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A Long-Term Follow-up Study for the Treatment of Snoring after Using Patterned Non-Ablative Erbium: YAG 2,940 nm Laser

Introduction  Laser uvulopalatoplasty is an established operation for the treatment of snoring with good results on a short-term basis, while long-term follow-up studies, in addition to their scarcity, had conflicting results regarding recurrence, the change of snoring quality, and complications. Ob...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Kassab, Ahmed N., Kharbotly, Ahmed El, Elsamie, Ahmed Abd, Ahmed, Mohamed Rifaat
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Thieme Revinter Publicações Ltda. 2022
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9879649/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36714903
http://dx.doi.org/10.1055/s-0042-1744171
Descripción
Sumario:Introduction  Laser uvulopalatoplasty is an established operation for the treatment of snoring with good results on a short-term basis, while long-term follow-up studies, in addition to their scarcity, had conflicting results regarding recurrence, the change of snoring quality, and complications. Objective  To assess the long-term follow-up results of using nonablative 2,940 nm Erbium: YAG for the treatment of snoring regarding outcomes and recurrence. Methods  This 2-year follow-up study was conducted on 76 patients operated upon by non-ablative 2940 nm Erbium: yttrium-aluminum-garnet (YAG) using a PS01 patterned headpiece. Subjective evaluation of the treatment was performed relying on a smartphone application to record snoring in addition to a questionnaire specially designed to report recurrence and change in the quality of snoring reported by a patient's spouse. The objective evaluation was done by computed tomography (CT) imaging of the soft palate. The patients were evaluated preoperatively, 6 weeks postoperatively and after a 2-year follow-up period. Results  Six week after the procedure, there was a significant improvement in 52 patients (68.4%). Out of the 52 patients, only 43 completed the 2-year follow-up; however, 15 of them complained of recurrence. Nevertheless, the patients who suffered from recurrence showed subjective improvement in snoring quality. Conclusions  The nonablative mode of Erbium: YAG 2,940 nm laser proved to be efficient in soft palate tightening for the management of snoring. However, there was recurrence in 34.8% of the patients who presented objective and subjective improvement of the complaints, 6 weeks postoperatively and after a 2-year follow-up period.