Sleep apnoea. Laser therapy for OSAS.

The standard treatments for obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) to date have been postural treatment, which involves the patient sleeping on the stomach; continuous positive airway pressure, using a nasal mask during the night to maintain a positive pressure to prevent collapse of the airway; and surgical uvolopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP). This is a radical surgical procedure where the soft palate and uvula are excised. There are drawbacks to all of these procedures, either because patients may regard as unacceptable the position they must maintain in bed or the equipment required to be worn or because of surgical complications. This paper describes an alternative method of treatment that has shown good results and is less disturbing to the patient: laser resection of the palatopharynx. This procedure is relatively new to the UK and not as yet widely accepted by many doctors, although it has been performed on the continent for a number of years with documented results.