Z-palatopharyngoplasty plus radiofrequency tongue base reduction for moderate/severe obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome

Abstract

Forty-three OSAHS patients (2 females, 41 males, mean age 39 years) had full data and a minimum 6 month follow-up to assess efficacy. Intraoperative, short-term, and long-term morbidities are reported. No long-term velopharyngeal insufficiency was encountered. The classical success rate was 60.5% (26/43). Six months after the treatment, the mean Epworth sleepiness scale changed from 12.8 +/- 5.1 to 10.0 +/- 4.3 (p = 0.002). The apnea/hypopnea index (/h), lowest oxygen saturation (%), and bed partner assessed snoring visual analog scale (0-10) changed from 51.5 +/- 25.4 to 23.4 +/- 24.7, 75.5 +/- 10.4 to 82.1 +/- 10.9, and 8.4 +/- 1.6 to 2.9 +/- 1.6, respectively (all p < 0.0001, paired t test).