Obstructive sleep apnea is an independent risk factor for split-thickness skin graft failure.

Background: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is an underdiagnosed and undertreated disease that has been significantly associated with diabetes, cardiovascular disease, peripheral arterial disease, and poor wound healing.

Objective: To determine whether or not OSA is an independent risk factor for split-thickness skin graft (STSG) failure in patients with chronic lower extremity (LE) wounds, given OSA's disease burden to common comorbidities in the LE wound population.

Methods: A retrospective chart review of chronic LE wounds managed with STSG between December 2014 and December 2022 was conducted. Patients with a diagnosis of OSA ("OSA") were compared with patients without an OSA diagnosis ("Non-OSA").

Results: Overall, 14.9% of patients had OSA (n = 25) and 85.1% (n = 143) did not have OSA. Patients with OSA had a significantly higher median body mass index than the Non-OSA group (32.9 and 28.2, respectively; P = .013) and a higher rate of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (16.0% and 4.2%, respectively; P = .043). Compared with patients without OSA, patients with OSA had more superficial wounds (P = .027) and received thinner skin grafts (P = .016). Compared with the Non-OSA group, wounds in the OSA group had significantly higher rates of graft failure (OSA 30.6% vs Non-OSA 15.9%; P = .034), infection (OSA 27.8% vs Non-OSA 10.6%; P = .005), and reoperation (OSA 52.8% vs Non-OSA 31.1%; P = .010). On multivariate logistic regression, OSA remained a significant risk factor for graft failure, increasing the odds of graft failure by 8.6 times (P = .040).

Conclusion: OSA is an independent predictor of graft failure in a highly comorbid population with chronic LE wounds. Preoperative identification of these high-risk patients should be undertaken by anesthesia, sleep medicine, and surgical teams to improve outcomes.