Siesta Medical, Inc., a developer of minimally invasive surgical solutions for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), announced the U.S. launch of its Encore™ Tongue Suspension System for the treatment of OSA. The Encore™ System simplifies and improves the control of tongue suspension, a procedure shown to be an effective treatment for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

Dr. Jason van Tassel at Washington Hospital in Fremont, CA performed one of the first patient implants.

“Through a small incision, the Encore System allowed me to navigate the tongue base and easily place suspension loops. Controlling the final tension and advancement of the tongue base was easy and much simpler than with previous tongue suspension devices. This was a quick and minimally invasive surgery and is a potentially attractive surgical option for OSA patients with tongue base obstructions” said Dr. van Tassel. Read the rest of this entry

One of the most common health disorders among people around the world is “sleep apnea”. In its simplest sense ‘sleep apnea’ can be understood as one or more pauses in normal breathing. In many cases the shallow breathing during sleep is also termed as ‘sleep apnea’.

A pause in normal breathing during sleep may have an undefined duration. Meaning thereby, the pause could be for a few seconds only or it can even stretch up to few minutes.

Similarly, the rate of occurrence of such pauses during sleep may also vary up to great ranges. It could be five times per hour or even up to 30 times an hour. Normal breathing generally starts immediately after such a pause but this re-start could generate a snoring or choking sound as well.

Once a person is a victim of ‘sleep apnea’ this disorder converts in to a chronic disorder slowly over the years. In majority of the cases people never realize that the ‘sleep apnea disorder’ has crept in their lives. Read the rest of this entry

Sleep apnea is a deadly sleep disorder and it is also greatly underdiagnosed. Up to 7 percent of men and 5 percent of women in the United States have sleep apnea, according to a Mayo Clinic study.

Robotic surgery technology has been used extensively for other surgical procedures but the FDA has approved its application for the throat and pulmonary related issues only last year. A handful of academic institutions, including the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Alabama, have begun exploring the technology’s uses to treat sleep apnea.

Somerset Medical Center’s two surgeons, Adrianna Hekiert and Amy Lazar, spearheaded the robotic sleep apnea surgery treatment in New Jersey for the patients with the most serious cases of sleep apnea. Read the rest of this entry

SleepApneaDisorder/[ Press Release ]/ Falls Church, Virginia. / Obstructive sleep apnea, caused by narrowing or blockage of the airways when a person is asleep affects about 20% of the population. Typically a person with OSA will begin snoring loudly on falling asleep. If not treated, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can increase a person’s risk of death.  It is not clear whether an enlarged thyroid gland, known as a goiter, can worsen cause or worsen symptoms of OSA by compressing the airway.

Alexandra Reiher, MD, and colleagues from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, evaluated the impact of goiter on OSA by assessing OSA symptoms such as snoring before and after thyroidectomy to remove all or part of and enlarged thyroid gland. Patients who reported symptoms of OSA included snoring were asked to complete a questionnaire before and 8 weeks after undergoing thyroidectomy. Data presented today at the 81st Annual Meeting of the American Thyroid Association showed significantly fewer patients (51% versus 71%) were considered to be at high risk for OSA following surgical reduction or removal of the thyroid gland. Symptom scores improved substantially after thyroidectomy, including a significant decrease in snoring frequency and lower scores on the question of whether the snoring bothered others.

“Obstructive sleep apnea is obviously a complex problem with numerous causes, but we find it encouraging that thyroidectomy alone can provide significant improvements in nearly a third of patients, regardless of gland size,” said study author Rebecca Sippel, MD, Assistant Professor, Division of General Surgery, and Chief, Section of Endocrine Surgery, at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. Read the rest of this entry

Snoring is among the common sleep problems in adults, especially in middle-aged men. And children and kids are equally prone to this most uncomfortable sleep disorder.The effects of snoring upon the overall health of children is established to be detrimental up to great extent.

Association of snoring and obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA among kids and children has now become a more common occurrence. Across the globe occurrence of persistent snoring on most nights has been reported in 8-12 percent of children.

The incidence of OSA (with significant upper airway obstruction leading to   oxygen desaturation and/or sleep fragmentation) is 2-3 percent in children under the age of 10. Read the rest of this entry

Siesta Medical, Inc. , a developer of minimally invasive surgical  solutions for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), announced today that it has  received FDA 510(k) clearance for its Encore™ Tongue Suspension System for the  treatment of obstructive sleep apnea.  Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a major heath problem in the United States.  As many as 17 million people in the United States have moderate to severe OSA,  which is characterized by frequent awakening during sleep, heavy snoring and  daytime sleepiness. If left untreated, OSA has been implicated in the increased  risk for cardiovascular disease, including hypertension and heart failure.  Despite its prevalence and role as a cardiovascular risk factor, OSA remains  largely under diagnosed. Read the rest of this entry

What is polysomnography and why is it important?

• Polysomnography (PSG), also called a sleep study, is the best test for diagnosing sleep-disordered breathing, which can include snoring, gasping, choking episodes, and breath-holding (apnea).
• PSG is like getting an EKG but while asleep: children stay overnight, with their parent, in a special sleep lab with stick-on electrodes that record oxygen levels, respiratory effort, heart rate, and other factors.
• PSG is important because it helps doctors and families make evidence-based decisions about tonsillectomy and whether the surgery can be ambulatory (out-patient) or requires an overnight hospital stay.

The Importance of Polysomnography Guideline

• First – and only – national, evidence-based guideline on PSG prior to tonsillectomy in children. Read the rest of this entry

Removing enlarged tonsils and adenoids may help prevent high blood pressure and heart damage in children who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), according to a study conducted at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. In some children with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), adenotonsillectomy can result in significantly lower blood pressure within 24 months of the procedure.

