Surgical approaches to obstructive sleep apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea results from a combination of a structurally small upper airway and loss of upper airway muscle tone. Surgical therapy is effective by enlarging the upper airway and decreasing collapsibility. Limited palatal surgery has been demonstrated successful for the treatment of snoring but less for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea. More aggressive multilevel surgeries addressing several airway segments demonstrate improved success rates. Multilevel surgeries and combined with bimaxillary advancement surgery have demonstrated success rates of 90%. New surgical procedures, eg, radiofrequency volume reduction, offer the potential of altering the upper airway with low morbidity. Hypoglossal nerve stimulation is a potential innovative technique.