UVULOPALATOPHARYNGOPLASTY AND INFERIOR SAGITTAL MANDIBULAR OSTEOTOMY WITH GENIOGLOSSUS ADVANCEMENT FOR TREATMENT OF OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP-APNEA

We prospectively studied nine patients with the obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) syndrome with polysomnography before and after combined (seven simultaneous and two sequential) uvulopalatopharyngoplasty and inferior sagittal mandibular osteotomy with genioglossus advancement as treatment for OSA. All patients had failed to tolerate nasal continuous positive airway pressure and had a respiratory disturbance index(RDI) greater than or equal to 20. All patients mere found to have disproportionate pharyngeal anatomy with airway narrowing by cephalometrograms and/or fiberoptic nasopharyngoscopy. Following surgery there were significant reductions in the average numbers of respiratory events and significant improvements in average oxygen saturation measurements. When RDIs less than or equal to 15 and less than or equal to 10 are chosen as objective success benchmarks, the success rates are 67 percent (6/9) and 78 percent (7/9), respectively.