I recently saw a thing on a minimally invasive surgery for sleep apnea called Airlift. Anybody here have any experience/heard of it?

I haven't heard of it but asked chatgpt about it and it had a lot to say. I told it I was asking for a friend because I have asked it a bunch about my specific apnea issues. Chatgpt found a few comments on reddit of people that claimed to have it.

response from chatgpt;

I looked for independent patient experiences, not just the manufacturer's marketing. The reality is that AIRLIFT is a relatively niche procedure, so there are not thousands of reviews like you would find for CPAP or Inspire. What I found is a mix of scientific data, patient forums, and a few manufacturer testimonials.
1. Mayo Clinic Connect (independent patient discussion)
This is probably the type of place I would trust the most for honest experiences.
Hyoid Suspension Procedure to Help With Sleep Apnea Mayo Clinic Connect
Mayo Clinic Connect discussion
At the time of the discussion, the person was asking for experiences and side effects before having the procedure. It shows that even among sleep apnea patients, there are relatively few people who have undergone it.
2. Reddit a positive but realistic experience
AIRLIFT Procedure (Hyoid Suspension) Reddit
A patient reported:
"My sleep is much better than before surgery"
More daytime energy
Several weeks before talking and swallowing felt normal again
A slightly changed neck appearance that became less noticeable over time
3. Reddit mixed experiences including complications
Another discussion had a person who reported:
Better breathing and no snoring
Significant temporary neck swelling
Another commenter later reported that their appearance did not return to normal and they considered plastic surgery. Keep in mind this is a single anonymous report, so it should not be considered representative.
4. Scientific results (more meaningful than reviews)
The best evidence is not reviews but follow-up sleep studies.
A multicenter study of 39 patients who had AIRLIFT combined with palate surgery reported:
Median AHI reduction of about 74%
AHI dropping from approximately 50 to 15
Most severe sleep apnea patients improved into a lower severity category
Important caveat: many patients in that study had multiple surgeries at the same time, so the improvement cannot be attributed solely to AIRLIFT.
5. Complications reported in the medical literature
A 2024 review of FDA adverse event reports involving hyoid and tongue-base suspension devices found reports of complications, with postoperative issues being more common than intraoperative issues. This does not tell you how common complications are overall because it only captures reported adverse events, but it does confirm that complications can occur.
My takeaway for your friend
The picture I get from the available information is:
Pros
Some patients have major reductions in apnea
Many report less snoring and better daytime energy
No mask or machine is required afterward
Less invasive than some older sleep surgeries
Cons
Results are not guaranteed
Recovery can involve swelling, pain, and temporary swallowing/speech issues
There are reports of cosmetic changes under the chin or neck
It often works best when the patient has a very specific pattern of airway collapse (usually identified with a drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE))
If your friend is seriously considering AIRLIFT, the single most important question to ask the surgeon would be: "How many AIRLIFT procedures have you personally done, and what percentage of your patients had their AHI reduced enough to no longer need CPAP?"
Given how specialized this surgery is, the surgeon's experience may matter as much as the procedure itself.

That isn't a bad assessment. I am an ENT and Board Certified in Sleep Medicine. I have done a handful of Airlift procedures. It is OK to good, but not great, in my experience. As AI would say, it is often best done in combination with another upper airway procedure, as it works only on the tongue to relieve airway obstruction. If you are blocked at the nasal or palate or tonsil level, or are obese or significantly overweight, it won't accomplish all that much.

I don't think it works nearly as well as an Inspire hypoglossal nerve stimulus implant, or a Genio (the newest implant system). Additionally, the cosmetic change in the neck is often way more than one would expect, as it "bunches up" the tissues under the chin. I have taken fat out of the area in order to minimize that effect, but it still is apparent.