Korean J Otorhinolaryngol-Head Neck Surg.  2021 Sep;64(9):641-651. 10.3342/kjorl-hns.2021.00458.

Defining Safety Space for Functional Tongue Surgery in Korean Male Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome Patients; Analysis on Spatial Relation of the Tongue and the Lingual Artery

• Park MJ
• Choi YJ
• Lee YS
• Chung YS

• KMID: 2520385
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3342/kjorl-hns.2021.00458

Abstract

Background and Objectives
Upon operation of the tongue base for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), the lingual artery and the hypoglossal nerve are put at risk of injury, resulting in fatal complications such as massive bleeding upon damage. We studied the course of lingual artery in its relation with the tongue in OSAS patients and compared it with the age-and- gender-matched normal population.
Subjects and Method
Korean male patients confirmed with OSAS by polysomnography, including those who had contrast-enhanced computed tomography (ceCT) of the head and neck, were defined as “OSAS group.” Patients who had their ceCT image during the same study period were defined as the “control group.” The control group was paired with the OSAS group by age and sex. By using foramen cecum (FC) as the main reference point, four reference marks were defined. For each reference point, the distance between both lingual arteries and the depth of the lingual artery from the lingual surface of the tongue were evaluated.
Results
The depth of the lingual artery from the lingual surface of the tongue in the OSAS group (25.1±8.6 mm) was significantly different from the control (29.5±5.9 mm) at 1 cm anterior to the FC level (p<0.014). The width of both lingual arteries was narrower in the OSAS group (20.9±2.9) than in the control (24.3±6.1) at the FC level (p<0.003).
Conclusion
The course of lingual artery and its spatial relation with the tongue in Korean male OSAS patients differs from the matched normal population.

Keyword

Hypoglossal nerve; Obstructive sleep apnea