ABSTRACT
Great care must be taken when managing the airway of any patient with sleep apnea. Acknowledgment of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) as a significant cause of morbidity in the pediatric community has met with slow acceptance. The standard surgical approach has been tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy. A similar approach has been followed at Stanford University in the adult population with documented success. In this manner, surgical treatment can be guided by the physical findings of the individual patient, all the time understanding that no evaluation method has been shown to be perfect. There has been great discussion in the literature regarding the indications and accuracy of sleep studies for children. If one is considering any of the advanced surgical procedures, polysomnogram is mandatory. The thought process that led to the development of our surgical protocol for adults certainly is valid for the pediatric population.
