Laser-assisted uvulopalatoplasty: postoperative complications

Laser-assisted uvulopalatoplasty (LAUP) has become a widely used procedure for the treatment of snoring and mild sleep apnea in the United States. Between July 1993 and December 1994, the authors of this study prospectively evaluated 541 consecutive patients referred to their hospital for possible LAUP to treat loud disruptive snoring. Of the 541 patients, 275 patients had a total of 754 LAUP procedures. There were 26 complications (3.45%). These complications included postoperative hemorrhage in 16 patients (2.12%), local infection in 4 patients (0.53%), temporary palatal incompetence in 4 patients (0.53% , and temporary loss of taste in 2 patients (0.27%). None of the 16 patients with postoperative hemorrhage required a blood transfusion. Only 10 patients (1.3%) had hemorrhage that required medical attention; in the other patients, the bleeding stopped spontaneously. There were no cases of hypernasal speech, permanent palatal incompetence, nasopharyngeal stenosis, airway compromise, or death.