This is a non-ticketed session.

Patients with obstructive sleep apnea are often treated with fairly complex, lengthy operations in an inpatient setting. Fitness for such surgical and anesthetic interventions is important to determine when patients are worked up for possible surgery, and certainly in the perioperative period. This session will discuss some of the critical issues related to the proper identification of risks and clearance for major surgery in patients with obstructive sleep apnea.

1. Understand the unique pathophysiologic cardiopulmonary changes inherent in the patient with OSA;
2. Discuss how those changes may create unique risks during airway surgery; and
3. Explain how they may provide safer overall perioperative management of their OSA surgical patients.