Tracción de la base de la lengua mediante fijación para el tratamiento de la apnea del sueño

Abstract

Sleep apnoea síndrome constitutes an important health problem because of its prevalence and impact over the cardiovascular system and quality of life of the patient. The classic conservative treatment remains to be the CPAP. Although it has a high efficacy, it is not well tolerated by the patient in many cases. The surgical treatments were initially devoted to the velopharyngeal complex, being definitive in only 50% of the cases. Our therapeutical approach consists on a thorough examination of the different areas affected in every case, one of which is the tongue base. The surgical technique we present constitutes a modification of others already described to advance the tongue base. It gets a controlled fixation of the tongue to the vestibular cortex with a monofilament suture through two holes without any special instruments. We obtain a permanent stabilization with good long term results clinically and polysomnographically. The complications found were relationed with deglution problems in the inmediate posoperative period.