Summary: Brian Brodish, MD, an otolaryngologist with Eastern Carolina ENT, completed his 100th Inspire therapy procedure at ECU Health Medical Center on July 14. Inspire is an FDA-approved treatment for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) designed for patients who cannot tolerate CPAP therapy.
Key Takeaways:
- Milestone: Brian Brodish, MD, completed his 100th Inspire therapy procedure.
- Alternative to CPAP: Inspire offers a viable surgical alternative for patients who cannot tolerate CPAP therapy, using mild stimulation to open airways during sleep.
- Patient Outcomes: According to Brodish, the majority of patients treated with Inspire at ECU Health have reduced their apnea-hypopnea index to below 15 episodes per hour, with some achieving zero episodes.
Brian Brodish, MD, an otolaryngologist with Eastern Carolina ENT, in collaboration with ECU Health, performed his 100th Inspire procedure at ECU Health Medical Center on July 14.
Inspire is a US Food and Drug Administration-approved obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) treatment option for people who cannot use continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy.
“We have a high incidence of sleep apnea in eastern North Carolina, but a lot of patients can’t tolerate a CPAP,” says Brodish in a release. “There’s a significant morbidity to not treating sleep apnea, and up until now, I had nothing to offer. This is one of the first successful surgical alternatives for our patients with sleep apnea.”
Inspire works inside the body with a patient’s natural breathing process to treat sleep apnea. Mild stimulation opens the airway during sleep, allowing oxygen to flow naturally. The patient uses a small handheld remote to turn Inspire on before bed and off when they wake up.
“We want the patient to use the device for at least four hours a night or more, and we are looking for their apnea-hypopnea index, which is the number of times per hour a patient stops breathing, to be below 15,” says Brodish in a release. “Some of our patients stop breathing more than 50 times a night before treatment, but 80% of our patients have achieved our goal of 15 episodes or less. Some have even achieved zero.”
The Inspire system is implanted during an outpatient procedure. The system is placed under the skin of the neck and chest through two small incisions. Most patients return home the same day and take over-the-counter pain medications to manage pain as needed.
“We are excited to have completed the 100th Inspire procedure at ECU Health Medical Center,” says Brodish in a release. “This option is a part of ECU Health’s goal to provide state-of-the-art, high-quality care for eastern North Carolina, and we’re seeing patients benefit from this technology.”
Photo caption: Brodish and team pose for a photo to celebrate 100 patients treated with Inspire therapy.
Photo credit: ECU Health
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