The effect of uvulopalatopharyngoplasty with tonsillectomy in patients with obstructive sleep apnea

In the current study, we evaluated the effectiveness of uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) in treatment of patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) syndrome. All patients were previously received medical treatment but their symptoms did not resolve. A prospective study was conducted in Shahid Sadoughi Hospital in Yazd, Iran. Several sleep indices were evaluated using polysomnography (PSG) in all patients before performing UPPP and tonsillectomy. All patients were visited 6 months after surgery and PSG was repeated to assess the efficacy of surgical intervention. A total of 48 patients were enrolled and underwent UPPP and tonsillectomy. Six months after surgery, significant improvements were observed in all indices of sleep (apnea-hypopnea index, respiratory distress index, arterial oxygen saturation, and snoring index). The score of daytime sleepiness (assessed by Epworth score) was also improved. According to the result of this study, using UPPP surgery in patients with OSA can cause symptoms improvement in 64 % of cases. It seems that Muller's maneuver test has assisted in briefly increasing success rate after surgery, though to prove this claim; other studies should be designed and performed in a randomized clinical trial.