Obstructive sleep apnea syndrom(OSAS) is defined by total or partial collapse of the upper airway during sleep. In the presence of specific anatomic features, OSAS is potentially amenable to surgical treatment. Initially, the only treatment available for these patients was a tracheotomy that bypassed the obstruction and resulted in a 100% cure. However, this was not readily accepted by most patients, and surgical methods other than tracheotomy were developed to successfully maintain adequate upper airway patency during sleep by comparing to postoperative polysomnography(AHI,RDI etc).
In this paper, I would like to provide an overview of some of the multilevel surgical techniques available for treating OSAS as well as the necessary preoperative considerations.