It´s important to set your time apart so we can guarantee a professional service. We suggest our patients to call beforehand. Occasionally the doctor can see patients without an appointment. The price for consultation is $900 MXN ($50 USD), and we accept all major credit cards.

There are two options for a sleep study, one is performed in the patient house and another in the Sleep Lab. They are scheduled during the night, when natural sleep occurs.

• Polygraphy: It’s a simplified study. There is no need to connect wires to the head or legs, and the patient can sleep soundly at home.
• Polysomnography: It’s a comprehensive study, done in our sleep lab. We prepare a special room for a night study, where the patient is most comfortable.

You can stay at a nearby hotel that is walking distance from the hospital, with a very special price for you, so you can have a good night sleep and a comfortable Home Sleep Study

No. There are people that even on normal weight can have a reduced airway. If that patient keeps putting on weight, fat deposits on the neck and throat, contributing on a reduced airway. Some people have a well proportionated craneofacial skeleton, and even as they gain weight, the airway doesn´t collapse. Around 30% of the population have differences of the craneofacial skeleton, that could make them more susceptible to have Sleep Apnea, even as they are in their normal weight. Sleep Apnea is not exclusive of overweight or obese people, and it can also affect young adults.

Sleep Apnea is a disorder that can be very serious and determinant for overall health, wellbeing and severity of other underlying diseases. Most doctors agree that moderate and severe sleep apnea must have treatment. The most effective treatment is CPAP (an air compressor machine that generates positive pressure and opens the airways while the patient is asleep), but is only as effective as it is utilized.

To consider the therapy effective, the CPAP must be used at least 4 hours each night, 5 nights a week. The adherence of patients can be as low as 40%. The partner may dislike the mask, the sleeping position might be uncomfortable or the patient may have problem to cope with the idea of using a CPAP.

There are other conservative options such a mandibular advancement device, as used by dental professionals. The efficacy of these devices is inversely proportional to the severity of the sleep apnea. If these options fail or are not well tolerated, the surgical option is available, to optimize and expand the airway and stabilize the pharynx during sleep.

Even though I´m a trained sleep surgeon, I am also a strong advocate of conservative treatment. If my patient is looking for alternatives, options or resolutions, for the reasons I present, we can offer a surgical option for snoring and sleep apnea.

There’s been an evolution in surgical techniques and options for different sites of airway collapse. Knowledge and physiology of the airway has progressed since the first cases of uvulopalatopharyngoplasty alone. There has been a 35 year refinement and global study of the impact and benefits of surgery for snoring and sleep apnea. The same way laparoscopic surgery had it’s learning curve and found it´s way into the mainstream of surgical options, sleep surgery protocols are a solid option with better outcomes.

There is a group of patients that have a very favorable anatomy, and we can predict a simple procedure will be extremely beneficial. For example, patients with big tonsils. Other patient group will have other anatomical distortions, less muscular tone while sleeping, changes in the craneofacial skeleton, palate, nose, nasal septum or vocal chords. To approach all these situations, sometimes we have to consider two or more procedures, that can be perfomed in at the same time, or at two different surgical times. It will depend on the patient tolerance to surgery and the safety of the procedures. It is important to calculate the outcome and be very precise in the selection of the patient and the procedure. There is no “one size fits all” surgery.

The evolution of snoring and sleep apnea surgery has grown in such a way that made lasers almost obsolete. It is not common to consider laser in the modern sleep surgery repertoire. Radiofrecuency Coblation is a technology that has found it’s place in soft tissue surgery, with delicate and precise energy control. These technology helps lower the rate of complications and pain after surgery.

When gaining weight, fat deposits around the tongue base and the pharynx, narrowing the airway. When the Body Mass Index is over 36, the rate of success of a surgery is low.

When the patient is around this Body Mass Index, we strongly encourage to start with weight loss programs. The associated risks, like high cholesterol, gastro esophageal reflux, insulin resistance, diabetes mellitus, osteoarthritis and hypertension are adverse factors. Many patients can even correct their sleep apnea considering weight loss surgery. For these patients, using CPAP therapy before their surgery favors a good outcome.

With this surgery, we are focused on two goals: to reduce the short-term risk for cardiovascular disease, and to eliminate the acute symptoms, like snoring and daytime tiredness. Success can be  over 90% if the patient is correctly studied and an adequate surgery is considered. Sometimes patients that cannot tolerate CPAP therapy can better adjust to it, and they don’t need other procedures done.