Experience in 10 years of unilateral selective hypoglossal nerve stimulation in patients with obstructive sleep apnea

Background Unilateral selective hypoglossal nerve stimulation (uniHNS) is an established therapy option in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Many multicenter studies report clinical results over few years. The intention of this work is to summarize the experience of an implant center over the last 10 years in the treatment of patients with uniHNS.

Materials & Methods All patients who received uniHNS (Inspire Medical Systems, Maple Grove, USA) at Klinikum Rechts der Isar/TU Munich in the period from 2013 to 2023 were included in this analysis.

Results Since 2013, over 220 patients (60+/-13 years; 11% female, 89% male; BMI: 30.4 +/- 4 kg/m2) have been treated. Over 10 years, no permanent side effects or serious adverse events could be detected during or after surgery. Only one explant has been performed so far (<1%). The revision rate for the implant was also less than 5%. Both subjective (questionnaires) and objective result parameters (apnea hypoponee index (AHI etc.) have been shown to be stable over years.

Conclusions These 10-year data shows that unilateral selective hypoglossal nerve stimulation is a very safe, effective, and long-term stable therapy in patients with OSA.

Klinikum Rechts der Isar

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Artikel online veröffentlicht:
12. Mai 2023