LAUP was developed in the late 1980s by Dr. Yves-Victor Kamami, a French surgeon whose first article on the technique was published in 1990. Kamami claimed a high rate of success for LAUP in treating a condition known as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as well as snoring.

Laser-assisted uvulopalatoplasty (LAUP) is one of the more commonly used treatments for snoring problems and for mild forms of sleep apnoea. It invovles a procedure that can be performed in your doctors surgery under local anaesthetic. A laser is used to vaporize part of the uvula, a small triangular piece of tissue that hangs from the soft palate above the back of the tongue.

Snoring Surgery Procedure

• First,  sprays a local anesthetic—usually lidocaine—over the back of the patient’s throat, covering the patient’s soft palate, tonsils, and uvula.
• Second, injecte more anesthetic into the muscle tissue in the uvula. After waiting for the anesthetic to take effect, the surgeon uses a carbon dioxide laser to make two vertical incisions in the soft palate on either side of the uvula. A third incision is used to remove the tip of the uvula

The surgeon also usually removes part of the soft palate itself. The total procedure takes about half an hour.

Drawbacks of LAUP

Through Kamami claimed a high rate of success for LAUP in treating a condition known as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as well as snoring. However other surgeons found it less effective than the first reports indicated leading the LAUP procedure has become controversial. Also, most patients suffer considerable pain for about two weeks after surgery.

Some people notice an increased dryness of the throat after the surgery, and your doctor will be able to provide you with a spray that should reduce this dryness. It is often a worry that should this surgery be completed and the snoring stop, then sleep apnoea can sometimes be left unidagnosed as snoring is the most common symptom.

Therefore, it is vital that you are given the right diagnosis before taking this treatment as if you are suffering from sleep apnoea and not snoring, a different procedure, or more caution, may be needed.