Surgery

Insomnia May Prevent Effective Treatment of Sleep Apnea with Inspire Upper Airway Stimulation

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

The last thing anyone wants is to undergo surgery without achieving results. This idea has been the focus of my career in sleep surgery. It has been wonderful to contribute to advancing our understanding about the physical causes of obstructive sleep apnea and ways we can optimize our preoperative evaluation to select procedures. This work…

Telemedicine for preoperative visits?

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

As a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, I receive electronic access to the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. I browse the Table of Contents but generally find that most of the articles are related to general surgery or subspecialties within that field (which used to be true for head and neck…

2024 Advances in Sleep Apnea and Snoring Course Highlights

Posted by & filed under Sleep Apnea, Surgery.

We have just completed the 29th Advances in Diagnosis and Treatment of Sleep Apnea and Snoring course in San Francisco. It is so enjoyable to be one of the course directors, where we can think about the newest developments in the field and other topics to incorporate as we develop the program. As I do…

Palate shape is associated with Inspire Upper Airway Stimulation outcomes

Posted by & filed under Sleep Apnea, Surgery.

The Upper Airway Stimulation system from Inspire Medical Systems has been an important and exciting addition to the array of treatment options for obstructive sleep apnea. I was the first surgeon in the Western US to offer it to patients after FDA approval in 2014, and I have seen the tremendous difference it has made…

ISSS and AAO-HNSF 2023 Sleep Surgery Research Highlights

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

Nashville, TN was the site of both the 2023 International Surgical Sleep Society (ISSS) Educational Symposium and American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery Foundation Annual Meeting. It is always wonderful to see colleagues and long-time friends. However, I wanted to take the chance to share some of what I found to be… Read more »

Does surgery work BETTER than CPAP for obstructive sleep apnea?

Posted by & filed under Sleep Apnea, Surgery.

In the United States and many other countries, obstructive sleep apnea surgery is generally considered a second-line therapy for patients who do not tolerate or benefit from positive airway pressure therapy (for example, continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP). This is based on two arguments: Surgery clearly has greater risks than CPAP Surgery does not… Read more »

ImThera/LivaNova aura6000 THN3 Randomized Trial Outcomes

Posted by & filed under Surgery, Tongue Surgery.

Since its FDA approval in 2014, the Upper Airway Stimulation system from Inspire Medical Systems has dominated the landscape of nerve stimulation in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea. A number of companies have been involved in development of hypoglossal nerve stimulation technologies, and this month one of those companies (LivaNova) had publication of results… Read more »

A call for improving the quality of the otolaryngology – head and neck surgery literature

Posted by & filed under Sleep Apnea, Surgery.

I have written previously on this blog about our research highlighting the extremely low quality of published “systematic reviews” and “meta-analyses” in the otolaryngology and sleep surgery literature. We have shown that many studies do not adhere to established, accepted research methods for these studies, creating a dangerous situation where publications that pretend to be… Read more »

New research evaluates trouble swallowing after sleep apnea surgery

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

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 »

Insomnia and Anxiety Limit Use of Inspire Upper Airway Stimulation

Posted by & filed under Sleep Apnea, Surgery.

Upper Airway Stimulation (Inspire Medical Systems, Golden Valley, MN, USA) is an excellent treatment option for many patients with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea who are unable to tolerate positive airway pressure therapy (for example, CPAP or BPAP) well. There are a number of specific criteria to determine whether a patient is eligible for… Read more »