How Does Weight Loss Resolve Obstructive Sleep Apnea?

It has been a well known fact that obstructive sleep apnea severity is directly correlated with weight gain or loss in adults. It's also why physicians often recommend weight loss as one of the ways to resolve obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). What has been less clear is exactly how weight influences sleep apnea until researchers at Univ of Pennsylvania examined the upper airway with MRI scans before and after weight loss. It is tongue fat!!! Researchers recruited 67 adult individuals…

1/26/2020 0

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Submucosal Base of Togue Reduction for Sleep Apnea Video

This video depicts the overall appearance before and after base of tongue reduction has been performed to correct obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The region of tongue that gets removed is located just under the surface after going around the bend of the tongue you see in the back of the mouth and then downwards. Only the middle third of the tongue is removed in this procedure. For more information about this procedure, click here . General info about OSA can be found here .

12/01/2019 0

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INSPIRE Device to Treat Sleep Apnea Video

Although I don't personally offer this surgery (yet), I have plenty of patients who are curious about how the Inspire device works to treat sleep apnea . I have a good friend down in Texas who does perform this procedure ( Dr. Richard Thrasher of McKinney, TX) and we decided to create a new video showing how Inspire works using animation by Inspire Medical Systems (with permission). Wondering if you are a candidate for INSPIRE? Click here to see what the requirements are. Current do…

11/20/2019 0

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Lingual Tonsillectomy Video

This video depicts the overall appearance before and after the lingual tonsils get surgically removed. The lingual tonsils are located in the base of tongue region... essentially, the area of the tongue AFTER you go around the bend of the tongue you see in the back of the mouth and then downwards. This surgical procedure is performed really only under 2 circumstances... for cancer reasons or for obstructive sleep apnea (the lingual tonsils are so large that they cause airway obstruction d…

11/18/2019 0

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Expansion Sphincter Pharyngoplasty for OSA Video

UPPP  or uvulopalatopharyngoplasty is the "traditional" surgical procedure to help address  obstructive sleep apnea  in adult patients. However, there are other types of palate surgery beyond UPPP that is occasionally performed to help resolve OSA. The video shown here depicts expansion sphincter pharynoplasty or functional expansion pharyngoplasty. This surgical approach focuses on preventing airway collapse that occurs from the side and in some patients, will achieve a higher…

11/10/2019 0

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Criteria for INSPIRE Pacemaker to Treat Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)

Due to effective marketing, I have had more and more patients inquire about the INSPIRE sleep therapy to treat and potentially cure obstructive sleep apnea so that CPAP would not be needed. First off, our office does not perform this procedure which requires implanting a pacemaker in the chest wall (see image). It works by stimulating the tongue muscle in time with inhalation to prevent the tongue from falling back and obstructing the airway leading to sleep apnea. For those intere…

12/22/2017 0

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Types of CPAP Masks for Sleep Apnea Treatment

A common question for a patient newly diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea prescribed CPAP treatment is what the masks look like. CPAP is the gold standard treatment for sleep apnea prior to considering any type of surgical treatment . In essence, there are 3 different flavors of CPAP masks illustrated below. Due to the huge variation in face shapes and sizes, there is no "best" CPAP mask and often, a patient may need to try different styles, size, and strap placements before fi…

10/28/2017 0

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Tonsillectomy Alone Can Cure OSA in Select Adult Patients

Among adults who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) , treatments are relatively small in number and overall relatively unappetizing for many patients to pursue. Beyond losing weight, noninvasive treatment for OSA includes CPAP which is considered the gold standard treatment for adult OSA and involves placing a mask of sorts over the face which than delivers continuous positive pressure into the lungs preventing airway collapse and obstruction. Nightly use of an oral device (mandibu…

9/23/2016 0

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Sleep Endoscopy for Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Snoring

A new webpage has been created describing a procedure called "sleep endoscopy" or "sedated endoscopy." This procedure is performed on patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) or severe snoring in order to determine where the source of their problem is anatomically located. This special exam is needed in patients where such anatomic determination is not able to be made in the clinic while they are awake. As such, an anesthesiologist would put the patient to sleep …

4/15/2011 0

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New Anti-Snoring Device... Tongue Suction Device (TSD)

Check out a tongue suction device (aka, tongue sleeve) to help with snoring. According to the literature, the way it works is by advancing the tongue forward thereby preventing the tongue from falling backward and vibrating against the throat's back wall causing snoring as well as obstructive sleep apnea . The way the device moves the tongue forward is by literally suctioning the tongue tip into the device and holding it in place by vacuum seal. The theory behind how this device wo…

2/16/2011 0

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Tonsillectomy Causes Obesity?

