Radiofrequency of the soft palate for sleep-disordered breathing: a 6-year follow-up study

To determine the long-term (>3 years) outcome of patients suffering from simple snoring or non-severe obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) treated by radiofrequency ablation of the soft palate.

Observational retrospective study.

Tertiary care university hospital.

Seventy-seven subjects were included between 1999 and 2006. Twenty-seven suffered from mild or moderate OSAS. All patients were treated by radiofrequency-assisted stiffening of the soft palate, with or without uvulectomy. Snoring (assessed on a 10 cm visual analog scale (VAS)), marital status, presence of cardiovascular risk factors or pathologies and follow-up time were evaluated by postal questionnaire.

Mean follow-up time was 6.3 ± 2.3 years. Mean snoring intensity decreased significantly in the immediate postoperative period (8.1 ± 2.9 to 3.5 ± 2.2 cm on VAS). Over the longer term, however, we observed a significant increase in snoring intensity (5.7 ± 2.9 cm), which nevertheless remained below the preoperative values (P<0.001). Bed-partners noticed a relapse of snoring in 92.7% of cases. Nine percent of couples separated. Hypertension and diabetes were diagnosed during follow-up in 12.1% and 6.6% of the subjects, respectively. A majority of patients failed to undergo repeat polysomnography or further treatment.

Relapse of snoring was observed in nearly all patients in the long run, although intensity appears to remain lower than preoperatively. Most patients did not comply with the follow-up instructions and did not seek other forms of treatment when recurrence occurred.