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Long-term stability of results following surgery for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)

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A Correction to this article was published on 23 June 2021

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Abstract

Purpose

Although upper airway surgery in selected patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has been shown to be beneficial, its long-term effects have been questioned. The main objective was to evaluate whether results following surgery remain stable over time, both in objective and subjective terms. As a secondary aim, such stability was also measured in relation with the type of surgery performed.

Methods

This work constitutes a retrospective study of OSA adult patients subjected to the following surgical procedures: different types of pharyngoplasties, tongue-base surgery, partial epiglottectomy or hyoid suspension. Those who exclusively underwent tonsillectomy or nasal surgery were excluded. Before surgery, a sleep study, and an assessment of the patients’ sleepiness and quality of life were performed, which were repeated at 8, 34, and 48 months after surgery. A total of 153 patients was included.

Results

Following surgery, the apnea–hypopnea index decreased from 34.84/h to 14.54/h and did not vary more than one point in subsequent controls (p = 0.01). The oxygen desaturation index changed from 31.02/h to 14.0/h and remained stable in the second (15.34/h) and third (11.43/h) controls (p = 0.01). Parameters measuring sleepiness and well-being demonstrated the maintenance of long-term benefits. New pharyngoplasties were observed to be more stable than classic pharyngoplasties in the long term (p = 0.04). Single-level surgeries were found to be more stable than multilevel surgeries, although a statistically significant difference was not observed (p = 0.07).

Conclusion

The benefits obtained remained stable in the long term. In our sample, modern pharyngoplasty techniques showed superiority over the classic ones regarding long-term stability.

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Funding

No funding was received for this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hospital Universitario Dr. Peset, Avenida Gaspar Aguilar 90, 46017, Valencia, Spain

    Paula Martínez-Ruíz de Apodaca, Marina Carrasco-Llatas, Silvia Matarredona-Quiles & José Dalmau-Galofre

  2. Hospital Lluis Alcanyis, Carrer Xàtiva, Km 2, Xàtiva, 46800, Valencia, Spain

    Marta Valenzuela-Gras

Authors
  1. Paula Martínez-Ruíz de Apodaca
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  2. Marina Carrasco-Llatas
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  3. Silvia Matarredona-Quiles
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  4. Marta Valenzuela-Gras
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  5. José Dalmau-Galofre
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marina Carrasco-Llatas.

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Conflict of interest

All authors certify that they have no affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial interest (such as honoraria; educational grants; participation in speakers’ bureaus; membership, employment, consultancies, stock ownership, or other equity interest; and expert testimony or patent-licensing arrangements), or non-financial interest (such as personal or professional relationships, affiliations, knowledge or beliefs) in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript.

Ethics approval for retrospective studies

This work fits the compliance with Ethical Standards. The competent authority’s ethics committee approved this study, and informed consent was obtained before surgery from all patients included in this work. Approval code: CEim 82/19.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on sleep apnea syndrome. Guest Editors: Manuele Casale, Rinaldi Vittorio.

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Martínez-Ruíz de Apodaca, P., Carrasco-Llatas, M., Matarredona-Quiles, S. et al. Long-term stability of results following surgery for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 279, 373–380 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-021-06781-x

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