Can Surgery Fix Sleep Apnea? Exploring Your Options

Quick Takeaways:

• Surgery isn’t usually the first treatment option for sleep apnea. Most people start with CPAP therapy or an oral appliance to keep the airway open during sleep.
• For some, surgery may help when other treatments aren’t successful. It may help improve airflow by removing or repositioning tissue that blocks the airway.
• Different surgeries target different areas — such as the nose, throat, or tongue — depending on what’s causing the blockage.
• Talk with your doctor about the benefits, risks, and recovery process to see if surgery is the right fit for you.

If you have been diagnosed with sleep apnea, you might be curious about your treatment options. 

Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy delivers mild air pressure to keep your breathing airways open while you sleep.2³ CPAP therapy is highly effective and is the most used and understood method for treating obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).²⁴

OSA is a condition where your upper airway becomes blocked repeatedly during sleep, making it harder for air to flow. These blockages can reduce or completely stop the flow of air, causing your breathing to pause throughout the night. ²⁵

If CPAP isn’t a good fit, another treatment approach is an oral appliance. Oral appliances for sleep apnea can help keep your airway open by shifting the lower jaw forward while you sleep.

If neither of these treatment options work for you, your doctor may recommend surgery. Multiple surgical techniques can be used to treat obstructive sleep apnea, each of which is covered in more detail below.