ABSTRACT
Pain control is usually adequate with acetaminophen. No antibiotics or steroids are given. Snoring symptoms generally worsen for 2-3 days, then gradually improve over 2-3 weeks. The patient is followed up at a minimum of 6 weeks postinjection, allowing for the greatest sclerosing-effect possible. The scar should be inspected and palpated for stiffness and the patient reassessed for the ability to reproduce the snoring sound (Fig. 5). Postprocedural palatal stroboscopy or acoustic analysis can provide optional objective confirmation of palatal stiffening. Most important in the decision to reinject the soft palate is the patient or sleeping partner’s satisfaction with the response to the procedure. The response is deemed inadequate if the snoring is not gone or subjectively is still a problem. The average number of injections needed to
Figure 2 Soft palate immediately after injection demonstrates the clear bulla of submucosally injected sclerosing agent. (See color insert.)
Figure 3 Soft palate several minutes after injection is purplish in color demonstrating the sclerosing agent taking effect. (See color insert.)
achieve treatment success at our institution with 3% STS or 50% ethanol is approximately 1.2 injections per patient.
