Abstract
Some reports say that LAUP (uvulopalatoplasty) is a useful surgical treatment method for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). This method, however, unfortunately has no effect on some patients. As a result, we cannot recommend patients to undergo this operation with certainty. We therefore devised an original examination method to evaluate the surgical indications for this treatment modality and named it the Challenge test. We performed this test on 27 patients who agreed to take the test and also showed an AHI score of more than 20. As a result, 12 of 27 patients showed a positive finding for the Challenge test. Thereafter, all 12 of positive patients underwent uvulopalatoplasty, and all showed a significant improvement in the AHI (more than 25%) after the operation. Based on the above findings, we conclude that our newly developed Challenge test is a valuable diagnostic modality for assessing the surgical indication for LAUP in patients with OSAS.
