Snoring, and some obstructive sleep apnea, can be cured by oropharyngeal surgery

Surgical resection of physiologically unneeded palate and oropharyngeal tissue can completely stop a large part of social snoring problems and benefit at least 50% of persons with the obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. We report detailed results of the conditions of 28 patients who underwent 50 palatopharyn-goplasty (PPD) operations done by us since the concept was introduced two years ago. The results clearly prove that the social snoring problem of most patients can be fixed. The results are inconclusive as to just how PPP surgery fits into predictive management of sleep apnea. For some patients it is an effective alternative to tracheotomy.