Submucosal Reduction Inferior Turbinectomy And Anterior Palatoplasty in Selected Cases of Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Clinical Study

Purpose The role of inferior turbinate reduction surgery is not well-defined in obstructive sleep apnea surgeries. This work was designed to assess and compare the surgical outcomes of submucosal reduction of the inferior turbinate with anterior palatoplasty versus anterior palatoplasty in obstructive apnea patients Methods This study was conducted on adult CPAP-intolerant patients with mild obstructive sleep apnea. All patients showed single-level anteroposterior oropharyngeal collapse. Patients were randomly distributed into 2 subgroups, GA for submucosal reduction inferior turbinectomy and anterior palatoplasty while GB was managed by anterior palatoplasty only. Results The study group included 47 adult patients (28 males and 19 females) with a mean age of 34.3±8.76 years. They had snoring and mild obstructive sleep apnea. They were subdivided into GA and GB. The mean postoperative AHI and the mean postoperative LO2 were higher in GA in comparison to GB; this difference was not statistically significant (P>0.05). There were significant differences between the 2 subgroups in the post-operative ODI (P=0.002), ESS (P=0.02), and VASs (P