Although drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE) is an accepted method to localize upper airway obstruction, it is not known whether all sites identified by DISE must be treated to achieve sufficient apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) improvement. The aim of this study was to compare outcomes for unilevel (upper) versus multilevel DISE collapse patterns in a patient cohort that only underwent modern palatopharyngoplasty. Our hypothesis was that not all tongue base-level obstructions on DISE must be treated. Thirty-eight patients with mean AHI of 45 events/h underwent DISE followed by palatopharyngoplasty. Outcome was measured by polysomnography or home sleep apnea testing. Eleven patients (29%) had multilevel, complete tongue base obstruction and nineteen (50%) had no obstruction. These two groups were similar in age, body mass index, and AHI; the complete group had smaller tonsils and higher tongue position. The postoperative success rate and AHI in the group without tongue base obstruction were not significantly different from those of the complete group (68%; 17.4 ± 11.0 versus 73%; 15.4 ± 20.5, P > .99). Seventeen patients (45%) had circumferential collapse of velum. The postoperative AHI was higher for patients with circumferential collapse (23.6 ± 15.8 from 55.3 ± 22.1 versus 10.5 ± 9.94 from 36.4 ± 16.7, P < .0001), but both groups had clinically and statistically significant AHI reductions. Patients with multilevel obstruction on DISE, treated with palatopharyngoplasty alone, had similar AHI outcome as those with unilevel obstruction. Multilevel surgery may not be needed in some patients with a multilevel obstruction pattern. Circumferential collapse of velum, however, was associated with a higher residual AHI.

Study Objectives:People with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) remain undiagnosed owing to lack of easy and comfortable screening tools. Through this study, we aimed to compare the diagnostic accuracy ...

Objective: Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) is a common procedure for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and is usually initiated with the resection of palatine tonsils. Because tonsillectomy potentially contributes to complications, minimally invasive upper airway surgeries have been proposed for OSA therapy. Whether tonsillectomy is always essential for UPPP remains unclear, particularly for patients with small tonsils. The purpose of this study was to present the effect of modified UPPP without tonsillectomy (UPsT) on patients with OSA and attempt to select the candidates for this procedure. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of patients with OSA, with tonsil size of grade 0– 2, and with only retropalatal obstruction in drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE). The patients underwent UPsT at a tertiary center from November 2017 to December 2019. The sleep study was performed before and at least 3 months after surgery. The demographics, surgical outcomes, and staging patterns of preoperative DISE were recorded. The correlation between surgical outcome and DISE was also established. Results: A total of 22 adults with an average age of 46.5 years [interquartile range: 40 to 60 years] completed the follow-up study. Their apnea–hypopnea index (AHI) and Epworth sleepiness scale values improved significantly after surgery. Of the 17 patients with partial collapse and complete anteroposterior collapse (APC) at the velum, 16 presented good responses to UPsT. However, among the five patients with complete concentric collapse (CCC), only two (2/5, 40%) satisfied the criteria for surgical success. Furthermore, their follow-up AHI values were significantly higher than those of patients without CCC in DISE. Conclusion: UPsT was demonstrated to be an effective therapy for patients with OSA who had small tonsils and retropalatal obstruction in DISE. CCC in sleep endoscopy indicates a poorer surgical outcome than does complete APC and partial collapse at the velum.