Abstract
When the results of all night sleep examination in patients with sleep apnea syndrome (SAS) are examined, all 3 types of apnea, obstructive type, central type and mixed type, can be detected in each patient. Therefore, when classifying the apnea type in SAS patients, generally, one apnea type that is detected more than 50% is used for classification. However, when the shift in apnea type is examined before and after surgery, there are some patients who change their apnea type from the obstructive type to the central type or mixed type, or from the mixed type to the central type or obstructive type. In this study, how the shift in apnea components before and after uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) could cause a shift in the apnea type of OSAS patients, and whether or not UPPP could cure OSAS, were examined. Results showed that the reason for the shift in apnea type before and after surgery was that the level of obstructive type apnea component significantly decreased after surgery, and that the shift in apnea type was not caused by a shift in the pathology of OSAS.
