Palatopharyngeal Muscle Suspension Suture Technique for Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Abstract

Various treatment modalities for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients were introduced including continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), lifestyle modification, and surgery. Numerous factors such as compliance, treatment failure, and preference should be considered when deciding the treatment. In general, patients for whom CPAP or other conservative treatment modalities failed become candidates for surgical treatments. Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty is one of the most generally performed surgeries, of which success rate is relatively low. Recently, numerous techniques that can correct lateral pharyngeal obstruction for OSA patients were introduced. However, some of them are technically difficult and aggressive. In this article, we introduce a novel surgical method for OSA called palatopharyngeal muscle suspension suture technique.