Surgical treatment in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome: an overview

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome is a common pathology affecting pediatric and adult population. It is caused by an increase upper airway resistance due to augmented collapsibility that cause alteration in ventilation and oxygen saturation. Sleep oxygen desaturations have multi-organ implications. Since many years, OSAS, has been recognized as a risk factors for comorbid cardiovascular disease. Well-known is the causal link with cognitive impairment and atherosclerosis. Healthcare professionals, should be trained to recognize signs and symptoms of the disease in order to send the patients forward for specialist care in centers dealing with sleep-disordered breathing. However treatment knowledge is of pivotal importance in the cultural baggage of all the physicians. Surgical and non-surgical therapies have undergone a great number of changes. Going along with the innovations in diagnostic evaluation and phenotyping of the patients, surgeries were heightened by new developments such as advances in tailoring procedures and technologies. The aim of this overview is to describe the evolution and main characteristics of encoded procedures classified into site of surgical correction.