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VA RESEARCH ON SLEEP APNEA SURGERY -- A new
study
shows that complications from these surgeries
are
more likely in the very overweight.
Story here...
http://www.forbes.com/
forbeslife/health/feeds/hscout/2006/10/17/hscout535535.html
Story below:
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Obesity Boosts Complications From Sleep Apnea
Surgery
TUESDAY, Oct. 17 (HealthDay News) -- Sometimes sleep apnea is so severe
that patients opt for surgery to correct the condition, which can
trigger frequent nighttime awakenings.
Now, a new study shows that complications from these surgeries are more
likely in the very overweight, those with more severe sleep apnea, and
those who have other medical problems.
People with sleep apnea repeatedly stop breathing during the night due
to upper airway obstruction.
Sleep apnea is associated with an increased
risk of cardiovascular disease and poor quality of life.
The most common kind of operation to correct sleep apnea is
uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP), in which surgeons remove the uvula and
other soft tissues at the back of the throat in order to clear the
airway.
About 1.6 percent of patients suffer serious
complications, including 0.2 percent who die within 30 days after
surgery.
This study, by a team at the University of California, San Francisco,
looked at 3,130 patients (97 percent men, average age 50) who underwent
UPPP between 1991 and 2001 at U.S. Veterans Affairs medical centers.
Serious complications following surgery were more likely to occur in
patients who had more severe sleep apnea, higher body mass index, and
those who had additional non-nasal surgeries at the same time and other
medical problems.
For each additional illness besides sleep apnea
that a patient had, the risk for complications almost doubled, the study
found.
The findings were published in the October issue of the Archives of
Otolaryngology.
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Larry Scott
