Mouth opening during sleep may be a critical predictor of surgical outcome after uvulopalatopharyngoplasty for obstructive sleep apnea.

STUDY

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the value of mouth opening during sleep for predicting surgical outcomes after uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP).

METHODS

Retrospectively, 69 out of 120 consecutive patients with obstructive sleep apnea who underwent uvulopalatopharyngoplasty at an academic tertiary referral center were included in this study. Sixty-nine subjects underwent cephalometry, nocturnal polysomnography and sleep videofluoroscopy before and after UPPP. Multiple parameters from the above studies were evaluated as potential predictors of UPPP outcomes.

RESULTS

Multivariate analysis showed that an increased angle of mouth opening during sleep was the only significant predictor for surgical failure (p < 0.001). The angle of mouth opening could predict surgical outcome with predictive values of 72.4% and 82.5% for success and failure, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Sleep videofluoroscopy during sleep revealed that the simple measurement of mouth-opening angle could outstandingly predict surgical outcome.