[Surgical multiple level reconstruction of the upper airways for treatment of obstructive sleep apnea. Two clinical cases].

Techniques for surgical correction of the soft palate are used commonly to treat obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), but a satisfactory cure cannot be ensured because such techniques usually involve localized correction of the upper airways (UA) whereas UA collapse during sleep involves the entire length. The development of correction techniques for the entire extension of the UA may help to solve this problem. We report the first two cases of multilevel UA surgical reconstruction in OSAS performed in Spain.

[Evaluation of the cephalometric structure of the upper airway on the configuration of the obstructive sleep apnea syndrome].

Thirty aleatory patients polysomnographically diagnosed as sleep apnea syndrome (SAOS) with an apnea-hypoapnea index (AHI) accounting for 61.3 +/- 31.1 were, bipedal and in decubitus, cephalometrically explored, aiming at establish the correlation between the cephalometric quantum of the upper airway and the anthropomorphic and polysomnographic parameters clearly establishing the syndrome.

[Anatomical alterations of the upper airway in the sleeping apnea syndrome. Diagnostical and therapeutic implications].

In this paper are assessed through ENT-exam, rhinomanometry and cephalometry both bipedal and in dorsal decubitus, the anatomical alterations occurring in the upper airways in 100 consecutive patients, polysomnographically diagnosed of SAOS. The patients were classified in 4 groups (after Fujita's modified classification): 2 having oropharyngeal obstruction (I and IIa) and other 2 with hypopharyngeal obstruction (IIb and III), which were subdivided in its time with nasal obstruction present (N+) or absent (N-). Group I and IIa (68 %) -theoretical candidates to an uvulopalatopharyngoplasty, UPPP-showed its predominance, followed by a high incidence of nasal obstruction (N+, 48 %) and a non negligeable number of hypopharyngeal alterations (32 %).

Hearing and diabetes.

The results of the audiological evaluation of 47 diabetics are presented. The patients were divided into two groups: A (17/47), type I early diabetics, and B (30/47), type I chronic diabetics. The evaluation included puretone audiometry, high-frequency audiometry and auditory brainstem response.

[Carotid paraganglioma: a case report].

Carotid paraganglioma are tumors arising from chemoreceptor paraganglioma cells. These cells have proved to have an embryologic origin from the neural crests. Due to their low incidence these tumors are not an habitually found in daily practices.