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 »

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 »

Last month, I wrote about the expansion in telemedicine brought on my the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19. This month, I want to share other ways that the virus has changed the education of patients and physicians in training programs. We are all in the midst of these unprecedented times, where the virus has claimed… Read more »

I recently joined Darshan Shah, MD and Kevin Peake, co-founders of Next Health, for a wonderful discussion about sleep that on their FOREFRONT podcast. Here is a link to our podcast episode.  Enjoy, and feel free to contact me with any questions or just to share your thoughts!

The growing awareness of the importance of sleep and sleep disorders over the past 15-20 years of my career has been exciting and helpful to so many individuals around the world.  This awareness has been driven by major organizations, thought leaders, and the media – ranging from medical journals to the lay press to online… Read more »

You never want to be an expert on surgical complications.  During my residency training, I was fortunate to work under the guidance of Edward M. Weaver, MD, MPH at the University of Washington on studies of serious complications occurring after obstructive sleep apnea surgery in over 3100 patients at Veterans Affairs Medical Centers in the… Read more »

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 »

While sleep apnea mostly affects men, women (especially those who are hoping to become pregnant) are at risk too. Learn about Jose’s and Rachel’s road to recovery. I love writing about the latest research related to the surgical evaluation and treatment of snoring and obstructive sleep apnea.  Research studies are important, but sometimes it is… 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 »