Question:
Has anyone had trouble with their sleep apnea during surgery or recovery ?

I know I have sleep apnea but have not been diagnosed with it yet. Therefore I do not currently wear a cpap or anything else. I was wondering what they do in surgery and especially in recovery with this.    — Jerry S. (posted on April 20, 2007)

April 20, 2007
First off, the surgeon will want a sleep study for you. It is best to tell your PCP and the surgeon of your suspicions. It is important to get a sleep study. If you have bad enough sleep apnea, meaning that you stop breathing many times throughout the night, then you will be fitted for a C-pap machine. Some surgeons want you to wear it a minimum amount of time before going to surgery to ensure that you have the best pulmonary (lung) status before going into surgery. If it is not bad enough to warrant the C-pap (mine wasn't) then they will go ahead with the surgery and just watch your breathing. You are intubated (tube down your trachea and placed on a ventilator) during surgery. It is taken out before you go to the recovery room or when you first arrive there. They monitor your vital signs which will be your pulse, bp, pulse oximetry and temperature while there and throughout your hospital stay. It is important to confide in your PCP and surgeon all of your suspicians regarding your current health status. Being obese, in and of itself, has its own set of high risk potential complications. They can manage most of the health issues, they just need to know what they are going to be dealing with and what to watch for. If you are placed on a C-pap, like I said, they may want to you to use it for a specified time before surgery. Then you will use it post op and then at home, as you would have prior to surgery. It isn't until you have lost enough weight to reverse the sleep apnea that they will clear you to stop using it. In my case, my snoring stopped almost completely within 2 wks. good luck to you and hope this helps in answering your question.
   — Kari_K

April 20, 2007
Most of the gastric bypass surgeons will not do the surgery until you have been tested for sleep apnea. In my case, my surgeon had me bring my machine to the hospital and I had to have it on at night during my stay.
   — blm4602