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Pediatric Sleep Apnea

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Does your child snore loudly, breathe through their mouth, sweat heavily, or have periods of not breathing during sleep? Does your child have difficulty learning in school or sleep in odd positions to keep the airway open? If your answer is “yes” to any of these questions, your child may have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

More than two million children in the United States suffer from sleep apnea, a treatable condition in which your child’s breathing is briefly and repeatedly blocked during sleep, reducing the amount of oxygen available to the brain and heart and severely disrupting sleep.

Signs and symptoms of sleep apnea in children can include:

Due to the health and safety concerns posed by sleep apnea, the condition should be evaluated and treated by doctors with specialized expertise in sleep apnea and related sleep and health conditions. The sleep medicine experts at the University of Miami Health System are experienced in diagnosing and treating sleep apnea in children.

Why Choose UHealth?

Regional leaders in sleep medicine and sleep surgery. As a fully accredited comprehensive sleep center, our program meets and exceeds the rigorous standards set by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. This designation recognizes our facility, services, and providers for the highest commitment to safety and quality care.

Multispecialty care customized for your good health and overall wellness. Depending on your condition, your team can include ear, nose, and throat doctors (ENT), pulmonologists (lung specialists), neurologists, psychiatrists, and weight management specialists with special expertise in sleep disorders. You receive the best care possible when we’re all working together for you.

Sleep studies offered 24/7 in a state-of-the-art sleep center. You can rest assured that you receive the most advanced care available. Sleep studies and tests are conducted in a modern, comfortable center — including the latest technology and a friendly, knowledgeable staff.

Questions? We're here to help.

Our appointment specialists are ready to help you find what you need. Contact us today.

Call 305-243-9999 (ZZZZ) Request an Appointment

Treatments

  • CPAP and BiPAP Therapies

    Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy is a breathing machine that constantly pushes air through the nose, or nose and mouth, to keep the airways open while you sleep. The therapy involves a variety of masks and pressure settings based on your specific needs. CPAP is a very effective non-surgical treatment for obstructive sleep apnea. Modern devices are small, quiet, and more comfortable than older versions.

    For people with difficulty exhaling using CPAP machines, bilevel positive airway pressure (BiPAP) therapy can help. BiPAP breathing machines use bilevel pressure, or one level for inhalation and a lower level for exhalation, making it easier to breathe.

  • Medicine

    Depending on your condition, your doctor may prescribe medicines to reduce symptoms that make it even harder to breath. These can include nasal spray decongestants to thin mucus or corticosteroids to reduce inflammation.

  • Myofunctional Therapy

    Myofunctional therapy for obstructive sleep apnea includes a variety of therapies and behavior modifications to open airways and improve breathing. A certified myofunctional therapist teaches you exercises to strengthen or retrain muscles in the face and mouth, and helps you stop bad habits, like improper head position, while you sleep. It is also used after surgery, such as maxillomandibular advancement or frenuloplasty for tongue-tie.

  • Oral Devices

    Mild forms of obstructive sleep apnea may respond to devices you put in your mouth to improve airflow while you sleep. Some customized devices can help align the jaws or keep the tongue from falling into the throat.

  • Sleep Surgery

    Sleep surgery for obstructive sleep apnea may be a first line treatment or an option after other treatments fail. The type of surgery depends on where and why the obstruction happens and the patient’s age. In children, removing the tonsils and/or adenoids is usually enough to make more room in the airways.

  • Weight Loss

    Obesity and extra weight can cause or worsen symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea by adding pressure to the upper airway system. Our sleep medicine team can help you reach optimum health with exercises, nutritional counseling, and behavioral health services.

Tests

  • Sleep Study

    An adult or pediatric sleep study (also called polysomnography) is performed in our sleep clinic. While you sleep, we collect information such as breathing patterns, blood oxygen levels, brain wave activity, muscle tone, heart rhythm, and eye movements. This information is captured using small, painless electrodes attached to your body and elastic bands around your chest and abdomen.

    Because we’re open 24/7, we offer a variety of studies including:

    • Maintenance wakefulness test (MWT): measures how alert you are during the day
    • Multiple latency sleep test (MSLT): a test that checks your daytime sleepiness by monitoring how quickly you fall asleep in a quiet, daytime environment
    • Round-the-clock, all-night continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP): a breathing machine that constantly pushes air through the nose, or nose and mouth, to keep the airways open while you sleep

  • Sleep Endoscopy

    Sleep endoscopy, also called drug-induced sleep endoscopy, is a minimally invasive procedure that allows the doctor to see what’s happening in the upper airways while you’re sedated. It involves inserting a thin, flexible tube with a camera through the nose to view the degree of collapse at different levels of the airway. The procedure is performed in an operating room as an outpatient (no overnight hospital stay) and takes about a day to recover.

Accepted Insurances

Note: Health plans that are currently contracted with UHealth are listed below. However, please check with your insurance provider to verify that UHealth is part of your provider network.

