Upper Airway Stimulation in Patients Who Have Undergone Unsuccessful Prior Palate Surgery: An Initial Evaluation

Upper airway stimulation therapy (UAS) is a new option for treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in patients unable to tolerate continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). We set out to evaluate the effectiveness of UAS in patients who have undergone prior palate surgery. We designed a retrospective review and evaluated patients undergoing UAS at 2 academic centers. We recorded demographic and pre- and postoperative polysomnogram (PSG) data. We compared the cohort of patients who had undergone prior palate surgery, “prior surgery,” to the cohort who had not, “no prior surgery.” A total of 164 patients were included in the study: 23 in the prior surgery and 141 in the no prior surgery groups. The mean age was significantly higher in the no prior surgery group (P = .020). There were no other significant differences when comparing demographic, quality of life, or PSG variables between cohorts. UAS therapy is an option to treat OSA in patients having undergone unsuccessful prior palate surgery.