Study objectives: To evaluate the value of mouth opening during sleep for predicting surgical outcomes after uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP).
Methods: Retrospectively, 69 out of 120 consecutive patients with obstructive sleep apnea who underwent uvulopalatopharyngoplasty at an academic tertiary referral center were included in this study. Sixty-nine subjects underwent cephalometry, nocturnal polysomnography and sleep videofluoroscopy before and after UPPP. Multiple parameters from the above studies were evaluated as potential predictors of UPPP outcomes.
Results: Multivariate analysis showed that an increased angle of mouth opening during sleep was the only significant predictor for surgical failure (p < 0.001). The angle of mouth opening could predict surgical outcome with predictive values of 72.4% and 82.5% for success and failure, respectively.
Conclusions: Sleep videofluoroscopy during sleep revealed that the simple measurement of mouth-opening angle could outstandingly predict surgical outcome.