I am writing from Detroit and Henry Ford Hospital, the site of the 2014 International Surgical Sleep Society meeting.  The meeting brings together leaders from around the world, discussing the latest topics related to surgical and many non-surgical treatments other than positive airway pressure therapy (such as CPAP) and oral appliances.  This was the 6th… Read more »

This month (October 2014) I wrote an editorial in the medical journal SLEEP about a research study that appeared in the same issue.  The study is fascinating because it provides a deeper explanation not only of why weight gain is associated with worse sleep apnea and poorer outcomes for many sleep apnea treatments but why not… Read more »

The 2014 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery was just held in Orlando from September 21-24.  It is always enjoyable and interesting to share experiences and findings with colleagues in several sessions and courses related to the surgical evaluation and treatment of snoring and obstructive sleep apnea.  This year, I… Read more »

Drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE) is an evaluation technique that can be performed for patients with obstructive sleep apnea who are unable to tolerate positive airway pressure therapy (e.g., CPAP or BiPAP).  The purpose of DISE is to improve the results of treatment with surgery and/or oral appliances.  There are many surgical procedures available to treat the… Read more »

At the Sleep 2014 scientific conference in Minneapolis earlier this month, Patrick J. Strollo, Jr., MD from the University of Pittsburgh and colleagues presented 18-month outcomes from the STAR trial of Upper Airway Stimulation for treatment of obstructive sleep apnea.  STAR Trial results at 12 months have been published in January 2014 in the New… Read more »

Many colleagues and individuals have thanked me for developing my sleep-doctor.com main website and blog.  To be honest, it has required hundreds of hours of time for this amateur website developer.  All the same, it helps my patients and has allowed me to share information about snoring and obstructive sleep apnea.  I recognize that the… Read more »

A recent story on NPR News reported that half of all patients win their appeal of denials by health insurance companies.  They told the story of a patient with sleepiness and loud snoring who saw a doctor that recommended a sleep study.  The insurance company denied authorization for the sleep study.  The patient filed an… Read more »

In the current era of health care reform, there has been a nationwide push to define and enhance the quality of health care.  To be clear, it is difficult, if not impossible, to define fully the concept of “quality” in health care.  While automobile manufacturing may characterize quality by acceleration, driving performance, need for repairs,… Read more »

After a successful start to the course, Day 2 began with Allan Pack, MBChB, PhD of the University of Pennsylvania.  Allan had given the final talk of Day 1, in which he delivered a thought-provoking lecture on the future of the field of sleep medicine.  He has campaigned for a shift for the field, like… Read more »

In a blog post from September 2012, I described modifications developed by Italian surgeons of the expansion sphincter pharyngoplasty procedure.  This technique of soft palate surgery for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea was designed to reduce the risks and enhance the stability of the procedure.  I have received many e-mails and calls from other… Read more »