Titanium Snoreplasty- A New Surgical Technique

Introduction: based on the previous data, among the general population aged between 30 and 60 years, snoring is observed in 44% and 28% of males and females, respectively. therefore, it is important to treat snoring to reduce the disruption of the bed partner's sleep and the patients’ own problems. this study aimed to present a minimally invasive procedure which is easy to perform with less tissue damage. materials and methods: this study included 13 patients suffering from primary snoring with soft palate length of 2.5cm or more. all of the patients were examined and their partners were asked to fill-out the relevant questionnaires at baselines, 90 days, 6 months and 1 year after the surgery in order to assess snoring. a crescent strip of oral mucosa along with the underlying muscle were removed under general anesthesia followed by the insertion of a piece of oval-shaped titanium mesh. moreover, two subjective methods were employed to assess the snoring of all patients. results: 11 patients were male, and the mean age and the mean body mass index of the patients were 48.69 years and 28.34 kg/m2, respectively. the scores obtained from the visual analog scale for snoring loudness before surgery reduced from 7.63 to 3.54, which was statistically significant (p<0.05). none of the patients experienced major complications after surgery; however, there was a partial extrusion of the implant in one case which was managed conservatively with spontaneous healing. conclusions: titanium snoreplasty was successful in the reduction of snoring in this study. this method is a single-stage treatment for simple snoring with the multiple effects of palatal shortening, space increasing, and palatal stiffening.