Nasal Surgery for Sleep-Disordered Breathing

Otolaryngologists are often confronted with the expectation that the restoration of the nasal airway will lead to an elimination or reduction of sleep-related breathing disorders. But the relation between the disorder and nasal airway is very complex. This paper gives an overview of the current literature on this topic. The success rate for obstructive sleep apnea seems to be less than 20% because neither the site of obstruction during apneas nor the site of generation of snoring is in the nose. As a consequence, nasal surgery should be performed only in patients who complain of nasal obstruction and impaired nasal breathing either during wakefulness or during sleep.