Efficacy of Expansion Pharyngoplasty without Drug-induced Sleep Endoscopy Screening in Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

Introduction  Expansion sphincter pharyngoplasty has been shown to be a good alternative to continuous pressure devices in patients with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea. On the other hand, drug-induced sleep endoscopy provides information on the pattern of collapse in obstructive sleep apnea, although it is unclear whether this information improves the surgical outcomes. Objective  To evaluate the success rate obtained when performing expansion sphincter pharyngoplasty on a group of patients diagnosed with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea who were not previously selected by drug-induced sleep endoscopy. Methods  We present a series of patients with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea who underwent surgery. Pre- and postoperative home sleep apnea tests were performed. The success rate was calculated, and we assessed whether there were statistically significant pre- and postoperative differences in the apnea-hypopnea index and oximetry values. Results  In total, 20 patients were included, and the surgical success rate was of 80%. Statistically significant improvements were demonstrated in the mean apnea-hypopnea index (from 40.25 ± 15.18 events/hour to 13.14 ± 13.82 events/hour; p  < 0. 0001), the mean oximetric data (from 26.3 ± 12.97 desaturations/hour to 13.57 ± 15.02 desaturations/hour; p  = 0.034), and in the mean percentage of total sleep time in which the patient had less than 90% of saturation (from 8.64 ± 9.25% to 4.4 ± 7.76%; p  = 0.028). Conclusion  The results showed significant improvements in the apnea-hypopnea index and in the oximetric data, with a surgical success rate of 80%, despite the lack of prior drug-induced sleep endoscopy screening.