[Radiofrequency thermal ablation of the soft palate in patients with snoring and mild sleep apnea].

OBJECTIVES

We examined the early effects of radiofrequency thermal ablation performed to the soft palate on snoring level, apnea index (AI), and daytime sleepiness of patients with simple snoring or mild obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The study included 88 patients having a diagnosis of simple snoring without apnea (n=61), apnea with AI < or = 5 (n=13), and mild OSA with 5 < or = AI < or = 15 (n=14). Radiosurgery was performed to three or four locations on the soft palate and uvula under local anesthesia, with some patients requiring a subsequent procedure. The results were evaluated two months after the final session using the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and visual analog scale (VAS).

RESULTS

The complaints completely disappeared in three patients (3.4%). Improvement was more than 50% in 79 patients (89.7%) and less than 50% in two patients (2.2%). There was no change in four patients. The mean snoring symptom level, snoring noise level, ESS score, and apnea index were 3.01+/-1.96, 1.43+/-0.79, 3.55+/-2.58, and 3.20+/-1.85, respectively. The results were significantly improved compared to pretreatment values in all the patient groups (p<0.001).

CONCLUSION

Radiofrequency thermal ablation is an effective and well tolerable treatment method for simple snoring, mild OSA, and associated daytime sleepiness, with minimal postoperative morbidity and a low complication rate.