Prospective Study to Evaluate Outcomes From Transoral Base of Tongue Resection for Obstructive Sleep Apnea Hypopnea Syndrome

Obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) is a major public health problem, and studies suggest that the incidence of OSAHS may be even higher than estimated. Transoral base of tongue resections are commonly preformed to improve symptoms in OSAHS, but among surgeons there is not yet consensus as to the best tongue base operation. The difficulty in treating the tongue base is illustrated by the abundance of available procedures - including genioglossus advancement, hyoid advancement, tongue base suspension, radiofrequency treatment, transoral midline glossesctomy, submucosal coblation-assisted tongue base resection and recently; transoral robotic-assisted surgery (TORS) for base of tongue (BOT) resection. We will evaluate TORS BOT resection for use in OSAHS by assessing pre- and post-operative OSAHS scores and comparing them to historical data for alternative BOT operations.

Though routine, BOT resection may result in significant post-operative pain leading to dysphagia. In certain patients, major complications such as aspiration pneumonia, malnutrition and dehydration can occur as a result. Thus, reducing post-operative dysphagia is critical to improving patient outcomes and limiting complication-associated hospital admissions. Several studies have addressed the management of post-operative dysphagia, but none have evaluated TORS BOT resections in OSAHS. Additionally, TORS BOT resections for malignant neoplasms have been previously shownto be safe and feasible. An outcome analysis of TORS BOT resections for OSAHS may therefore yield recommendations for reducing patient morbidity and mortality.