Results of uvulopalatopharyngoplasty in snoring

Twenty-one patients (4 females and 17 males) with very annoying snoring were subjected to UPPP with CO2-laser technique. All patients were overweight (bodymass index average 30.3 kg/m2). In 71%, narrowing were found at the naso/oropharyngeal border. All had either abnormal uvula or soft palate. In 17 patients, snoring was reduced to a degree no longer socially annoying. Three were annoying to some extent. In only one patient, snoring was completely unchanged. UPPP is not very difficult to perform and we did not notice any troublesome sequelae. We think that UPPP is an effective operation for severe snoring, although it does not eliminate the symptom.