Modified palatal stiffening procedure for snoring.

Abstract

To evaluate the efficacy of a modified procedure of palatal stiffening for the treatment of snoring. A quasi-experimental study. ENT, and Head and Neck Surgery Departments of Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Hospital Masroor, Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Rawalpindi and PAF Hospital Sargodha, from January 2000 to January 2005. Patients of either gender and above 20 years of age having snoring as their primary complaint were registered. Patients with an obvious cause of upper airway obstruction like oropharyngeal swelling, growths and obstructive sleep apnea were excluded. A grading system was designed to classify the patients according to severity and criteria for successful outcome defined; grades were equated with VAS. Palatal stiffening was achieved by using an insulated 22 gauge LP needle for infiltration cautery. Results were analyzed at 6 weeks post operatively on SPSS-16. Paired t-test was applied to compare the improvement in snoring and significance was tested at p-value less than 0.05. Forty four (44) patients underwent the palatal stiffening procedure. Male to female ratio was 42:2. Twenty eight (28) patients (63%) had complete resolution of symptoms after first surgery. Out of the remaining, ten more patients (22.72%) became symptom free after 1st revision surgery while six patients (12.5%) needed 2nd revision. Pain in throat was the main post operative complaint which settled in 10 to 14 days. Palatal stiffening procedure causing relatively less morbidity, simple and minimally invasive, but effective at the same time.