A 52-year-old female presented for an evaluation for sleep apnea surgery. She complained of choking sensation at night. She had an AHI of 6.7 events per hour, a oxygen saturation nadir of 71%, and BMI of 30.6. She and a prior history of adenotonsillectomy as a child. Flexible examination in the office revealed grade 4 lingual tonsil hypertrophy. She was deemed a candidate for lingual tonsillectomy and was taken to the operating for robotic lingual tonsillectomy. The technique for adult lingual tonsillectomy is shown in step-by-step fashion with tips for good results both operatively and functionally learned from robotic surgery for cancer of the unknown primary origin.
Contributors: Jessica Moskovitz, MD, Leila J. Mady, MD, PhD, MPH, Umamaheswar Duvvuri, MD, PhD