[Surgery as a treatment modality for sleep disordered breathing].

The main characteristic of all types of sleep disordered breathing (SDB) is partial or complete obstruction in the upper airway. Patency of the pharyngeal airway is maintained by two opposing forces: negative intraluminal pressure and the activity of the upper airway musculature. Different anatomical abnormalities can disrupt this delicate balance with resultant compromise of the upper airway. Thus, the main goal of the medical and surgical therapy is to alleviate this obstruction and increase airway patency. If multilevel obstruction is noted, multilevel-surgery is needed. It can be done as one-stage or multi-stage procedure which depends on the current patient state and surgical skill. Technical developments and their implementation in everyday surgical practice made some of the surgical methods for SDB treatment more convinient for the patient. Surgery can be performed in ambulatory facility and the procedures are repeatable with no adverse effects which significantly decreases the postoperative morbidity. Almost all surgical techniques for SDB treatment have good results in properly selected patients. That is why the key for the successful SDB treatment is a proper multidisciplinary diagnostic algorithm and a team work.