폐쇄성 수면무호흡질환에서 구개근 절제술과 구개근 및 보존적 구개수 절제술의 술 후 결과 비교

Background and Objectives: Palatal muscle resection (PMR) is a surgical method that treats retropalatal airway obstruction. Sometimes elongated uvula can aggravate obstructive symptom in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients. Uvulectomy is usually done in such cases to resolve the obstructive effect of the uvula. The purpose of this study was to compare postopreative results of PMR and PMR with partial uvulectomy in treating obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Materials and Methods: Thirty-three patients with OSA due to retropalatal obstruction were treated with surgical method from June 2011 to May 2013. Seventeen patients underwent PMR and 16 patients underwent PMR with partial uvulectomy. Surgical method was decided by preoperative drug induced sleep endoscopy (DISE) analysis. Postoperative satisfaction criteria were analyzed before and after 3 months of each surgery via questionnaires based on visual analogue scale (VAS) of snoring, sleep apnea, and daytime sleepiness. Postoperative complications were analyzed before the surgery as well as 1, 4, and 12 weeks after the surgery via questionnaires based on VAS about foreign body sensation, dry throat, velopharyngeal insufficiency, swallowing difficulty, and voice change. Results: Postoperative satisfactions were significantly (p<0.05) improved in both groups. There was no significant (p>0.05) difference in postoperative satisfactions between the two groups. Foreign body sensation and dry throat were significantly (p<0.05) increased in PMR with partial uvulectomy group. But these complications were resolved within 3 months. Conclusions: The PMR with partial uvulectomy group had more complications than the PMR group. Our results suggested that PMR with partial uvulectomy was preferable for cases requiring uvulectomy because some complications were resolved spontaneously. (J Clinical Otolaryngol 2014;25:156–162)