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Drug-Induced Sleep Endoscopy (DISE) with Target Controlled Infusion (TCI) and Bispectral Analysis in Obstructive Sleep Apnea
07:54

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Obstructive sleep apnea in an infant with prominent glossopharyngeal muscles: therapy and outcome

Scott Shadfar1, G P Digoy

  • 1University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, Oklahoma City, OK, USA.

The Laryngoscope
|December 20, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Prominent glossopharyngeal muscles can cause severe obstructive sleep apnea in infants. Surgical release of these muscle folds significantly reduced apneic events, potentially preventing tracheostomy.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Otolaryngology
  • Sleep Medicine
  • Anatomical Variants

Background:

  • Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in infants can stem from various anatomical abnormalities.
  • The glossopharyngeal muscles, though typically not implicated, can present with variant anatomy causing airway obstruction.

Observation:

  • A 3-month-old infant presented with severe obstructive symptoms attributed to prominent glossopharyngeal muscles.
  • Preoperative evaluation included sleep studies and dynamic microdirect laryngoscopy to assess airway dynamics.

Findings:

  • Postoperative sleep studies demonstrated a significant reduction in apneic events following surgical release of the glossopharyngeal muscle folds.
  • This is the first reported case linking prominent glossopharyngeal muscles directly to apneic events in an infant.

Implications:

  • Surgical release of prominent glossopharyngeal folds may be an effective treatment for infant sleep apnea.
  • This intervention could potentially prevent the need for tracheostomy in severe pediatric obstructive sleep apnea cases.

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