[Coblation-assisting uvulopalatopharyngoplasty combining coblation-channeling of the tongue for patients with severe OSAHS].

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the therapeutic efficacy of coblation-assisting uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (CAUPPP) combining with coblation-channeling of the tongue (CCT) for patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS).

METHOD: A retrospective analysis was made on patients with severe OSAHS treated by CAUPPP combining with CCT. The adult with severe OSAHS were involved in the study and the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) were beyond 40/h and lowest arterial oxygen saturation (LSaO2) were under or equal to 80%. Surgical approach: The UPPP was performed to decrease the size of soft palate with coblation and coblation-channeling in the soft palate and decrease the size of tongue by CCT. All patients were followed up for 6 to 12 months and underwent polysomnography (PSG).

RESULT: Subjective symptoms of patients improved more significantly than that of preoperation. The function of soft palate is normal without significant nasopharyngeal regurgitation. Compared with the preoperative data, AHI values were significantly decreased (P<0.01) and the lowest oxygen saturations increased significantly (P<0.01) and the effective rate was 91.7%.

CONCLUSION

There are usually multiple obstruction levels in patients with severe OSAHS and the traditional surgical treatment is not ideal. This study demonstrated that with the assistance of coblation, combining CAUPPP with CCT for patients with severe OSAHS is an effective surgical method. It has less blood loss, minimally invasive, retained the normal function of the soft palate, etc., should be widely applied.