Surgery for Sleep-Disordered Breathing

Abstract

We evaluated the outcomes of nasal surgery for sleep-disordered breathing, including obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), respiratory effort-related arousal, and snoring. To reduce pharyngeal negative pressure during sleep, the nasal parasympathetic nerve was resected, and the nasal cavity was enlarged by submucosal inferior turbinectomy and septoplasty if necessary. Of the 45 severe OSAS patients, symptoms were significantly ameliorated in 67%. This low-invasiveness nasal operation effectively reduced excessive daytime sleepiness and bothersome snoring without any pharyngeal operation. In addition, no side effects have been reported to be associated with this treatment regimen.