Acta oto-laryngologica
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Acta oto-laryngologica · Mar 2009
Clinical TrialHypertonic saline injections to enhance the radiofrequency thermal ablation effect in the treatment of base of tongue in obstructive sleep apnoea patients: a pilot study.
Hypertonic saline (HS) infiltration in the base of the tongue (BOT) in multilevel radiofrequency ablation (RFA) treatment was followed by significant acute complications in terms of soft tissue swelling. Three patients were defined as cured. No significant changes in the measured parameters were encountered, although, several of them showed a clear trend. New treatment modalities are needed to keep multilevel RFA treatment as a minimally invasive procedure. ⋯ Twelve males and one female with a median age of 50 years (range 41-62) entered the study. Six patients (46%) had more postoperative swelling in the upper airway than expected. Three patients were defined as cured. The trend in the questionnaires was clear, but not significant. In the soft tissue airway CR measurements no significant changes were encountered, although a trend towards volume reduction was seen in the posterior airway space measure.