Trinity Health Of New England Hospitals Now Offering Inspire® Therapy for Obstructive Sleep Apnea

The Saint Mary’s team completed their first Inspire procedure on April 30. Pictured left to right is OR Tech Lizette Groyales, OR Nurses Catherine Desrochers, RN, and Emily Hibbard, RN, and ENT provider, Mahesh Bhaya, M.D.

OSA affects 22 million Americans. When left untreated, OSA can cause vehicle and workplace accidents, worsening mood and memory, stroke, heart attack and even death. It occurs when the airway collapses during sleep and blocks the flow of oxygen to the brain. The brain senses a lack of oxygen and wakes the body up just long enough to take a breath, then falls back asleep. This cycle repeats throughout the night and causes poor, disruptive sleep. 

“We listen to our patients and meet them where they are,” said Gregory Colodner, M.D., Medical Director of Saint Mary’s Hospital Sleep Center. “This is a very patient-focused process, where we work to fit the individual patient with the right treatment. Inspire is a great minimally invasive option for many patients. Our Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) partners, Neil Schiff, M.D. and Mahesh Bhaya, M.D., have been tremendously instrumental in ensuring this technology is available to the greater Waterbury community.” 

“The procedure has worked very well in a select group of our patients who have been intolerant of CPAP,” said Asher Qureshi, M.D., Director, Sleep Disorders Center at Saint Francis. “Inspire has allowed us to expand our options for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea in treatment resistant or CPAP intolerant patients. The Inspire team at Saint Francis, which includes our ENT expert, Ryan Drake, M.D., works closely together in patient selection, implantation, and post-implant management of our patients to optimize their outcomes.” 

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. 

The safety and efficacy of Inspire was evaluated during the STAR clinical trial. Five-year STAR trial outcomes show patients using Inspire experience significant reductions in sleep apnea events and significant improvements in quality-of-life measures. There have been over 150 peer-reviewed publications on Inspire. These publications show results consistent with those seen in the STAR trial.