Z-pharyngoplasty for sleep disorder and rhonchopathy.

We developed an operation that leaves the uvula intact and opens the pharynx by creating a Z-shaped incision in the palate, a procedure known as a Z-pharyngoplasty (ZPP). Twenty-four patients were studied before and after ZPPs. None of the patients complained of symptoms after the procedure. In terms of subjective changes, 79% of patients felt that they could breathe better after ZPPs and 75% felt that they had slept well upon waking. In terms of differences noted by sleep monitoring, the minimum oxygen saturation (SaO2) level increased significantly (p = 0.0025), the number of hours of sleep during which SaO2 was > 95% increased significantly (p = 0.0345), the apnea index decreased significantly (p = 0.0316), snoring decreased (p = 0.0637) and pulse rate decreased significantly (p = 0.0144) after ZPP.