Is Nasal Surgery Effective Treatment for Obstructive Sleep Apnea?

Background

Nasal obstruction is thought to contribute to sleep-disordered breathing and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and some have found an association between the presence of nasal obstructive symptoms and OSA. Although considerable research exists in the otolaryngology literature regarding the effectiveness of surgery in OSA, it is unclear to what extent nasal surgery alone benefits these patients.

Best Practice

There is no evidence that patients with OSA will experience improvement in the defining objective measures of OSA—AHI or minimum oxygen saturation—after nasal surgery alone.

This is consistent with the prevailing consensus that the obstruction in OSA is multifactorial, with multiple potential areas of pathological anatomic obstruction.

There is evidence, however, that OSA patients with nasal obstruction will experience subjectively better sleep, less sleepiness and improved quality of life following corrective nasal surgery. Read the full article in The Laryngoscope.