Talking Sleep Season 5 | Episode 9

Predicting HGNS treatment success

Dr. Raj Dedhia, guest

In today’s episode of Talking Sleep, Dr. Raj Dedhia joins us to talk about hypoglossal nerve stimulation, which was first approved by the FDA in 2014 to treat a subset of patients with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea. Now, nearly a decade later, the treatment has evolved, and we have a better understanding of its nuances. Visualizing the airway during sleep endoscopy is a key element in patient selection; however, Dr. Dedhia explains that there are other ways to predict treatment success.

Dr. Raj Dedhia is an associate professor and director of sleep surgery and the CPAP Alternatives Clinic at the University of Pennsylvania. He is board-certified in both sleep medicine and otolaryngology. He has a unique background having completed an accredited fellowship in sleep medicine and surgery at the University of Washington, a residency in otolaryngology/head & neck surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and a master’s in clinical research from the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Dedhia’s current research includes upper airway pathophysiology in sleep-disordered breathing as well as the cardiovascular effects of sleep-disordered breathing.

Episode Resources

  1. What is causing my sleep apnea? [Patient fact sheet]
  2. DISE PAP run | Negative effort dependence (NED)
  3. DISE PAP run | Expiratory palatal collapse (EPC)
  4. DISE PAP run | Epiglottic collapse
  5. Seay EG, Keenan BT, Schwartz AR, Dedhia RC. Evaluation of therapeutic positive airway pressure as a hypoglossal nerve stimulation predictor in patients with obstructive sleep apnea. JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2020 Aug 1;146(8):691-698.
  6. Lee CH, Seay EG, Walters BK, Scalzitti NJ, Dedhia RC. Therapeutic positive airway pressure level predicts response to hypoglossal nerve stimulation for obstructive sleep apnea. J Clin Sleep Med. 2019;15(8):1165–1172.
  7. Dedhia RC, Huyett P. A prognostic star was born: drug-induced sleep endoscopy for hypoglossal nerve stimulation. J Clin Sleep Med. 2020;16(suppl_1):15S–16S.
  8. YouTube videos | Penn Sleep Surgery | https://www.youtube.com/@pennsleepsurgery7719