Lamorinda ENT, Face & Neck Surgery, Inc.
Dr. Sassan Falsafi
call us: (925) 299-9919
The most common sleep disturbances originate in the head and neck. This uniquely qualifies the Otolaryngologist to diagnose and manage airway-related sleep problems known as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Apnea means “to stop breathing.” OSA describes a condition where breathing stops during sleep. Short term consequences, may include headache, poor job performance, and reduced capacity to perform daily tasks such as driving a car, or remaining attentive during business meetings. It can also aggravate serious health conditions including cardiovascular disease, depression, hypertension and irregular heart beat.
Both snoring and OSA are caused by restrictive air movement in the upper airway. This may include restriction at the level of the nasal passages or the lower air transpot pathways. Restrictive air movement favors airway collapse. Complete airway collapse triggers a brain feedback mechanism that breaks the sleep cycle. This forces the individual to wake up in order to prevent persistent lack of oxygen flow to the brain. By contrast, snoring results from partial airway collapse in which case turbulent air flow and surface collisions within the airway give rise to noisey breathing or snoring. This is a common condition that affects 40% of men and 20% of women.
Non-Surgical Treatment Options
Surgical Treatment Options
Procedures are tailored to remodel the upper airway structural components that are responsible for causing airway obstruction during sleep. Sentinel to diagnosis is fiberoptic nasopharyngeal endoscopy which helps with determining the site of obstruction. Abnormalities in the the following sites are visualized carefully for corect diagnosis: nasal passages, soft palate and uvular complex, tonsils, adenoidal pad, base of tongue, and lower airway to the level of the voice box. Based on the site obstruction and the sleep study findings, an individualized surgical scheme is then proposed. This proposal includes a number of procedures that are most commonly performed at one operative setting, though in a small number of cases they may be staged over time. The procedures include:
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