WebMD: Surgery for Sleep Apnea
To figure out what’s blocking your airway and what surgery might be best for you, your doctor will use a skinny tube called a nasopharyngoscope. It goes in through your nose and down the back of your throat. If it sounds uncomfortable, don’t worry: Your doctor will either numb the area or give you something to make you sleep.
With this method, your doctor “will get to see where the obstruction is and how it happens while you’re actually sleeping,” says Raj Dasgupta, MD, an assistant professor of clinical medicine, pulmonary, and sleep medicine at the University of Southern California.