[Surgery for snoring disorders and sleep apnea syndromes]

Sleep apnea syndrome is a relatively recent notion, frequently associated with snoring. First, a tracheostomy was applied as surgical treatment for the most dramatic cases. Over many years a modified old technic, the uvulo-palato-pharyngoplasty (UPPP) has been applied with a success rate of 60%. This type of surgery seems very easy. Yet anatomic variations require changes in the surgical procedure to obtain an optimal result. This point is frequently not known by inexperienced surgeons. Finally, the complete treatment needs a medical and surgical team able to choose the best solution for each patient, and to follow the obtained results.