For more information about the selection of palate procedures, please see Dr. Kezirian’s blog entry about choosing the best palate surgery for snoring and sleep apnea.

The soft palate (roof of the mouth) and tonsils play a major role in snoring and obstructive sleep apnea. There is a wide range of treatment options. Minimally-invasive procedures like palate radiofrequency can be performed in the office under local anesthesia, and these can be very helpful in snoring and mild obstructive sleep apnea. Other soft palate procedures, including uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (also known as UPPP or UP3), Australian modified palatopharyngoplasty, expansion sphincter pharyngoplasty, and lateral pharyngoplasty are performed for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea in the operating room under general anesthesia.

Why is there more than one sleep apnea surgery?

Although many people have attempted to utilize a single procedure to treat snoring and sleep apnea, there is no single procedure that works well for everyone. Outcomes vary widely for individual patients and procedures. Dr. Kezirian was one of the first surgeons in the United States to perform some of these palate procedures, and he uses this experience and published studies to match individual patients and procedures to achieve the best outcomes possible. Selecting among procedures and predicting outcomes is far from perfect, but Dr. Kezirian lectures across the country and around the world on this topic, advancing sleep surgery through the education of patients and colleagues. Dr. Kezirian has written on his blog about the over-reliance on a single procedure to treat all patients with snoring and obstructive sleep apnea.

 

sleep diagram palate low resolution 1024x999 - Palate Procedures

The following video presents a discussion of palate procedures:

To learn more about specific palate procedures, please continue to: