[Treatment of simple snoring. Surgical pharyngoplasty vs. laser CO2 pharyngotomy]

CO2 laser pharyngotomy is a newly described technique used in treatment bronchopathy without sleep apnea syndrome. Retrospective results of 70 CO2 laser pharyngotomies and 63 surgical pharyngoplasties are studied and compared. All patients were SAS free snoring patients. The results were rated satisfactory by 54% of the CO2 Laser treated patients against 78% for classical surgery. CO2 laser pharyngotomy is an easy procedure done in the office. The complication rate is very low. The predictive criteria upon which one can select the best procedure for each particular patient remain largely unknown.