Treatments for snoring: A comparison of somnoplasty and an oral appliance

Objectives: Objectives of the study are 1) to test the effectiveness of som noplasty (radiofrequency volumetric tissue reduction of the soft palate) fo r the control of loud, socially disruptive, snoring; 2) to test the long-te rm efficacy of this treatment by spouse report; and 3) to compare the effec tiveness of somnoplasty with another treatment. Study Design: Twenty patien ts with complaints of loud snoring and a respiratory disturbance index no g reater than 15 respiratory events per hour with sleep-related episodes of o xygen desaturation no lower than 80% were offered an experimental treatment . Ten mere treated with somnoplasty, and a comparison group of 10 matched p atients used an oral appliance. All were restudied in the laboratory wearin g a device programmed to count minutes of sleep during which snoring was lo ud, soft, or absent. Methods: For the 10 somnoplasty patients, a spouse rat ing of snoring determined whether the patient received one or more treatmen ts. Five patients had a single treatment to three sites, and five others ha d two such treatments. Ten patients wore an oral appliance of the tongue-re taining type (Snore X, Fremont, CA), Results: Seven of the 10 somnoplasty p atients met the improvement criteria set for reduced loud snoring fa spouse rating of 3 or less on a 10-point scale, and 10% or less of sleep time in loud snoring in the laboratory). The comparison group also had a significan t improvement in the percentage of sleep time in loud snoring while wearing the Snore X appliance. Conclusion: Since there was no significant differen ce between the two groups in percentage of sleep time spent in loud snoring while treated, the choice of method to control snoring must be based on fa ctors other than efficacy.