Volume 30, Issue 171, May 2026

Diagnosis and treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea - A review of surgical methods

Maciej Świerczyna^1♦, Maja Kondratowicz², Kamila Kałamarz³, Kinga Żmuda⁴, Aleksandra Figzał⁵, Maja Czerniachowska⁶, Marcin Kaniewski⁷, Martyna Wojnowska⁸, Wiktoria Polkowska⁹, Michał Grabek¹⁰

¹Ministry of the Interior and Administration Hospital, Północna 42, 91-425 Łódź, Poland
²The Independent Public Hospital No. 4, Lublin, Poland
³Karol Marcinkowski University Hospital, Zyty 26, 65-046 Zielona Góra, Poland
⁴University Clinical Hospital of Opole, al. W.Witosa 26 45-401 Opole, Poland
⁵Karol Marcinkowski University Hospital, Zyty 26, 65-046 Zielona Góra, Poland
⁶Medical University of Łódź, al. Kościuszki 4, 90-419 Łódź, Poland
⁷The Independent Public Hospital No. 4, Lublin, Poland
⁸Mikolaj Pirogov Provincial Specialist Hospital, Wólczańska 191/195, 90-001 Łódź, Poland
⁹Central Clinical Hospital, Medical University of Łódź, Pomorska 251, 90-213 Łódź, Poland
¹⁰Karol Marcinkowski University Hospital, Zyty 26, 65-046 Zielona Góra, Poland

^♦Corresponding author
Maciej Świerczyna, Ministry of the Interior and Administration Hospital, Północna 42, 91-425 Łódź, Poland

ABSTRACT

Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is a prevalent sleep-related breathing disorder characterized by recurrent collapse of the upper airway and intermittent hypoxia. These are associated with substantial cardiovascular, metabolic, and neurocognitive implications. CPAP remains the standard of care, yet many patients cannot tolerate CPAP, further supporting interest in surgical options. This review summarizes the existing literature on surgical options for OSA, encompassing management of the nose, soft palate, tongue base, craniofacial skeleton, and neuromodulation. We emphasize the importance of diagnostic tools, including polysomnography and drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE), to ensure that specific patients are selected for surgical treatment. Present evidence indicates that surgical outcomes are not uniform, although multilevel surgery combined with hypoglossal nerve stimulation is the most consistently effective. Surgical treatment is no longer a generic option in the management of OSA, and future advances will probably develop further hybrid and minimally invasive strategies.

Keywords: obstructive sleep apnoea, hypoglossal nerve stimulation, multilevel surgery, maxillomandibular advancement

Medical Science, 2026, 30, e80ms3824

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Published: 03 May 2026