[Study of pharyngeal anatomical diameter in patients with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome before and after uvulopalatopharyngoplasty].
OBJECTIVE
To explore the changes of oropharynx in patients with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome(OSAHS) before and after long-term uvulopalatopharyngoplasty with uvula reserved completely.


METHODS
Thirty-one patients with OSAHS were studied. The following indexes were measured before and after uvulopalatopharyngoplasty: length of uvula, width of uvula base, distance between two-side pillars (DBTP), distance between uvula and posterior pharyngeal wall(DBUP), length of soft palate, perimeter of neck and body mass index (BMI).


RESULTS
The postoperative length of uvula, width of uvula base, DBTP, DBUP changed significantly after uvulopalatopharyngoplasty( P <0.05). The postoperative length of soft palate was significantly less than that before uvulopalatopharyngoplasty( P <0.05). There was no significance difference in BMI and perimeter of neck between preoperative and postoperative patients( P >0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
The uvulopalatopharyngoplasty with uvula reserved completely is an effective method to solve the airway constriction, especially the oropharynx constriction. Transverse diameter could be enlarged to the length of normal adults.
Li
Guizhu
G
Department of Otolaryngology, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangsu University, Suzhou, 212001, China. lgz_liguizhu@yahoo.com.cn
Sun
Shiming
S
Li
Zhe
Z
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009960:Oropharynx / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D010160:Palate, Soft / Q000601:surgery; D010614:Pharynx / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000601:surgery; D011184:Postoperative Period; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000601:surgery*; D014609:Uvula / Q000601:surgery