Drug-induced sleep endoscopy is a surgical evaluation technique that can be used to evaluate patients considering surgery or oral appliances for treatment of obstructive sleep apnea.  The approach was developed in a number of center in Europe in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but the techniques have been refined over time. Drug-induced sleep endoscopy has… Read more »

Drug-induced sleep endoscopy is one of the most common topics on which I give lectures to other physicians around the world.  Although I like to think that my words are so thoughtful and insightful, I know that the real highlights of these talks are the drug-induced sleep endoscopy videos I show as part of the… Read more »

Earlier this month, I attended the 9th meeting of the International Surgical Sleep Society in Munich (ISSS).  The ISSS is the world’s premiere organization dedicated to sleep apnea surgery and snoring surgery.  I am proud of having been the ISSS President from 2014-2017 and for organizing or co-organizing the 7th and 8th meetings in Sao Paulo,… Read more »

Obstructive sleep apnea is a potentially-serious medical disorder.  Patients with obstructive sleep apnea need treatments that are based on science.  I am writing this post because over the last several months, I have seen a disturbing number of patients with obstructive sleep apnea who have tried and failed myofunctional therapy and/or frenuloplasty/frenectomy or who have… Read more »

Our 2018 Advanced in Diagnosis and Treatment of Sleep Apnea and Snoring course was just held in San Francisco, and I wanted to share some of the highlights.  I truly enjoy being a co-director of this course, as we have an outstanding faculty from whom I always learn a temendous amount.  They deliver updated lectures on… Read more »

I have written previously on the role of the epiglottis in obstructive sleep apnea.  My colleagues around the world largely agree that the epiglottis plays an important role in about 10% of patients with obstructive sleep apnea.  However, there is much that we do not know, including why epiglottis-related obstruction occurs in some patients but… Read more »

One of the most unique parts of my work as a physician/surgeon is my interaction with medical devices companies focused on the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea and snoring.  My research on the selection of procedures for snoring and sleep apnea is directly relevant to these companies because there are many reasons why obstructive sleep apnea… Read more »

A recent study from Cardiogram and the University of California, San Francisco suggested that the Apple Watch can be a test for obstructive sleep apnea.  It is exciting to think that wearable devices could provide an accessible, low-cost approach to evaluating obstructive sleep apnea.  At the same time, it would be important to examine carefully the implications… Read more »

Insomnia is one of the most common sleep disorders, and it is certainly one that we do not understand well.  At its core, insomnia typically includes difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep. There used to be various subtypes of insomnia that were simplified to these core elements in the 2014 International Classification of Sleep Disorders,… Read more »

Earlier this month, the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery held their 2017 Annual Meeting (AAO-HNS 2017) in Chicago.  Sleep surgery again was featured prominently in the program.  Aside from the International Surgical Sleep Society conferences, the AAO-HNS meetings have the largest number of sessions related to sleep surgery.  My own schedule was fairly… Read more »