Pediatric obstructive sleep apnea—base of tongue obstruction

Various anterior glossectomy techniques have been used in the past for airway obstruction at the base of the tongue due to glossoptosis and/or macroglossia. This has largely focused on treating the enlarged, anteriorly protruding tongue. However, these procedures do not address the posterior and base of tongue areas that are more often the problem in pediatric sleep disordered breathing and obstructive sleep apnea. Techniques to evaluate for site of obstruction as well as current possible surgical approaches for treating the base of tongue and glossoptosis are discussed in this article.

Keywords: Sleep disordered breathing, Obstructive sleep apnea, Glossoptosis, Macroglossia, Cine MRI, Glossectomy