New position statement on surgical management of obstructive sleep apnoea
1 December 2020

A new ASA position statement has been published in the journal Respirology on the latest clinical approach to the role of surgery in managing obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA).

"Surgery for adult obstructive sleep apnoea has an important role, particularly as a salvage treatment modality when patients are unable to tolerate or adhere to devices (such as continuous positive airway pressure or mandibular advancement splint ), and as an adjunctive/facilitatory treatment to aid in device use (as with pre-phase nasal surgery or operations to lower CPAP requirements). In children,surgery such as adenotonsillectomy is considered the first-line therapy," the paper's introduction summarises. 

The paper's authors - Stuart MacKay, Richard Lewis, Doug McEvoy, Simon Joosten and Nicolette Holt - then go on to set out the latest clinical approaches to surgery in the treatment of OSA. The Clinical Committee working group comprising of two sleep surgeons and three sleep physicians has produced an in-depth summary of current scientific evidence and best-practice consensus.