  • Aetna WC
  • Aetna Affiliates/Signature Adm (ASA)
  • Aetna Behavioral Health
  • Aetna Elect Choice (EPO)
  • Aetna Florida Healthy Kids
  • Aetna HMO
  • Aetna Medicaid HMO
  • Aetna Medicare HMO
  • Aetna Medicare PPO
  • Aetna POS
  • Aetna PPO
  • Aetna UM Employee HMO 1
  • Aetna UM Employee HMO 2
  • Aetna UM Employee POS HRA
  • Aetna/Coventry Institutes of Excellence (IOE)
  • Amerigroup Florida Healthy Kids
  • Amerigroup Medicaid HMO
  • Argus Vision
  • AvMed Choice
  • AvMed HMO/POS
  • AvMed MDC and JHS Groups
  • AvMed Medicare HMO
  • AXIS
  • BCBS Blue Options Network Blue PPO
  • BCBS BlueCare HealthOptions HMO
  • BCBS BlueChoice PPC/PPO
  • BCBS Miami Dade Blue PPO Limited Benefits Plan
  • BCBS of Florida (All products except "SELECT" Plans)
  • BCBS of Florida (Commercial plans exclude HIX Select)
  • BCBS Traditional PHS/PPO
  • Beacon Health (ValueOption)
  • Beech Street PPO
  • Broward Health Medical Center
  • CarePlus Medicare HMO
  • Catholic Hospice
  • CCP/CMS Title XIX (Medicaid Enrolled in South Florida)
  • CCP/CMS Title XXI (Non Medicaid Enrolled in South Florida)
  • CCP/MMA (Broward County residents)
  • Charlotte County Sheriffs Office PPO
  • Cigna Affiliates
  • Cigna Behavioral Health
  • Cigna Dental HMO/PPO
  • Cigna EPO
  • Cigna HMO
  • Cigna Life Source (Intracorp is part of Cigna Lifesource)
  • Cigna MDCPS Jackson Sr. High
  • Cigna POS
  • Cigna PPO
  • Cigna Shared Administration
  • Clear Health Alliance SNP Medicaid HMO
  • Concordia Behavioral Health
  • CorVel WC
  • Coventry First Health WC
  • Coventry Health Care of Florida (HIP) HMO/POS
  • Coventry Health Care of Florida (HIP) PPO
  • Coventry Health Plan of Florida (Foundation) HMO
  • Coventry Health Plan of Florida (Foundation) POS
  • Coventry National PPO
  • Coventry Summit Medicare HMO
  • Coventry Vista Medicare HMO
  • Coventry First Health PPO
  • Delta Dental PPO
  • DentaQuest (ADI)
  • DIKLA
  • Dimension WC
  • Dimension Plus PPO
  • EHN PPO
  • EQUIAN (Health Systems International)
  • Europe Assistance/Global Corporate Solutions (Care Management Network)
  • eyeQuest
  • FCCI WC
  • Florida Healthcare Plan (Affiliate of BCBSFL)
  • Florida PACE (FPC)
  • Freedom Health Medicaid HMO
  • Freedom Health Medicare HMO
  • Gallagher Bassett WC (MDCPS & FCSRMC)
  • Global Excel Mgt PPO
  • Great West (Cigna) HMO/POS
  • Guardian Life PPO
  • HAA Preferred Partners
  • Health First Health HMO/POS
  • Health First Health Medicare HMO
  • Health First Health PPO
  • Health Net Veterans Choice HMO
  • Heritage Summit Healthcare WC
  • Humana Behavioral Health (LifeSynch)
  • Humana Dental/CompBenefits/OHS
  • Humana EPO
  • Humana HMO
  • Humana Medicaid HMO
  • Humana Medicare HMO
  • Humana National Transplant
  • Humana PPO
  • Humana Premier
  • iCare Health Solutions
  • Interlink Health Services
  • International Kids Fund (IKF)
  • League Medical Concepts Federal Inmates
  • Life Trac
  • Magellan Behavioral Health
  • Magellan Complete Care SNP Medicaid HMO
  • MDAbroad
  • Medica Medicare HMO
  • Medical Development In't (MDI)-Federal Inmates
  • Medicus
  • Metlife Dental PPO
  • MHNet Behavioral Network (MHNet)
  • Molina
  • Molina Market Place
  • Molina Medicaid HMO
  • Molina Medicare HMO
  • Morgan White International
  • MultiPlan PPO
  • Naphcare (Federal Prisoners)
  • National Healthcare Solutions Inc.
  • Neighborhood HealthPlan HMO/POS
  • Neighborhood HealthPlan PPO
  • North Broward Hospital District PPO
  • Olympus Managed Healthcare
  • Optum
  • Positive Healthcare SNP Medicaid HMO
  • Positive Healthcare SNP Medicare HMO
  • Prestige Health Choice Medicaid HMO
  • Prime Health Services WC
  • Quality Health Management
  • Religious Order of Jehovah's Witnesses PPO
  • Rockport Healthcare Group WC
  • Royal Caribbean Cruises PPO
  • Sanus Health Corporation
  • Seasons Hospice
  • Simply Healthcare Medicaid HMO
  • Solstice Dental HMO/PPO
  • Start Healthcare Network
  • Sunshine
  • Sunshine AMBETTER
  • Sunshine Healthy Kids HMO
  • Sunshine Medicaid HMO
  • Sunshine Medicare HMO
  • Tricare South Prime HMO
  • Tricare South Standard PPO
  • United Behavioral Health (UBH)
  • UnitedHealthcare Affiliates
  • UnitedHealthcare Healthy Kids HMO
  • UnitedHealthcare HMO/POS
  • UnitedHealthcare Medicaid HMO
  • UnitedHealthcare Medicare Nursing Home Plan
  • UnitedHealthcare PPO
  • University of Miami Athletic Dept PPO
  • VUMI
  • Wellcare/Staywell Healthy Kids HMO
  • Wellcare/Staywell Medicaid HMO
  • Wexford Health State Inmates
  • Worldwide Managed Care