• Speech Sciences
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.167-177
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• 2002

Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) is one of the popular surgical procedure for snoring and sleep apnea syndrome. The main principle of this procedure is to reduce abundant velopharyngeal soft tissues resulting in a shortened soft palate, which may cause some alterations in speech sound. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the change of velopharyngeal function after UPPP in the view of aerodynamics. Thirty three patients who received uvulopalatopharyngoplasty for correcting snoring and sleep apnea were included in this study. The airflow, airflow rate and air pressure during the production of oral and nasal consonants were measured before surgery and 4 week and 8 week after surgery. The oral air flows and pressures for oral and nasal consonants were not changed after surgery. However, oral air pressure for nasal consonants were increased significantly after surgery. The nasal air flows for oral consonants were not changed after surgery, but for nasal consonants were decreased at 8 weeks after surgery. The nasal flow rate for oral and nasal consonants were increased at 8 weeks after surgery. The uvulopalatopharyngoplasty may result in affecting the aerodynamic air streams during speech production.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.31-37
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• 1996

Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty(UPPP) is an operation that is frequently performed for the patient of obstructive sleep apnea(OSA). A major problem has been to select those patients who will have a good response to UPPP. We compared preoperative and postoperative polysomnography(PSG) in 20 patients to evaluate the success rate of the operation. Each subject underwent a cephalometric roentgenogram, and fiberoptic nasopharyngoscopy with Mueller maneuver was applied in roentgenogram and fiberoptic nasopharyngoscopy with Mueller maneuver was applied in preop evaluation of patients with OSA. No PSG parameter could accurately predict the changes in sleep after UPPP. There were no significant differences between the responders and the nonresponders concerning the cephalometric analysis, the type of obstruction by Mueller maneuver, and body mass index(BMI). The conclusions of this study are thus that UPPP is an effective treatment for the OSAS with a high success rate, but that there is no single useful parameter predicting the success of the operation.

• Proceedings of the KSLP Conference
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• 2011.03a
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• pp.13-13
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• 2011

• Speech Sciences
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.23-37
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• 2001

The primary sound produced by the vibration of vocal folds reaches the velopharyngeal isthmus and is directed both nasally and orally. The proportions of the each component is determined by the anatomical and functional status of the soft palate. The oral sounds composed of oral vowels and consonants according to the status of vocal tract, tongue, palate and lips. The nasal sounds composed of nasal consonants and nasal vowels, and further modified according to the status of the nasal airway, so anatomical abnormalities in the nasal cavity will influence nasal sound. The measurement of nasal sounds of speech has relied on the subjective scoring by listeners. The nasal sounds are described with nasality and nasalization. Generally, nasality has been assessed perceptually in the effect of maxillofacial procedures for cleft palate, sleep apnea, snoring and nasal disorders. The nasalization is considered as an acoustic phenomenon. Snoring and sleep apnea is a typical disorders due to abundant velopharynx. The sleep apnea has been known as a cessation of breathing for at least 10 seconds during sleep. Several medical and surgical methods for treating sleep apnea have been attempted. The uvulopalatopharyngoplasty(UPPP) involves removal of 1.0 to 3.0 cm of soft palate tissue with removal of redundant oropharyngeal mucosa and lateral tissue from the anterior and sometimes posterior faucial pillars. This procedure results in a shortened soft palate and a possible risk following this surgery may be velopharyngeal malfunctioning due to the shortened palate. Few researchers have systematically studied the effects of this surgery as it relates to speech production. Some changes in the voice quality such as resonance (nasality), articulation, and phonation have been reported. In view of the conflicting reports discussed, there remains some uncertainty about the speech status in patients following the snoring and sleep apnea surgery. The study was conducted in two phases: 1) acoustic analysis of oral and nasal sounds, and 2) evaluation of nasality.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.457-464
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• 1998

This report describes a 5-month follow-up of the efficacy of Herbst oral appliance(OA) in a obstructive sleep apnea syndrome patient who has failed with uvulopalatopharyngoplasty(UPPP) and was unable to tolerate to subsequent nasal continuous positive airway pressure(CPAP) because of mouth air leak. The obstructive sleep apnea and daytime performance were markedly improved by regular home use of OA, and the patient still continues to use OA without complications. It is suggested that OA can be a successful alternative therapeutic modality in patients who are unable to tolerate to nasal CP AP, especially after UPPP.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.213-219
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• 2012

Oral appliances are a primary treatment option for snoring and mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and are considered as an alternative for patients with severe OSA who have failed continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) or upper airway surgery. But it is true that OAs have varying degrees of effectiveness depending on different oral appliances and the efficacy of OAs are established in some but not all patients. New oral appliance, which is one of Adjustable Anterior Positioners, was developed by Dept of Oral Medicine, Dental School, Dankook University. This is a report for treating severe OSA patient with a failure of previous uvulopalatopharyngoplasty using a new Adjustable Anterior Positioner, followed by significant success of controlling OSA.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.22-26
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• 1998

Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty(UPPP) is one of the most popular surgical procedure for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome(OSAS) occurring at the level of oropharynx. However, voice changes after UPPP have been a challenging issue for the professional voice users, because even minor changes in voice quality or articulation may be critical to professional singers, teachers, and so on. Several acoustic changes after UPPP have been proposed. However, based on the authors understanding, there is no report about voice changes after UPPP in Korean. We measured the first, second and third formant frequencies of /a/, /i/, /u/ phonations in 20 adult male patients who had undergone UPPP surgery, and the nasalances of Rabbit, Baby, and Mama passages. These parameters were measured preoperatively, at 1 month and 3 months after the operation. Any subjective voice changes were asked to be reported at the posto-perative visits. The third formant(F3) of /u/ phonation was significantly reduced at postoperative 1 month measurement. The nasalance of Mama passage was singnificantly increased at postoperative 3 months measurement. No one complained of subjective changes in voice quality, timbre, articulation or speech. Even though there are no complaints about postoperative voice changes subjectively, significant changes in the formant characteristics of certain vowel and changes in the nasality after UPPP require the clinicians to be mort cautious and careful in deciding UPPP for the professional voice users.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.73-76
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• 2013

Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) is one possibility for the treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). The aim of this study was study the analysis of polysomnography of pre-UPPP and post-UPPP. All patients were evaluated by means of a physical examination, the epworth sleepiness scale (ESS), the beck depression inventory (BDI) and the nocturnal polysomnography (PSG) before surgery, and 6~12 months after surgery. A total of 15 patients were investigated. All underwent UPPP. The patients were between 26 and 62 years old ($mean{\pm}SD$; $39.7{\pm}10.9$) with a lean body mass index (BMI) of $mean{\pm}SD$; $26.2{\pm}3.0kg/m^2$. The comparison of sleep questionnaires showed that after UPPP, the patients had a significantly lower BMI ($26.2{\pm}3.0kg/m^2$ vs $26.0{\pm}3.4kg/m^2$, p=0.241), ESS ($10.0{\pm}5.4$ vs $6.9{\pm}3.2$, p=0.022), BDI ($9.2{\pm}8.2$ vs $4.2{\pm}4.3$, p=0.343) and higher blood pressure ($127.5{\pm}12.1$ vs $123.7{\pm}12.0$, p=0.272) compared to before UPPP. The comparison of sleep parameters showed that after UPPP, patients had a significantly lower stage N1 ($108.8{\pm}53.1$ vs $82.2{\pm}48.9$, p=0.016), lower sleep latency ($4.9{\pm}4.4$ vs $2.0{\pm}1.7$, p=0.083), a lower total arousal number ($210.6{\pm}90.3$ vs $147.1{\pm}87.3$, p=0.019), lower oxygen desaturation index (ODI) ($30.2{\pm}20.9$ vs $10.2{\pm}15.1$, p=0.006), lower apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) ($31.6{\pm}22.4$ vs $10.9{\pm}15.4$, p=0.005), and a lower respiratory disturbance index (RDI) ($37.4{\pm}21.3$ vs $18.5{\pm}16.5$, p=0.008) compared to after UPPP. The comparison of sleep parameters showed that after UPPP, patients had a significantly higher stage N2 ($154.0{\pm}39.9$ vs $180.5{\pm}49.5$, p=0.017), higher REM ($58.5{\pm}29.7$ vs $72.6{\pm}34.0$, p=0.249), higher $meanSaO_2$ ($94.3{\pm}2.0$ vs $95.9{\pm}0.9$, p=0.043), and higher $meanSaO_2$ ($79.3{\pm}8.5$ vs $83.1{\pm}7.9$, p=0.116) than before UPPP. After UPPP, 6 patients were cured, 2 showed marked improvement, and 7 did not improve. After surgery, the success of the treatment was at 53%. The subjective patient satisfaction was higher than before the surgery.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.435-444
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• 2008

Purpose: Clinical study to evaluate the efficacy and the safety of various surgical treatments in snoring and obstructive sleep apnea. Methods and materials: We performed surgical treatments such as radiofrequency ablation, uvulopalatopharyngoplasty(UPPP) with tonsillectomy, uvulopalatopharyngoplasty with advancement genioplasty, orthognathic surgery(maxillomandibluar advancement), distraction osteogenesis device insertion. Diagnosis was performed with clinical examination, polysomnography, lateral cephalometric and computed tomography. 62(M : F = 45 : 17, mean age 41.5, mean follow-up 4 weeks) patients underwent radiofrequency ablation and 7 (M : F = 5 : 2, mean age 38.9, mean follow-up 19months)patients experienced uvulopalatopharyngoplasty with tonsillectomy. Uvulopalatophayngoplasty with advancement genioplasty was performed for 3 (M : F = 2: 1, mean age 30.2, mean follow-up 14 months)patients. The last 3(M : F = 2 : 1, mean age 21.5, mean follow-up 24 months)patients was treated with orthognathic surgery including distraction device insertion. The results was evaluated by questionnaires, polysomnography, investigation of complications. Results: Of the patients treated with radiofrequency ablation, 95% reported improvement of their symptom. 100% improvement was reported in patients treated with UPPP with tonsillectomy and UPPP with advancement genioplasty. The two of three patients who underwent orthognathic surgery showed the satisfactory of treatments. Dryness of mouth was the most common complication during short period in radiofrequency ablation and UPPP with tonsillectomy. Relapse complication was not found in any surgical treatments. Conclusion: Treatment for snoring and OSA is determined by severity degree of the physiologic derangements, predominant type of apnea and obstructive site. Accuracy diagnosis should be performed prior to treatment for satisfactory treatment result. This study demonstrates feasibility, safety and efficacy of surgical treatments in snoring and OSA.

• Korean Journal of Bronchoesophagology
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.62-65
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• 2001

Subcutaneous emphysema of the head and neck are well-known sequealae of surgery and trauma to the chest airway. This occurs when air is introduced into the tissue. This can happen as a complication during, or immediately after surgery. Among the causes subcutaneous emphysema due to complication of tonsillectomy, has rarely been described. Definitive treatment will depend on the cause. Recently. we have experienced two cases of subcutaneous emphysema without respiratory and circulatory insufficiency as a complication of tonsillectomy in 38-year-old male and uvulopalatopharyngoplasty in 41- year-old male.