PRACTICE PARAMETERS FOR THE USE OF LASER-ASSISTED UVULOPALATOPLASTY

This paper, which has been reviewed and approved by the Board of Direc tors of the American Sleep Disorders Association, provides the backgro und for the Standards of Practice Committee's practice parameters for the practice of sleep medicine in North America. An office-based surgi cal procedure, laser-assisted uvulopalatoplasty (LAUP), has recently b een promoted as a treatment for snoring. The American Sleep Disorders Association's Standards of Practice Committee reviewed the medical lit erature and developed practice parameters for the use of this operatio n. Adequate controlled studies regarding LAUP were not found in peer-r eviewed journals; therefore, patients should be informed that the risk s, benefits, and complications of this procedure have not been establi shed. Because inadequate validation studies exist, prudence dictates t hat patients who elect this procedure undergo appropriate preoperative evaluation and postoperative follow-up.