Efficacy of Soft Palate Ablation with Plasma Radiofrequency on Obstructive Sleep Apnea Hypopnea Syndrome

Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of soft palate ablation with plasma radiofrequency(RF) at low temperature on mild obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome(OSAHS).Method 18 patients with mild OSAHS were selected.The polysomnography examinations were carried out before and 8 weeks after RF operation respectively.The length of soft palate and uvula,snoring scale and Epworth sleepiness score(ESS) were also compared.The main adverse reactions were observed during and after the operation.Results Comparison of polysomnography parameters before and 8 weeks after RF operation showed that Ⅰ+Ⅱ phase sleep/total sleep time(TST)(%) shortened significantly,Ⅲ+Ⅳ phase sleep/TST(%) prolonged,sleep efficiency[TST/total recording time(%)] and the lowest pulse oxygen saturation improved significantly(all P 0.05 ).In addition,there were significant differences in the decrease of apnea hypopnea index and the shortened rate of snoring time/TST before and after operation(all P 0.01).8 weeks after treatment,the length of soft palate and uvula shortened,snoring scale and ESS decreased significantly( P 0.01).The observation of effects of soft palate RF operation on pain,speech and swallow revealed that the influence of RAF was mild 1～3 days after operation,and an obvious further improvement could be detected 7 days after operation.Conclusions Plasma RF ablation at low temperature is effective to mild OSAHS at least in a short term.This treatment is safe without obvious adverse reactions.However,its long-term efficacy is expected to be further observed.