Successful treatment of obstructive sleep apnea with use of nasal continuous positive airway pressure in three patients with mucosal hemangiomas of the oral cavity

Cysts and benign tumors are uncommon causes of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA ), and surgical removal is usually favored. In patients in whom an operatio n poses a high risk, however, nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CP AP) may prove beneficial. We describe three patients with hemangiomas of th e oral cavity in whom polysomnography revealed moderate to severe OSA, In a ll three patients, nasal CPAP effectively decreased sleep-related disordere d breathing events and dramatically improved their sleep. To our knowledge, this is the first report of OSA associated with hemangiomas involving the upper airway. Our experience suggests that nasal CPAP therapy is effective and well tolerated in such patients.