Obstructive sleep apnea

What is meant by Sleep apnea 

Sleep apnea is the cessation of breathing during sleep.

How does sleep apnea occur ?

When there is a partial or complete blockage of the upper airway during sleep.

What are the causes of Obstruction of the airway during sleep ?

This type of apnea occurs when the throat muscles intermittently relax and block the airway during sleep. A noticeable sign of obstructive sleep apnea is snoring.

What are the symptoms to look for in Obstructive sleep apnea patients?

Signs and symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea include excessive daytime sleepiness, loud snoring, observed episodes of breathing cessation during sleep, abrupt awakenings accompanied by gasping or choking, awakening with a dry mouth or a sore throat, morning headache, difficulty concentrating during the day, experiencing mood changes such as depression or irritability.

What are the various risk factors that may contribute to obstructive sleep apnea?
The various risk for OSA is Excess weight, Narrow airway, High blood pressure (hypertension) & Diabetes, Smoking, Asthma, Family history of sleep apnea. 

What are the various complications associated with obstructive sleep apnea?Patients suffering from obstructive sleep apnea have a sudden drop in blood oxygen levels that increase blood pressure and strain the cardiovascular system. So these patients are at increased risk of developing heart problems like heart stroke and coronary artery disease.

Apnea patients are at increased risk of post-operative complications if in case they have to undergo major surgeries due to the administration of general anesthetics, sedatives and narcotic analgesics. These medications relax the upper airway and contribute to apnea problems.

How can this condition be treated?
Treatment for obstructive sleep apnea may include:

• Lifestyle changes, such as losing weight.

• Surgical treatment is advised in more severe cases.

What are the various surgeries for obstructive sleep apnea?

Based on the area of problem various surgeries can be performed for OSA. When the problem exists in the tongue (macroglossia) reshaping the tongue (reduction glossectomy), reshaping the soft palate and uvula (uvulopalatopharyngoplasty), repositioning the lower border of mandible along with the attached musculature (genioplasty and associated genioglossus advancement), repositioning the upper and lower jaws to improve the posterior airway space (maxillomandibular advancement by orthognathic surgery), reshaping of the nasal septum and removing any nasal obstructions (nasoseptoplasty, nasal polypectomies) can be done.

All type of surgical and non-surgical management methods for management of OSA is being performed at Richardson's dental and craniofacial hospital by Dr.Sunil Richardson.

A patient named Kumar aged 27/M has come to our hospital with a complaint of snoring during sleep. He had the previous history of surgeries for TMJ ankylosis elsewhere. His lower jaw was underdeveloped owing to ankylosis resulting in obstruction of his upper airway, especially during sleep. He had an acceptable amount of mouth opening and was concerned about his snoring problem. He was treated in our institute by genioplasty and associated genioglossus advancement. The postoperative result was good and was the patient was free of his snoring problem.

Sleep apnea patients of Kerala can reach at Richardsons dental and craniofacial hospital Nagercoil by train or bus, travelling just 70 kilometres from Trivandrum(Thiruvananthapuram)