FAA Announces New Sleep Apnea Guidance for Aviation Medical Examiners, Surgical Sleep Solutions Offers Innovative Treatment Model

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced that it will issue new guidance for aviation medical examiners (AMEs) regarding the screening and treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in commercial pilots. The new guidance, which hopes to treat pilots fairly while at the same time increasing aviation safety, was created and approved with input from the industry, Congress, and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The FAA's new guidance for AMEs regarding sleep apnea pertains mostly to the screening approach of AMEs and does not change the FAA's medical certification standards for pilots. The new guidance will:

• Ask AMEs to evaluate OSA risk factors using more than body mass index (BMI) as an indicator.
• Remove complications and disincentives that may have been preventing some pilots from receiving an OSA diagnosis or from receiving OSA treatment.
• Allow pilots who have been flagged for OSA evaluation to continue to fly during their possible diagnosis and treatment.
• Require pilots to seek a special issuance medical certificate only after their sleep apnea has been diagnosed by a doctor and effectively treated.

The FAA originally proposed new AME sleep apnea guidelines in November 2013. The updated guidelines will be published for AMEs on March 2, 2015. While the FAA and the federal government continue to grapple with the issue of sleep apnea and commercial vehicle operators, the medical community and sleep apnea sufferers have been seeking better and more effective treatments for OSA. Common barriers to successful OSA treatment in pilots include the high expense of treatment, the necessary time away from work needed for surgery, and the bulkiness, inconvenience, and discomfort of continuous positive air pressure (CPAP) devices. In an effort to make sleep apnea treatments more efficient and effective, the surgeons at Surgical Sleep Solutions have developed a precise and unique treatment model that offers a 95 to 99 percent success rate. This innovative sleep apnea surgery pairs bimaxillary advancement surgery with one-on-one, patient-centered care. "Pilots have little opportunity to take extended periods away from work and many don't have the resources or time to invest in a sleep apnea surgery that requires 4 to 6 weeks of recovery," said Surgical Sleep Solutions surgeon Dr. Clark O. Taylor. "We hope that our sleep apnea surgery offers a better and more practical option to pilots that will keep our pilots healthy and our skies safer." Surgical Sleep Solution's bimaxillary advancement surgery reduces recovery time to 7 to 10 days and does not require a long hospital stay. The shortened recovery time and efficiency of the procedure also often translates to a lower overall treatment cost. Untreated sleep apnea has always been a disqualifying medical condition for pilots. In the recorded past, the NTSB has determined that 34 aviation accidents and incidents have involved a pilot with a history of sleep apnea. Thirty-two of those incidents involved fatalities. Read more about the FAA's new AME sleep apnea screening guidelines. To learn more about bimaxillary advancement surgery at Surgical Sleep Solutions, please visit the website or call 855-560-REST. About Surgical Sleep Solutions With locations in Missoula, Montana; Denver, Colorado; and Palm Desert, California, Surgical Sleep Solutions offers sleep apnea sufferers an innovative bimaxillary advancement treatment that effectively cures to 95 to 99 percent of patients. The patient-centered delivery model, which moves the upper and lower jaw forward to permanently increase airflow to the lungs, involves a significantly faster recovery time than similar surgeries conducted elsewhere. Surgical Sleep Solutions is co-founded by Dr. Clark O. Taylor, an oral and maxillofacial surgeon with over 30 years of experience. Certified by the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, as well as the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery, Dr. Taylor received his bachelor's degree from Wichita State University, his Doctor of Dental Surgery (D.D.S.) from the University of Missouri, Kansas City, and his Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) from Northeastern Ohio University. Stephen D. Ochs, M.D., J.D., M.B.A, co-founder of Surgical Sleep Solutions and serves as the center's Anesthesiologist-in-Chief. Dr. Ochs is board-certified in anesthesiology and a Fellow in the American College of Anesthesiologists. He is a graduate of the University of Colorado Medical School in Denver and has almost forty years of experience in his field. In addition to his medical degree, Dr. Ochs also holds a law degree from the University of Denver College of Law and a business degree from the University of Denver Daniels College of Business. Visit Surgical Sleep Solutions or call 855-560-REST to learn more. Video - http://youtu.be/3nmPsL-NdBA