The results will be presented at the ATS 2011 International Conference in Denver.

Children with enlarged tonsils and adenoids are particularly prone to developing obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), said study lead author Lisa Burns, MD, (Pulmonary Fellow at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center). And, in children and adults, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has been linked with elevations in both daytime and nighttime blood pressure. obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can also interfere with the normal “dip” in blood pressure levels that occur during sleep. Persistent elevations in blood pressure can result in organ damage, including heart damage. Read the rest of this entry

As more is being learned about the benefits of obesity surgery, it is becoming clear that obesity compromises every organ system. Patients who have bariatric surgery have a 23 percent overall reduced mortality compared to those who try to lose weight by diet and exercise alone. (Diabetes related mortality reduced by 92 percent; cancer related mortality decreased by ?60 percent).

(1) A patient who undergoes weight loss surgery can be assured that sleep apnea, diabetes, hypertension and coronary artery disease will improve significantly or resolve completely. One of the newest interesting findings is that cancer incidence also decreases in those who have weight loss surgery.

(2)Although initially thought to be high risk, weight loss surgery procedures can now be done with extremely low morbidity and mortality (<1 percent).

(3) With over 100,000 weight loss surgeries now being performed annually in the US, physicians have become extremely skilled in the care of the obese patient. Over 60 percent of the US remains overweight and over ?30 percent are obese. The trends are not decreasing. Physicians in every field face challenges with their obese patients. [ Read Complete Post By Leena Khaitan, MD, MPH, FACS At MD News ... ]

Dr. William Gross of Murfreesboro Medical Center

Sleep apnea affects many people all over the country, but a new type of surgery, aided by a development in technology is helping to alleviate the symptoms of sleep apnea sufferers

“The condition of sleep apnea is characterized by episodes of airway obstruction during sleep, leading to inadequate breathing and oxygen de-saturation during sleep,” said Dr. William Gross of Murfreesboro Medical Clinic and SurgiCenter.

“Symptoms can include severe chronic snoring, daytime fatigue and sleepiness, and morning headaches. If untreated, it is a major risk factor for hypertension, diabetes, heart attack and stroke. It is a lot more than just an embarrassment or nuisance.”

The doctor is using a new type of technology — a robot, in fact — to treat sleep apnea.  [ Read Complete Post At daily News Journal... ]

Modern lifestyle in the Middle East means that levels of excessive weight gain and diabetes are rocketing. Being overweight can be a major contributory factor in snoring related complications and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), which is when a person temporarily stops breathing many times during the night. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can not only negatively impact a person’s overall quality of life and productivity, but it can also potentially lead to serious health issues like increasing the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, and other serous conditions.

The General Secretary of the French Society of ENT, Head and Neck Surgery, Prof. F. Chabolle, will be at the upcoming Otolaryngology Conference to discuss the latest trends in the surgical management of snoring and obstructive sleep apnea.

“Snoring is caused by a particular configuration of the upper airways, obesity or alcohol intake,” says Prof. F. Chabolle. “In most cases lifestyle changes such as losing weight, avoiding alcohol or sleeping on your side, can help stop snoring, but some may benefit from other forms of treatment such as soft palate surgeries through dentures that may reduce disruptive snoring.  Read the rest of this entry

Is snoring keeping you or your significant other from getting a good night’s sleep?

It could be a serious issue that needs your attention, according to a sleep expert at Baylor College of Medicine.

“Loud snoring, daytime sleepiness and waking up with a sore throat in the morning are all symptoms of sleep apnea,” said Dr. Mary Rose, assistant professor of pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine at BCM.

Categories of Sleep Disorders

Sleep apnea is a respiratory sleep disorder characterized by pauses in breathing during sleep, said Rose.

Generally, these pauses are defined as apneas, complete cessation of breathing; hypopneas, a 30 percent reduction of breathing; or respiratory effort related arousals, awakenings due to disrupted breathing. When people have more than five of these events per hour of sleep, they are classified as having sleep apnea, said Rose. Read the rest of this entry

The National Institutes of Health estimates one in 10 adults over 65 (a total of 18 million Americans) suffers from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a disorder in which obstruction in the upper airway can lead to interrupted breathing and sleep.

In obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), the tongue and other tissues of the throat obstruct the airway during sleep, blocking breathing for sometimes up to a minute. These events can occur multiple times throughout the night and severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has been linked with increased risks for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stroke and accidents resulting from daytime drowsiness.

This spring, two UC researchers are collaborating in an international, multi-center trial on an investigational device for treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Read the rest of this entry

Bariatric surgery can result in long-term weight loss and significant  reduction in cardiac and other risk factors, including obstructive  sleep apnea (OSA), for some severely obese adults, according to a  scientific statement from the American Heart Association. The statement, published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, is the first by the association focused solely on bariatric surgery and cardiac risk factors.

“The statement is not an across-the-board endorsement of bariatric  surgery for the severely obese,” said Paul Poirier, MD, PhD, lead author  of the statement and director of the prevention/rehabilitation program  at Quebec Heart and Lung Institute at Laval University Hospital in  Canada. “It is a consensus document that provides expert perspective  based on the results of recent scientific studies.”

When reviewing the scientific literature, the statement-writing  committee found that, when indicated, bariatric surgery leads to  significant weight loss and improvements in the health consequences of  being overweight, such as diabetes, high cholesterol, liver disease,  high blood pressure, cardiovascular dysfunction, and obstructive sleep  apnea. Recent studies have suggested that bariatric surgery prolongs  life in the severely obese.

There are, however, surgical risks—including death—and long-term  postsurgical lifestyle implications. Patients must make lifelong  behavior changes, such as supplement use, and follow up with the  surgical team.