If you suffer from repeated interruptions in breathing during sleep, it is a severe sleep disorder called Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). It occurs due to airway blockage; the most common treatment is using the CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machines. However, if you fail to respond to the non-invasive treatments, the ENT specialist would suggest OSA surgery. So, here we have a comprehensive step-by-step guide to help you understand whether you suffer from sleep apnea and if OSA surgery would be right for you.

Step 1: Comprehensive Evaluation

It involves several steps. This includes:

• Medical History and Symptoms
To get sound sleep, you have to discuss all the symptoms or issues that bother you. The list usually includes loud snoring, gasping for air during sleep, or excessive drowsiness during the day. The doctor would review your lifestyle factors and go through your family history of sleep disorders.

• Physical Examination:
The upper airways are examined to identify physical abnormalities, such as enlarged tonsils, structural defects in the septum, and a narrow throat, which contribute to OSA.

• Sleep Study
To confirm the severity of OSA, home-based sleep tests or a polysomnography test, which monitors breathing patterns, blood oxygen levels, and sleep cycles, are performed as part of a preliminary assessment.

Step 2: Determining Non-Surgical Treatment Success

It involves different stages, like:

• CPAP Therapy
A CPAP machine keeps the airways open through positive air pressure, but this can be uncomfortable or ineffective for some patients.

• Oral Appliances
The jaw or tongue is repositioned to reduce airway obstruction; however, the outcome is based on the patient's anatomy.

• Lifestyle Changes
Before surgery, the specialist will ask you to make lifestyle changes, which are often suggested to cure the issue in its primary stage. You will have to lose weight, check your alcohol intake, and change your sleep position.

Step 3: Identifying Surgical Candidates

Surgery is only prescribed if OSA remains uncured, even after applying CPAP or other therapies. Also, if physical obstructions in the airway, such as enlarged tonsils, adenoids, nasal polyps, chronic sinusitis, or jaw abnormalities, become necessary, surgery is necessary to fix them. For more detailed information, go through https://drkhliment.com.sg/sleep-apnea-singapore-treatment-surgery/.

Step 4: Evaluating Surgical Options

Based on the patient's anatomy, the surgical options are suggested, such as:

• Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP), which is meant to widen the airway, removes excess tissue from the back of the throat to widen the airway.

• Genioglossus Advancement prevents airway obstruction by repositioning the tongue's base.

• Maxillomandibular Advancement (MMA) is meant to enlarge the airway, moving the upper and lower jaws forward.

• Inspire Therapy (Hypoglossal Nerve Stimulation) is the implantation of a device that keeps the airway open during sleep by stimulating the tongue muscles.

• Nasal Surgeries, where procedures like septoplasty or turbinate are prescribed to reduce nasal blockages.

Conclusion

If you are suffering from severe OSA, it will not only affect your quality of life but also generate health risks, such as high blood pressure and heart disease. Contacting the doctor right away is highly recommended. The doctor would carefully weigh all the benefits and risks of the surgery and recommend the one that would be right for you. After the surgery, you must follow a monitored follow-up routine for optimal outcomes.