Sleep disordered breathing reflects a spectrum of disorders ranging from simple or habitual aesthetic snoring

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Sleep disordered breathing reflects a spectrum of disorders ranging from simple or habitual aesthetic snoring, to Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) of varying severity. All of these entities result from increased upper airway resistance due to the summation of static and dynamic narrowing of any number of anatomical subsides in the upper aero digestive tract, including the nose, nasopharynx, retropalatal oropharynx, pharyngeal tonsil region, and retrolingual oropharynx. Sleep disordered breathing reflects a spectrum of disorders ranging from simple or habitual aesthetic snoring, to Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) of varying severity. All of these entities result from increased upper airway resistance due to the summation of static and dynamic narrowing of any number of anatomical subsides in the upper aero digestive tract, including the nose, nasopharynx, retropalatal oropharynx, pharyngeal tonsil region, and retrolingual oropharynx. There is much misconception amongst primary care physicians and it lays public that the nasal airway is the central element in adults with OSA. Certainly, it is well accepted that nasopharyngeal obstruction in the form of adenoid hypertrophy is a significant contributing factor in children, and that removal of this obstruction is an effective means of remedy for obstructive sleep breathing [1]. Still, it must be acknowledged that most data in this area examines the impact of adenotonsillar hypertrophy rather than adenoid hypertrophy alone, and consequently, adenotonsillectomy rather than adenoidectomy alone.