My experience and many research studies indicate that most patients with obstructive sleep apnea have what is often called multilevel obstruction. This term refers to blockage of breathing in both the Palate Region and the Tongue Region. Choosing the right sleep apnea surgery is based on careful evaluation of an individual patient and then weighing the risks and benefits of… Read more »

With the explosion in interest in sleep surgery has come the need to improve training opportunities in this field.  Sleep surgery encompasses the surgical evaluation and treatment of obstructive sleep apnea and snoring, and it is like anything in life: the more experience you have, the more likely it is that you will develop expertise…. Read more »

May and June are busy months for major medical conferences.  May had the 8th meeting of the International Surgical Sleep Society that we hosted at the University of Southern California, and I recently returned from giving lectures at the Sleep 2017 meeting in Boston.  Later in June, I will be speaking at the International Federation… Read more »

When I chose to focus my career on snoring and sleep apnea surgery, one key factor in my decision was the idea that this was a new field with many unanswered questions and a need for more sleep apnea surgery research.  There was so much to learn when it came to surgery for snoring and… Read more »

We have just finished our 23rd annual Advances in Diagnosis and Treatment of Sleep Apnea and Snoring course in Orlando, Florida.  This is one of my favorite events of the year because it includes a combination of surgical and nonsurgical topics and incorporates the true advances in sleep apnea and snoring.  My talks focused on… Read more »

One of the true privileges of being President of the International Surgical Sleep Society (ISSS) is the opportunity to organize our upcoming meeting.  This will be held on May 5-6, 2017, at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.  The ISSS is the world’s primary organization dedicated to the surgical evaluation and treatment of obstructive sleep… Read more »

For adults with obstructive sleep apnea, the standard treatment is positive airway pressure therapy (such as CPAP, BPAP, or APAP).  Surgery is reserved for patients who are unable to tolerate or benefit from positive airway pressure therapy.  For children, adenoidectomy and/or tonsillectomy for sleep apnea is the standard treatment.  Positive airway pressure therapy is not… Read more »

I was recently invited to join the Advisory Board of the American Sleep Association.  Because of their dedication to increasing awareness about the importance of sleep and sleep disorders, I agreed to this position and contributed website content related to surgical treatment of snoring and obstructive sleep apnea.  Here are links to those pages: Snoring… Read more »

Inspire Upper Airway Stimulation for sleep apnea is a powerful and exciting treatment for many patients who do not succeed with positive airway pressure therapy (for example, CPAP or BPAP).  Inspire Upper Airway Stimulation for sleep apnea is a system that involves a surgical procedure to implant 3 components.  These components work together to deliver stimulation to the… Read more »

I just returned from giving lectures at the 13th Annual Middle East Update in Otolaryngology conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.  I had never visited Dubai before, and it was wonderful to share experiences with colleagues from throughout the Middle East and beyond while having the additional bonus of seeing a new part of the world.  Beyond the conference, it… Read more »