Combined surgical treatment for severe sleep apnoea, to improve BiPAP compliance

Abstract

Positive airway pressure (PAP) devices are used in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS). In cases of PAP failure, many different surgical methods can be used for the treatment. The authors present an unusual case of a patient with Bi-level PAP (BiPAP)-intolerant severe OSAS who was treated with combined surgical methods. A 55-year-old man was treated with BiPAP due to OSAS; he was admitted to the clinic with nose stuffiness, respiratory distress and BiPAP adherence with tolerance and compliance problems. Septal deviation, concha hypertrophy, lateral pharyngeal band hypertrophy and Thornwaldt cyst were determined in the examination. Combined surgical methods were administered. The patient's apnoea hypopnoea index (AHI) was 72.8 in diagnostic polysomnography. Preoperative AHI was 7.3 and postoperative AHI was 2.3 while using BiPAP and, after the surgery, the BiPAP intolerance was eliminated. The authors suggest that a combination of different surgical methods would be an adjuvant treatment to increase BiPAP compliance.