Short-Term Assessment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome Remission Rate after Sleeve Gastrectomy: a Cohort Study

Severe obesity is associated with a high prevalence of moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSA). Bariatric surgery has been shown to effectively reduce excess weight and comorbidities.

We evaluated the remission rate of moderate-to-severe OSA (apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) ≥ 15) following sleeve gastrectomy. We performed a single-center retrospective chart review of all patients who underwent preoperative polysomnography (PSG) or polygraphy before primary sleeve gastrectomy. Patients with moderate-to-severe OSA treated by continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) also underwent postoperative PSG. Bivariate analysis was performed to evaluate the criteria associated with remission of moderate-to-severe OSA.

From 2013 to 2018, 39 of 162 patients (24.1%) scheduled for sleeve gastrectomy (SG) presented moderate-to-severe OSA requiring CPAP. Postoperative PSG was performed in 36 patients a mean of 9.9 ± 6.1 months after SG. Mean BMI decreased from 47.4 ± 8.4 to 36.3 ± 7.1 kg/m² (p < 0.001), and all patients reported clinical improvement of OSA symptoms. A remission of moderate-to-severe OSA was observed in 72.2% of patients with a mean decrease of AHI from 45.8 events/h to 11.3 events/h (p < 0.001). Postoperative neck circumference was the only factor associated with OSA remission.

SG is associated with a rapid improvement of moderate-to-severe OSA partially as a result of a reduction of neck circumference. However, the absence of correlation with excess weight loss suggests that other weight-independent factors may also be involved.