A comparison of conservative, radical and laser palatal surgery for snoring

Reports of snoring are common among serviceman in the armed forces. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is usually an inappropriate modality for servicemen, but surgery, although requested, is very painful. In an attempt to reduce the pain, a laser has been used to perform uvulopalatopharyngoplasty and the more conservative uvulopalatoplasty has also been performed. Before proceeding to a randomized trial, this retrospective study was performed by questionnaire comparing these operations with conventional uvulopalatopharyngoplasty. Fifty-two completed replies from 63 patients were analysed. The results have to be interpreted with caution because of the small sample sizes; however, the results in the three groups were similar. The study suggests that each operation works well, but that any reduction in pain from performing uvulopalatoplasty or by using a laser is likely to be small. The study also found that the incidence of dryness as a complication is much higher than previously estimated.