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State-of-the Art in Reconstructive Palatal Surgery Techniques for Obstructive Sleep Apnea

  • Sleep and Otolaryngology (H Gouveris, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose of Review

Palatal surgery serves as an alternative treatment modality to address the retropalatal airway obstruction in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients, whereas the continuous positive airway pressure is considered the gold standard treatment. This article aims to review innovative palatal surgeries in terms of key surgical features and clinical outcomes.

Recent Findings

Historical, conceptual, and technique evolutions, as well as preliminary outcomes of newer palatal surgeries, are briefly summarized. Palatal surgery has evolved to the concept of hybrid reconstruction, which emphasizes more on tissue preservation, physiology driven, and functional restoration of the retropalatal airspace. Surgically assisted rapid palatal expansion (SARPE) is introduced to OSA patients with a narrower nasal floor.

Summary

Palatal surgery and SARPE demonstrate clinical effectiveness in OSA patients. A bi-palatal procedure involving both the soft tissue (soft palate) and skeletal surgery (hard palate) may be feasible for selected OSA patients.

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  1. Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Sleep Center, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan City, Taiwan

    Shih-Chieh Shen & Hseu-Yu Li

  2. School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, USA

    Shih-Chieh Shen

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Shen, SC., Li, HY. State-of-the Art in Reconstructive Palatal Surgery Techniques for Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Curr Sleep Medicine Rep 6, 67–75 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40675-020-00168-w

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