Introduction: The surgical treatment of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) may be performed using a bipolar radiofrequency based technique.
Objectives: To demonstrate the effect of this surgical procedure in treating OSAS.
Methods: A particular handpiece is inserted into the thickness of soft palate and activated for 10 or 15 seconds every time. This proceeding removes immediately the tissue and creates a lesion (coagulation and scaring retraction) which, after recovery, causes the reduction of dimension of soft palate tissues and hardens the floating tissue responsible for snoring. During the same time we treat the inferior turbinates: the handpiece is inserted in correspondence of the head of inferior turbinates until the tail.
Results: Nasal resistances decreased and the self-evaluation tests showed an improvement of the symptoms. After initial recovery (a week after the surgical operation) the patient fells an improvement of the symptoms. However the effects on the soft palate tissue proceed in the next days with ulterior decreasing of snoring (top results are obtained after one month). Sometimes it is possible to repeat the treatment for improving the final results.
Conclusions: This procedure is borne well (under local or general anaesthesia) and patient can be discharged by the hospital immediately without nasal packing.