The Effects of Barbed Repositioning Pharyngoplasty in Positional and Non-Positional OSA Patients: A Retrospective Analysis

Purpose: The aim of our retrospective study is evaluating the effectiveness of barbed repositioning pharyngoplasty (BRP) in a consecutive cohort of patients and assessing its impact on positional indexes in order to potentially identify specific obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) phenotypes for patients who might benefit more significantly from this intervention. Methods: A single-center retrospective study with baseline and follow-up type III sleep tests evaluating the Apnea Hypopnea Index (AHI), supine AHI, non-supine AHI, oxygen desaturation index (ODI), mean SaO2, percentage of time spent at SaO2 below 90% (CT90), and lowest oxygen saturation (LOS) were performed. The patients were then divided into groups according to Sher's criteria and Amsterdam Positional OSA Classification (APOC). Parametric and non-parametric tests and univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted. Results: The study finally included 47 patients. The statistical analysis showed significant improvement in AHI, supine AHI, non-supine AHI, and ODI after surgery. The linear regression showed that high values of baseline AHI, AHI supine, and AHI non supine predict more significant postoperative reductions in AHI, AHI supine, and AHI non supine, respectively. Therapeutic success was achieved in 22 patients out of 47. The logistic regression did not find any independent risk factors for success. The most significant reduction in AHI, supine AHI, and non-supine AHI was observed in the APOC 3 group while the APOC 1 patients experience a substantially lower improvement. Conclusions: BRP appears to be an effective surgical procedure for the treatment of OSA. The non-positional patients might benefit more from BRP in comparison with positional patients. Moreover, OSA severity should not be considered an absolute contra-indication for this surgical procedure.