Understanding Longitudinal Apnea-hypopnea Index Trajectories with a Sleep Mat in Hypoglossal Nerve Stimulation and Uvulopharyngoplasty

Tuesday, October 20, 2026

8:06 AM - 8:12 AM PT

Location: 403B

Presenting Author(s)

Tiffany Husman, BS

Medical Student
University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, CA, United States

Co-Author(s)

Pearl Doan, BS

Medical Student
University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine
San Francisco, California, United States
WZ

Wynne Zheng, MA

Research Year Student
Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, United States
JZ

Joshua Zhao, BS

Medical Student
University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, United States
MD

Megan L. Durr, MD

Professor
University of California San Francisco
San Francisco, CA, United States
KM

Katherine Malcom, MD

Katherine Malcom
Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, United States

Senior Author(s)

JC

Jolie L. Chang, MD

Professor
Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, California, United States

Disclosure(s):

Tiffany Husman, BS:

faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Megan L. Durr, MD:

faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Introduction: Optimal timing of postoperative polysomnography for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) remains unclear. This study aims to assess nightly changes in sleep metrics following hypoglossal nerve stimulation (HNS) or modified palatopharyngoplasty (mPPP) using a home sleep mat.

Methods: We performed a prospective cohort study of patients undergoing HNS or mPPP who collected nightly sleep metrics from under-the-mattress Withings sleep mats. Day 0 represented the date of HNS activation or mPPP surgery. Sleep metrics included an estimated Withings apnea-hypopnea index (wAHI), total sleep time (TST), sleep latency, and wake time after sleep onset (WASO).

Results: A total of 10 patients (7 HNS and 3 mPPP) were monitored for 969 nights of sleep (mean 97 nights per patient (SD 45). In the HNS cohort, wAHI had modest reductions during the first 60 days, followed by a >40% reduction between 61 and 150 days. The mPPP cohort had a transient increase in wAHI in the first 3 postoperative days, then >40% reduction within the first 30 days with sustained reductions (38% -51%) through 120 days. In pooled linear mixed-effects analysis, wAHI was significantly lower (both groups, p < 0.001) and decreased over time. wAHI correlated with WASO (p < 0001) and sleep latency (p < 0.001), but not with TST.

Conclusions: Soft tissue surgery led to more immediate improvements in wAHI compared to HNS, which is consistent with the required HNS stimulation uptitration period. This pilot study demonstrates nightly wAHI patterns can be captured with sleep tracking technology and may inform optimal timing of postoperative sleep studies.