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85th Annual Meeting of the German Society of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Head and Neck Surgery

German Society of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Head and Neck Surgery

28.05. - 01.06.2014, Dortmund

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Radiofrequency treatment of the soft palate: the efficacy and safeness of surgical protocol with enlarged radiofrequency energy delivery

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  • corresponding author Tomas Balsevicius - Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania
  • Virgilijus Uloza - Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Hals-Nasen-Ohren-Heilkunde, Kopf- und Hals-Chirurgie. 85. Jahresversammlung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Hals-Nasen-Ohren-Heilkunde, Kopf- und Hals-Chirurgie. Dortmund, 28.05.-01.06.2014. Düsseldorf: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House; 2014. Doc14hnod657

doi: 10.3205/14hnod657, urn:nbn:de:0183-14hnod6572

Published: April 14, 2014

© 2014 Balsevicius et al.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/deed.en). You are free: to Share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work, provided the original author and source are credited.

Outline

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Introduction: While multiple radiofrequency treatment (RFT) sessions (3 to 5) are generally carried out to achieve satisfactory outcomes for Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS) patients, we hypothesized that enlarged radiofrequency energy delivery per session may reduce the number of treatment sessions.

Methods: During a prospective trial, 28 mild to moderate OSAS patients underwent two sessions of RFT (CelonLab ENT system) within the interval from 6 to 8 weeks. 9 palatal lesions (power setting of 10 W) were made per treatment session. Complete full night polysomnography and clinical tests battery consisting of Visual Analogue Scales (VAS), Sleep Apnea Quality of Life Index (SAQLI), Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition (BDI-II), and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) were applied twice: at baseline and within the period of 2 to 3 months after the second RFT session.

Results: Study group patients demonstrated statistically significantly reduced post-treatment mean VAS values for the most of OSAS related complaints. A marked improvement in sleepiness (ESS score 6.71±3.66 v.s. 8.46±4.09, p≤0.01), depressivity (BDI-II score 7.50±6.48 v.s. 13.07±11.71, p≤0.01) and health related quality of life (SAQLI score 5.25±0.83 v.s. 4.67±0.89, p≤0.01) were observed after patients were treated. The mean AHI decreased from 13.69±5.99 to 8.29±4.98 points (p≤0.01) in the entire group of patients. According to Sher’s criteria of success 17 (60.7%) patients were cured.

Postoperative mean pain levels matched only mild intensity of the pain levels.

Conclusions: RFT of the soft palate with enlarged radiofrequency energy delivery is an effective and safe treatment modality associated with low morbidity in mild to moderate OSAS patients.

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