Abstract
Nasal continuous positive airway pressure (NCPAP) is considered the gold standard and the primary treatment for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), however surgery is also carried out aggressively in the worldwide. Most of the OSA patients have single-level narrowing site, but there are few patients with multilevel narrowing sites. We evaluated the efficacy of therapy and complications after combination surgery, uvulo palato pharyngo plasty (UPPP) plus lingual tonsillectomy (LT) for OSA.
UPPP and LT were undertaken in 19 patients with moderate and severe OSA between 2012 and 2016. The Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) score, polysomnography and the incidence of complications were used for the evaluation of surgical outcome. The mean ESS score decreased significantly. The mean apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) improved. The sleep efficiency, rapid eye movement, stage 1 and stage 2 sleep also improvement significantly. As postoperative early complications, there were many cases of epiglottal swelling and pharyngeal discomfort, and four cases of taste disturbance occurred one month postoperatively. Combination surgery is effective for multilevel OSA allowing sites but it is important to predict the postoperative complications.
