ArticleJournal of clinical medicine2022
Transoral Tongue Suspension for Obstructive Sleep Apnea-A Preliminary Study.
Article in Journal of clinical medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.
- Evaluation of single-port TORS tongue base resection for obstructive sleep apnea: safety and patient outcomes.Journal of robotic surgery · 2025Trial
- Tongue Pressure as a Predictor of Tongue Base Collapse in Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome.Biomedicines · 2026Article
- Oromaxillofacial Surgery: Both a Treatment and a Possible Cause of Obstructive Sleep Apnea-A Narrative Review.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Objectives: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of a novel technique for transoral tongue suspension (TOTS) in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients. Material and Methods: The retrospective study enrolled 24 consecutive OSA patients (21 males; average age, 43 years; average apnea−hypopnea index (AHI), 42.2 event/h; average body mass index (BMI), 25.7 kg/m2) with tongue obstruction confirmed by drug-induced sleep endoscopy. All patients received TOTS as the main procedure in conjunction with uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP). Key procedures of TOTS included a transoral sublabial approach, drilling two holes on the mandible, passing the polypropylene through the hole to the tongue base using a suture passer and returning the polypropylene through loop traction, and tying the polypropylene to the mandible. Lingual tonsil ablation (n = 8) was also implemented in hypertrophic lingual tonsils (grades III and IV). Results: The operation time for TOTS was around 30 min. No wound bleeding or airway compromise occurred throughout the postoperative period. Minor complications were temporary and included swelling of the tongue, numbness of the lower incisor, and sublabial wound dehiscence (n = 2). The quality of life improved significantly in the patients’ subjective daytime sleepiness according to the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (11.4 ± 3.2 vs. 5.7 ± 1.6, p < 0.001). The objective parameters of OSA also improved significantly in the apnea/hypopnea index (42.2 ± 21.8 vs. 19.5 ± 16.2, p < 0.001), minimal oxygen saturation (77.1 ± 12.2 vs. 81.7 ± 8.1, p = 0.026), and snoring index (207 ± 141 vs. 101 ± 91, p = 0.03). Conclusions: The demonstrated TOTS showed its advantage in low morbidity with a scarless exterior and easy performance with free availability in treating adult OSA patients with tongue obstruction. TOTS combined with UPPP significantly improved AHI and daytime sleepiness. TOTS can be implemented with lingual tonsillectomy to achieve both stabilization of the tongue and widening of hypopharyngeal airway.
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