BMJ 1994;309:477 (13 August)

Letters

Snoring and sleep apnoea

EDITOR, - Ian Mortimore stated that "operative treatment for snoring by uvulopalatopharyngoplasty ... may be associated subsequently with appreciable morbidity and death" as the surgery may prevent the effective use of nasal continuous positive airway pressure in the future.1 We dispute this.

We agree that many simple snorers probably progress over the years to sleep apnoea; there is evidence to support this.2 We do not currently know whether surgical intervention has any beneficial or harmful effect on this progression but it does reduce snoring and daytime sleepiness in snorers, whether or not they have apnoea.3,4

We know of no anecdotal or other evidence to support Mortimore's claim that previous uvulopalatopharyngoplasty may prevent the effective use of nasal continuous positive airway pressure, though some doctors have used this theoretical argument against surgery in the treatment of simple snoring. We intend to test this theory by using nasal continuous positive airway pressure . . . [Full text of this article]


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