Concurrent palatal implants and uvulopalatal flap: Safe and effective office-based procedure for selected patients with snoring and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome
✍ Scribed by Tsung-Wei Huang; Po-Wen Cheng; Kai-Min Fang
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2011
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 215 KB
- Volume
- 121
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0023-852X
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✦ Synopsis
Objectives/Hypothesis: An outpatient surgical procedure for snoring and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) should not only stiffen the soft palate, but also widen the opening of retropalatal space. This study presents a concurrent palatal implants (PI) and uvulopalatal flap (UPF) in the outpatient setting under local anesthesia for OSAS patients.
Study Design: Prospective study. Methods: Patients with snoring and more than or an equivalent of 5 events hourly but less than 20 hourly on the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) were enrolled. Three office-based procedures were performed, that is, PI, UPF, and PI concurrent with UPF (PI-UPF). Postoperative pain was evaluated using a visual analog scale. Before surgery and after surgery, subjective outcomes were assessed using the snoring scale, and objective outcomes were assessed using overnight polysomnography.
Results: Sixty-three patients underwent office-based procedures for OSAS. Among them, 21 underwent PI, 20 underwent UPF, and 22 underwent PI-UPF. PI attained the lowest postoperative pain scores. At 6 months after surgery, the mean snoring scale in PI, UPF, and PI-UPF group were 3.7 6 0.7, 3.2 6 0.8, and 1.8 6 0.6, respectively (P < .05). The mean AHI scores in group PI, UPF, and PI-UPF were 9.0 6 4.6, 8.8 6 4.0, and 6.1 6 2.5 events per hour, respectively (P < .05). The mean snoring index in group PI, UPF, and PI-UPF were 120.6 6 79.5, 115.7 6 86.3, and 71.8 6 41.7 events per hour, respectively (P < .05).
Conclusions: Concurrent PI and UPF is a safe and effective office-based procedure for selected patients with OSAS and snoring.