
Does expansion sphincter pharyngoplasty treat oropharyngeal lateral wall-related obstruction in OSA?
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 »
Drug-induced sleep endoscopy findings are associated with results of sleep apnea surgery
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 »
Multilevel surgery for OSA and risks vs. palate surgery alone
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 »
Sleep 2017: Upper Airway Stimulation 5-year Outcomes and Questioning Whether Sleep Apnea Treatment Improves Health
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 »
American Sleep Association: Improving Awareness of Snoring and Sleep Apnea Treatment Options
I was recently invited to join the Advisory Board of the American Sleep Association. Because of their dedication to increasing awareness about the importance of sleep and sleep disorders, I agreed to this position and contributed website content related to surgical treatment of snoring and obstructive sleep apnea. Here are links to those pages: Snoring… Read more »
Positive airway pressure after sleep apnea surgery: Catch-22
I just returned from giving lectures at the 13th Annual Middle East Update in Otolaryngology conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. I had never visited Dubai before, and it was wonderful to share experiences with colleagues from throughout the Middle East and beyond while having the additional bonus of seeing a new part of the world. Beyond the conference, it… Read more »
Our snoring and sleep apnea course: Day 2 highlights
Our snoring and sleep apnea course continued today with talks on a wide range of sleep apnea treatment, especially weight loss and surgical evaluation and treatment. Allan Pack, MBChB, PhD from the University of Pennsylvania started the day, speaking on key papers from the past year in the field of sleep medicine. The prevailing wisdom… Read more »