Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Annals of The Royal College of Surgeons of England logoLink to Annals of The Royal College of Surgeons of England
. 1993 Jul;75(4):286–290.

Surgical relief of snoring due to palatal flutter: a preliminary report.

P D Ellis 1, J E Williams 1, J M Shneerson 1
PMCID: PMC2497918  PMID: 8379635

Abstract

We describe our experience in the surgical treatment of 32 patients with severe snoring. In the first 16 patients we used the standard surgical procedure of uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPP) but found this unsatisfactory because of its radical nature, complications and uncertain outcome. We therefore investigated the mechanics of snoring in the laboratory as a help in devising a more effective operation. These studies have shown that there are several methods by which snoring can be generated but that palatal flutter is probably the most important. The dominant parameters in the generation of flutter of the palate are its length and stiffness. Any removal of tissue to shorten the palate as in UPP inevitably risks impairing its function, so we chose the stiffening alternative. Using the laser, a central longitudinal strip of mucosa was removed from the surface of the soft palate which healed by fibrosis, producing the required stiffening. The early results of this new procedure show that snoring has been eliminated or greatly reduced in 14 of 16 patients and that apart from local pain there have been no complications.

Full text

PDF
286

Images in this article

288Figure 3
on p.288

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Caldarelli D. D., Cartwright R., Lilie J. K. Severity of sleep apnea as a predictor of successful treatment by palatopharyngoplasty. Laryngoscope. 1986 Sep;96(9 Pt 1):945–947. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Croft C. B., Golding-Wood D. G. Uses and complications of uvulopalatopharyngoplasty. J Laryngol Otol. 1990 Nov;104(11):871–875. doi: 10.1017/s0022215100114215. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Croft C. B., Pringle M. Sleep nasendoscopy: a technique of assessment in snoring and obstructive sleep apnoea. Clin Otolaryngol Allied Sci. 1991 Oct;16(5):504–509. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2273.1991.tb01050.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Fairbanks D. N. Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty complications and avoidance strategies. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1990 Mar;102(3):239–245. doi: 10.1177/019459989010200306. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Fujita S., Conway W., Zorick F., Roth T. Surgical correction of anatomic azbnormalities in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome: uvulopalatopharyngoplasty. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1981 Nov-Dec;89(6):923–934. doi: 10.1177/019459988108900609. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Lugaresi E., Cirignotta F., Coccagna G., Piana C. Some epidemiological data on snoring and cardiocirculatory disturbances. Sleep. 1980;3(3-4):221–224. doi: 10.1093/sleep/3.3-4.221. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Samelson C. F. Sequelae and complications of palatopharyngoplasty: impact on vocal trill. Sleep. 1984;7(1):83–84. doi: 10.1093/sleep/7.1.83. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Sharp J. F., Jalaludin M., Murray J. A., Maran A. G. The uvulopalatopharyngoplasty operation: the Edinburgh experience. J R Soc Med. 1990 Sep;83(9):569–570. doi: 10.1177/014107689008300912. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Simmons F. B., Guilleminault C., Miles L. E. The palatopharyngoplasty operation for snoring and sleep apnea: an interim report. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1984 Aug;92(4):375–380. doi: 10.1177/019459988409200401. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. deBerry-Borowiecki B., Kukwa A. A., Blanks R. H. Indications for palatopharyngoplasty. Arch Otolaryngol. 1985 Oct;111(10):659–663. doi: 10.1001/archotol.1985.00800120053005. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Annals of The Royal College of Surgeons of England are provided here courtesy of The Royal College of Surgeons of England

RESOURCES