Sleep surgery

Sleep surgery, or sleep apnea surgery is a surgery performed to treat sleep disordered breathing. Sleep disordered breathing is a spectrum of disorders that includes snoring, upper airway resistance syndrome, and obstructive sleep apnea. These surgeries are performed by surgeons trained in otolaryngology, oral maxillofacial surgery, or craniofacial surgery.

Obstructive sleep apnea or sleep apnea is defined as either cessation of breathing (apnea) for 10 seconds, or a decrease in normal breathing (hypopnea) with an associated desaturation in oxygen and arousal during sleep that lasts at least 10 seconds. In adults, it is typical to have up to 4.9 events per hour. In obstructive sleep apnea, affected individuals are categorized based on how many apneas or hypopneas (apnea-hypopnea index or AHI) or events they have per hour.

The Wisconsin Sleep Cohort Study, a longitudinal study of the natural history of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), found that of a random sample (602 employed men and women, 30–60 years old) the prevalence of OSA (5 or more events/hr) was 9% for women and 24% for men. However, the study found that among sleepy patients in this group, 2% of women and 4% of men met criteria for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). Those who snored habitually, were more likely to have an AHI of 15 or more.

Most obstructive sleep apnea sufferers have multiple points of obstruction in their airway and therefore require multilevel sleep surgery in order to maximize the efficacy of treatment. A systematic review of the literature and meta-analysis showed that multilevel sleep surgery achieves a 60.3% apnea hypopnea index (AHI) reduction. This reduction in sleep apnea severity via surgical means compares well against the AHI reduction for best case CPAP patients where an overall AHI reduction of 66% was achieved. Even single level surgical intervention in sleep apnea, which demonstrates a lesser degree of AHI reduction, showed a 31% survival benefit when compared against those using CPAP as therapy.

Children with obstructive sleep apnea typically have enlarged tonsils and adenoid tissue. Surgery on children is over 80% successful by simply performing an adenoidectomy and tonsillectomy. Those less likely to benefit from an adenotonsillectomy are obese children and those with other medical problems, such as Down Syndrome.

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