Functional nasal surgery in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea

The study included 22 males with significant decrease in nasal patency, at age of 44+/-7 yrs with body mass index 28.9+/-3.8 kg/m2, diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) by polysomnography. All patients underwent functional, corrective nasal surgery. In one patient an infection in the wound occurred. Postoperatively 19 (86%) patients reported significant subjective improvement. With regard to polysomnography, one patient was cured and in another one a decrease of AHI to more than 50% of baseline was found. In 6 (27.3%) patients AHI rose from 33.2+/-13 to 53.6+/-21.2. Conclusion: Nasal surgery in OSAS shows limited effectiveness. Because of multilevel decrease in airway patency, some of the patients may need a step-wise approach to surgical treatment.