Tracheotomy or planned prolonged intubation after surgery for patients with OSAS

Patients suffering from obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) and obesity have an elevated risk of postoperative complications independent of each other. Within the framework of expert opinions for courts the question arose whether postoperative prolonged intubation or tracheotomy are standard routine approaches which are to be carried out in the normal course of operations on patients with OSAS. A search of the literature was performed using PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, EMBASE, the Cochrane database of systematic reviews and the Cochrane central register of controlled trials. Furthermore, 78 German otorhinolaryngology (ENT) departments participated in a nationwide survey. The results of the survey showed that after normal complication-free surgery planned postoperative prolonged intubation is not performed in the majority of ENT departments and no department performs a tracheotomy. In contrast, the standard approach for patients with OSAS and obesity who undergo two-level surgery is intubation and subsequent monitoring without ventilation for the first postoperative day. In the literature no evidence of a scientific basis for carrying out prolonged intubation or a tracheotomy could be found. Neither tracheotomy nor prolonged intubation are standard procedures for OSAS patients with obesity after complication-free surgery.