Yi‐Ju Lai

Min-Hwei College of Health Care Management, National Cheng Kung University

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About

Dr. Yi‐Ju Lai is a clinical researcher specializing in sleep medicine and otolaryngology, with a focused expertise in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and postoperative rehabilitation. Her major contributions center on evaluating the efficacy of combined transoral robotic surgery (TORS) and oropharyngeal rehabilitation for patients with moderate to severe OSA. In her 2022 quasi-experimental study, she demonstrated that this integrated approach significantly reduces OSA severity, offering a novel therapeutic pathway beyond conventional treatments. Building on this, her 2025 work revealed that postoperative oropharyngeal rehabilitation actively suppresses oxidative stress and inflammation in OSA patients undergoing TORS, providing mechanistic insight into how rehabilitation improves clinical outcomes. Though her citation counts are currently modest (6 and 4 citations, respectively), these pioneering studies represent early, high-impact contributions to a rapidly evolving field. Dr. Lai’s research bridges surgical innovation with rehabilitative science, highlighting the importance of holistic postoperative care. Her work is particularly notable for integrating biomarker analysis with functional outcomes, setting a foundation for future large-scale trials. For students and researchers, Dr. Lai exemplifies how targeted, mechanism-driven clinical studies can advance precision medicine in sleep surgery.