Telemedicine, telehealth, and video consults in sleep apnea and snoring surgery

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

Because of my career-long focus and unique experience in the combination of sleep surgery and sleep medicine, patients from around the country or other countries often reach out for an evaluation or for surgery. Because of the logistical challenges and costs of in-person visits, I have offered video consults for many years. These remote evaluations… Read more »

Is Drug-Induced Sleep Endoscopy Similar to Natural Sleep?

Posted by & filed under Sleep Apnea, Surgery.

A recurring theme of this blog and the sleep-doctor.com website is that successful surgery for obstructive sleep apnea and snoring depends on understanding the causes that differ from one patient to another. As otolaryngologists, we use flexible fiberoptic telescopes (like the one shown below) to look inside the breathing passages to see where they are open… Read more »

Will Medical Courses and Conferences All Become Virtual Meetings?

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

This month, the 2020 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery was entirely virtual, continuing the pattern followed by other medical conferences and courses. I have written previously about our expanded use of telemedicine and the development of new online educational programs, but this is an existing major medical… Read more »

Oral Myofunctional Therapy and Frenuloplasty: Not Proven for Adults with Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Posted by & filed under Sleep Apnea.

I was recently included in a series of lectures developed for the International Surgical Sleep Society. My topic: Oral Myofunctional Therapy and Frenuloplasty Are Not Currently Appropriate Treatment Options for Adults with Obstructive Sleep Apnea. I have posted this presentation on oral myofunctional therapy and frenuloplasty on YouTube; it is somewhat long but explains why… Read more »

Systematic Reviews in Sleep Surgery: Low Confidence (or Worse) in the Results

Posted by & filed under Sleep Apnea.

Evidence-based medicine requires use of the best research studies in taking care of patients. Systematic reviews are designed to combine multiple research studies to produce answers to important questions and therefore can be important to the practice of evidence-based medicine. Everyone loves systematic reviews, starting with physicians who need answers and may not have the… Read more »

Does drug-induced sleep endoscopy improve surgical outcomes?

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

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 »