Sleep Apnea

The idea of removing tongue tissue as a surgical procedure to treat obstructive sleep apnea dates back to Shiro Fujita, MD and a 1991 publication.  Multiple technologies have been used to perform lingual tonsillectomy and midline glossectomy procedures,.  The challenge has been finding a technology that allows the procedure to be performed well without making… 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 »

Over the past 15-20 years of my own career, research and experience have dramatically improved results of sleep apnea surgery.  For example, we have recently published an international research study showing that drug-induced sleep endoscopy can guide the selection of procedures and whether someone is a good or less-ideal candidate for surgery.  In spite of… 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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »