Maxillary-Mandibular Advancement

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Anchor lead: At least one surgical approach may help resolve obstructive sleep apnea, Elizabeth Tracey reports

Maxillary-mandibular advancement is long hand for a surgical procedure used to treat obstructive sleep apnea. Robin Yang, an expert in the procedure at Johns Hopkins, describes what’s done.

Yang: Surgery itself takes about four to five hours. All of the incision are inside the mouth. So from an invasive standpoint we don’t leave any scars on your face, but it is invasive in the sense that we’re moving your upper and lower jaw. Because we’re changing the way you bite, we often have to limit your diet after surgery for about six weeks. Meaning people are on a non-chewing, soft diet for about six weeks after surgery. Any patients that can’t tolerate a CPAP machine is technically a candidate for maxillary-mandibular advancement.  :32

Yang notes that obstructive sleep apnea is more than a nuisance, it’s associated with long term cardiovascular risk as well as the risks of daytime sleepiness because of interrupted sleep. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.