Surgery for snoring
Reviewed by Sunil Sharma

The prevalence of sleep-disordered breathing is rapidly increasing. There is variable evidence for surgical treatments for snoring currently. This Belgian study was a retrospective review of 84 patients who underwent surgery for snoring between May 2011 and December 2015. A total of 329 patients presented with sleep disordered breathing and underwent multidisciplinary evaluation during the study period, with only 84 proceeding to surgery. Treatments were evaluated through four questionnaires (snoring intensity, snoring severity, Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and global snoring score) before, six weeks after, and six months after treatment. Treatment success was measured using a global snoring visual analogue score (VAS) <4 at six months. The snoring scores decreased significantly for every surgical technique at six weeks and six months. A higher reduction in median snoring scores was observed in patients receiving uvulopalatopharynoplasty (UPPP) and osteotomy compared to somnoplasty and septoplasty. Treatment was successful in 88% of the UPPP group, 92% of the osteotomy group, 61% of the septoplasty group, and 64% of the somnoplasty group. This study represents a good start to providing more evidence for snoring surgery, and can help guide surgical decision making, however a well-constructed randomised control trial is needed.

Surgical treatments for snoring.
Sabbe A-V, De Medts J, Delsupehe K.
B-ENT
2017;13:1-7.