A sleep study is always required to help diagnose your condition before any treatment is initiated.
If you are given CPAP, the machine itself will provide all the information on how well the apnoeas are controlled by it. If a 3 D printed mouth guard is given, a study is often done with the patient wearing the guard to see how well it works.
However, not many surgeons perform a sleep study after the surgery. There are several reasons for this.
1. Patients often feel better after surgery and don’t see the need for another study.
2. Surgeons are not allowed (Medicare rules) to request a funded sleep study, especially if a pre-treatment study was done within 12 months.
3. Surgeons don’t give the required attention to the need for a post-treatment study.
At CSSC, WE ALWAYS REQUEST OUR PATIENTS TO UNDERGO A POST TREATMENT SLEEP STUDY.
The reasons are
1. Feeling better is not a guarantee that sleep apnoea is adequately managed. We have seen this in a few of our patients. Some may need combination therapy, i.e. sleep on the side, weight loss or rarely a mouthguard.
2. CSSC is a combined clinic. Our sleep physician Dr Mulder is qualified to plan a funded post-operative sleep study. We request this, three months after your operation.
3. CSSC conducts research and audit. This has helped us advance our technique and treatment. As such, not only we do a post-surgical sleep study, patients also undergo comprehensive endoscopic examination after treatment. As result we are able to quote our own results. We are also in the process of developing a brand new tool to predict patients' surgical outcome, before their operation. This has been possible only due to post surgical evaluation and research.
4. We collaborate with physicians and dentists. We do combination therapy for those who may have residual sleep concerns though over 90% of surgical patients have avoided CPAP machines.(2019-2021 audit)
Sleep Apnoea patients should be evaluated just as well postoperatively as they were preoperatively. A sound sleep surgical unit should quote the results, figures and outcomes of their operations. The poat-surgical patient is just as important to us at CSSC, and you will have a post surgical study!
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Team at CSSC
Disclaimer: The material and information contained in this website is is for general general purpose or in addition to what was provided for patients during their consultation. You should not rely upon the material in this website as basis for decision making