Maxillomandibular advancement and tracheostomy for morbidly obese obstructive sleep apnea: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective: The objective of this study is to systematically review polysomnography data and sleepiness in morbidly obese (body mass index [BMI] ≥40 kg/m(2)) patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) treated with either a maxillomandibular advancement (MMA) or a tracheostomy and to evaluate the outcomes.

Data sources: MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library.

Review methods: A search was performed from inception through April 8, 2014, in each database.

Results: Six maxillomandibular advancement studies (34 patients, age 42.42 ± 9.13 years, mean BMI 44.88 ± 4.28 kg/m(2)) and 6 tracheostomy studies (14 patients, age 52.21 ± 10.40 years, mean BMI 47.93 ± 7.55 kg/m(2)) reported individual patient data. The pre- and post-MMA means ± SDs for apnea-hypopnea indices were 86.18 ± 33.25/h and 9.16 ± 7.89/h (P < .00001), and lowest oxygen saturations were 66.58% ± 16.41% and 87.03% ± 5.90% (P < .00001), respectively. Sleepiness following MMA decreased in all 5 patients for whom it was reported. The pre- and posttracheostomy mean ± SD values for apnea indices were 64.43 ± 41.35/h and 1.73 ± 2.68/h (P = .0086), oxygen desaturation indices were 69.20 ± 26.10/h and 41.38 ± 36.28/h (P = .22), and lowest oxygen saturations were 55.17% ± 16.46% and 79.83% ± 4.36% (P = .011), respectively. Two studies reported outcomes for Epworth Sleepiness Scale for 5 patients, with mean ± SD values of 18.80 ± 4.02 before tracheostomy and 2.80 ± 2.77 after tracheostomy (P = .0034).

Conclusion: Data for MMA and tracheostomy as treatment for morbidly obese, adult OSA patients are significantly limited. We caution surgeons about drawing definitive conclusions from these limited studies; higher level studies are needed.