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The surgical technique, called a genial bone advancement trephine, or G-BAT, is best-suited for patients with these characteristics, according to published reports.

The procedure involves an incision made through the inside of the lip, which allows surgeons to move a penny-sized portion of the bone and add a small plate, which then prevents the tongue from blocking the patient's airway.

"The tongue is attached to the very front portion of the jaw here. So if we can actually just move a very small portion of the jaw forward, we can pull the tongue forward and open the space behind the tongue," says Maurits Boon, MD, an otolaryngologist at the department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, Pa., according to the report.