One of the many benefits of working at an academic medical center is the opportunity to work with residents and fellows, where I am often explaining the research evidence supporting the decisions I make in taking care of patients. In every field of medicine, there are decisions that we make in the absence of perfect… Read more »

Even 7 years after its 2014 FDA approval, Inspire Upper Airway Stimulation remains an interesting option for patients with obstructive sleep apnea who do not tolerate positive airway pressure therapy. We have adopted many innovations related to surgical implantation, including the use of the recently-approved surgical technique reducing the number of incisions from 3 to… Read more »

Readers of this blockage will know that I have written often about drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE) as an important evaluation for patients with obstructive sleep apnea who cannot tolerate CPAP well. One of the unique benefits of DISE is the assessment of whether the epiglottis might be a cause of obstructive sleep apnea, in that… Read more »

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 »

Inspire Medical Systems received FDA approval in 2014 for their Upper Airway Stimulation therapy to treat obstructive sleep apnea, and we were the first center in the Western United States to offer this treatment to patients after that approval. We have a substantial experience with this therapy here and have always felt it essential to… Read more »

Keck Medicine of USC has started a monthly Ask an Expert Webinar Series of presentations from our faculty about the evaluation and treatment of common problems of the head and neck. I was part of the first set of presentations when I spoke this past week on snoring and obstructive sleep apnea. For a basic… Read more »

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 »

Over the years, I have become more and more impressed by my patients and their sophisticated knowledge of obstructive sleep apnea and the latest research. As part of a national educational lecture series for sleep medicine fellows, I was recently asked to give a lecture on hypoglossal nerve stimulation in the treatment of obstrucive sleep… Read more »

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 »

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has brought unprecedented changes worldwide, with major, important consequences. I do not want to minimize these in any way. In fact, the pandemic was a reminder that obstructive sleep apnea does not have the same urgency as some other medical conditions, leading to a period of time where I was not taking… Read more »