Comprehensive reconstructive surgery for obstructive sleep apnea.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is commonly treated by continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). Patients can be intolerant, noncompliant, or avoidant of CPAP therapy but incur increased risk of cardiopulmonary disease, stroke, and shortened life span without treatment. Comprehensive hard and soft tissue surgical therapy directed at the nasal, retro-palatal, and retro-lingual airway has been shown to optimize surgical outcomes compared with isolated soft tissue procedures. Outcome information from postoperative sleep studies shows that staged surgical procedures of hard and soft tissues are comparable to CPAP studies. While CPAP is the "gold standard" therapy for obstructive sleep apnea, combined soft tissue and maxillofacial surgical techniques can provide a treatment alternative for patients that are unable or unwilling to use CPAP treatment.