CO2-LASER PALATOPLASTY - EARLY RESULTS

It is now widely accepted that snoring causes significant social dysfu nction. In the absence of obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome, palatal s urgery offers a very good chance of eliminating or reducing snoring, T he traditional operation of uvulopalatopharyngoplasty remains the 'gol d standard', but may be complicated by velopharyngeal incompetence, se vere post-operative pain and even nasopharyngeal stenosis. A newer tec hnique to reduce snoring caused by palatal flutter by using a neodymni um: yttrium aluminium garnet laser to stiffen the soft palate has been introduced recently by another unit. We show that this procedure can be carried out using a CO2 laser, and present the initial results of t he first 29 patients operated on at The Royal National Throat, Nose an d Ear Hospital.