Patient Information: Uvulopalatoplasty is an operation to improve certain sleep disorder symptoms such as obstructive sleep apnea and snoring. You will require some type of pain medication for couple of weeks from the procedure. Because there may be several causes occurring at the same time, this procedure may only give partial relief depending on the relative importance of the palate and uvula size. If proper patient selection is made, expectation for snoring improvement should be greater than 80%.

Possible Adverse Effects:
1. Bleeding during the procedure and postoperatively is uncommon. The laser seals the blood vessels during the procedure.

2. A moderate amount of pain is to be expected. Pain medication will control the pain and allow the patient to swallow more comfortably.

3. Infection after the procedure may occur, but is uncommon. This problem responds readily to oral antibiotics.

4. There may be temporary swelling inside the throat. The airway is not at risk for life-threatening obstruction, but you may notice a temporary worsening of snoring for a week or two until the inflammation resolves and the scarring takes place.

5. Voice change or nasal regurgitation are also uncommon, but may occur temporarily due to the shortened length of the palate as it makes contact with the back of the throat. Staged resections and continual monitoring during the procedure makes these potential problems very rare on a permanent basis.

6. Continued snoring or sleep apnea may occur if there are conditions involving the nose, base of tongue, lung, neurologic, or obesity present which are not addressed by this procedure. Additional modes of therapy may be needed for adequate treatment.

7. There are risks involved with general anesthesia, but are uncommon. You may discuss these with the anesthesiologist before surgery.