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Surgery for adult obstructive sleep apnoea

Stuart G MacKay and Edward M Weaver
Med J Aust 2013; 199 (7): . || doi: 10.5694/mja13.10251
Published online: 7 October 2013

Airway surgery represents an important part of contemporary treatment paradigms in adult obstructive sleep apnoea

Surgery in adult obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is an option used when continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy, the gold standard treatment, fails. CPAP failure usually occurs because of poor adherence or significant complications from CPAP or related devices such as a mandibular advancement splint. The best available evidence indicates that appropriate surgery can improve the quality of life and associated risk of comorbid conditions for carefully selected patients.


  • 1 Illawarra ENT Head and Neck Clinic, Wollongong, NSW.
  • 2 University of Washington, Seattle, Wash, USA.


Correspondence: sgmackay@ozemail.com.au

Acknowledgements: 

We acknowledge the support of Richard Lewis.

Competing interests:

No relevant disclosures.

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