Injection snoreplasty: How to treat snoring without all the pain and expense

SCOTT E. BRIETZKE, MD, CPT, MC, USA, and ERIC A. MAIR, MD, LTC,MC, USAF, Washington,DC.

OBJECTIVE: We introduce Injection Snoreplasty: an innovative, safe, and effective palatal snoring procedure with minimal cost and discomfort to the patient. A well-described sclerotherapy agent, Sotradecol, is injected into the soft palate to reduce/eliminate palatal flutter snoring.

STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: Twenty-seven patients with a diagnosis of palatal flutter snoring (respiratory disturbance index less than 10) by sleep study were enrolled in the protocol. Office treatment sessions were performed 6 to 8 weeks apart. Success was judged by subjective improvement in snoring and objective evidence of palatal stiffening/scarring.

RESULTS: Twenty-five (92%) of 27 patients reported significant decrease in snoring. There were no significant postinjection complications. Visual analog pain scale confirmed minimal discomfort. Most patients received more than 1 treatment (average, 1.8) in order to receive optimal palatal stiffening.

CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Injection Snoreplasty is a simple, safe, and effective office treatment for primary snoring. Advantages over current snoring procedures include simplicity, low cost, decreased posttreatment pain levels, and minimal/no convalescence. (Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2001;124: 503-10.)

The Sleep Surgery Centre gratefully acknowledges the origin of this abstract as being from the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C., USA.

The opinions or assertions of the authors contained herein are the private views of the authors and are not to be construed as official or as reflecting the views of the Department of the Army or the Department of Defense. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Washington, DC, September 24-27, 2000. Reprint requests: Eric A. Mair, MD, Department of Otolaryngology, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC 20307; e-mail, EricMair@AOL.COM.