MSNBC published a story on Feb 1, 2011 regarding a new study suggesting a link between childhood obesity and tonsillectomy . What they found was a greater than expected weight gain in both normal weight and overweight children after tonsillectomy over a 6-12 month period of time. In one study, the average body mass index of the kids increased by about 7 percent. In another analysis of 249 children, 50 to 75 percent of kids had weight gain after surgery. While most weight gain happened in …

2/01/2011 0

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The Doctors TV Show Does Surgery for Obstructive Sleep Apnea

The Doctors TV show at some point in the past (not sure when), did a segment on surgery used to treat obstructive sleep apnea . The surgery portrayed was UPPP (uvulopalatopharyngoplasty). Dr. Brian Weeks, the featured otolaryngologist, removed the tonsils and uvula followed by suturing the cut mucosa to reposition the soft tissues of the patient's throat. This operation is a basic surgical method addressing obstructive sleep apnea . However, prior to considering surgical treatment…

2/01/2011 0

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New Video on UPPP Surgery to Treat Sleep Apnea (Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty)

A new video has been created and uploaded onto our YouTube channel showing how a UPPP (uvulopalatopharyngoplasty) sleep apnea surgery is performed. This surgery is commonly performed to try and improve or even cure obstructive sleep apnea  in adults. This surgery rarely is performed in kids. Read more about UPPP here . More info about obstructive sleep apnea can be found here . Another operation used to treat obstructive sleep apnea in adults along with UPPP is base of tongue reduction…

2/01/2011 0

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Pacemaker To Cure Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)?

The Huffington Post on Dec 27, 2010 published a story about a potential new treatment whose goal is   obstructive sleep apnea  cure (OSA) cure using a pacemaker  made by Inspire Medical ... for the tongue. The New York Times also published a similar story more recently about the same device on 1/8/2014. The device works by stimulating the nerve going to the tongue (hypoglossal nerve) to contract with every breath a person takes while sleeping. Why would this help? In some patients with …

12/28/2010 0

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Sleep Apnea Can Mimic Dementia

NYT published a great article on Oct 6, 2010 regarding how obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can mimic many of the symptoms of dementia, especially in the elderly. Symptoms of OSA that can be confused with dementia include trouble concentrating, inattention, difficulty staying focused, constantly dozing off during the day, and other cognitive deficits. Unfortunately, many elderly patients live alone and nobody is around to see whether there are any sleep issues. Most elderly patients deny …

10/07/2010 0

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ABC: Boy With Ondine's Curse Must Think to Breathe

ABC news carried a story about a young boy named Liam Derbyshire who has an extremely rare sleeping disorder called Ondine's Curse . The medical name is Central Hypoventilation Syndrome (CCHS). As those familiar with folklore know, Ondine's curse is after a mortal who fell in love with a German nymph. He swears that his daily breath is a testimony to her love. But when the man is unfaithful, the king punishes him by making him remember all his bodily functions INCLUDING breathing. …

8/19/2010 0

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Chronic Cough May Be Due to Obstructive Sleep Apnea!

A new study was published in the April 2010 journal Cough entitled " Chronic cough and obstructive sleep apnea in a community-based pulmonary practice ." Apparently 44% of patients with a chronic mysterious cough were found to have obstructive sleep apnea . In these patients, 93% had cough improvement when the obstructive sleep apnea was corrected! Read the abstract here . Of course, there are many other causes of chronic cough including reflux , asthma, allergies , etc. In…

4/22/2010 0

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CNN: Obstructive Sleep Apnea Increases Risk of Stroke

CNN on April 8, 2010 aired a story on obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and the risk it poses to men who do not address it. Apparently, according to a new study out of the March 2010 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine ("Obstructive Sleep Apnea Hypopnea and Incident Stroke: The Sleep Heart Health Study"), the risk of stroke increases by as much as 3X if left untreated in men with OSA. The risk of stroke increases even in men with MILD sleep apnea. …

4/08/2010 0

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Mucus in Back of Nose/Throat After UPPP or Uvula Removal

I have recently seen a rash of patients who have a presenting symptom of a sense of mucus or phlegm buildup in the back of the mouth/nose right behind the soft palate after surgery involving uvula removal . Such surgery may include the uvula alone or UPPP (uvulopalatopharyngoplasty) for obstructive sleep apnea . Often in these cases, this problem with mucus and phlegm is due to a very small velopharyngeal insufficiency . This is a rare problem where there is a small opening between the pal…

3/23/2010 0

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New Sleep Lab That Offers Sleep Studies From Age 2 Years to Adults!

I was recently informed that we finally have a sleep lab that can perform sleep studies not only in adults, but also in kids as young as 2 years of age. Prior to this lab, kids had to be sent to Charlottesville, VA or Washington DC in order to obtain a sleep study. The sleep lab is called 1st Class Sleep Center and they are located in Gainesville, VA. They share the same parking lot as the Lake Manassas Cancer Center. This is quite the boom in terms of convenience for patients. You can …

2/24/2010 0

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