The Upper Airway and Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Morbidly Obese Women

A retrospective analysis of airway management in obese patients at a teaching institution

“…Extreme obesity may increase the likelihood of comorbidities such as OSAS [26], obesity hypoventilation syndrome [13], and GERD [17]. Large neck circumference may be more frequent in the super-obese patient population, and it appears to be the common denominator in difficult visualization of the airway and OSAS.…”

“…Hazards regarding airway management include rapid desaturation after cessation of spontaneous ventilation due to a decrease in functional residual capacity [8], decreased pulmonary compliance, increased airway resistance, increased oxygen demand [9], possible difficult mask ventilation and laryngoscopy [10], upper airway obstruction due to pharyngeal fat deposits [6,[11][12][13][14][15] and possible aspiration caused by gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) [16,17].…”

Cone beam computed tomography and obstructive sleep apnoea

“…Airways with lower LAT ⁄ A-P ratios demonstrated more compliance. 30 These airways showed greater reduction in their residual volume versus total lung capacity and functional residual capacity, suggesting that these airways are less effective at maintaining their patency. Patients with higher degrees of OSA versus patients with only mild snoring and controls exhibited airways with more narrow LAT dimensions.…”