What is generally agreed on is that IF the surgery is successful, you will get a reduction of AHI of 50%.
Wait, so you mean to tell me if I have an AHI of 30, have UPPP surgery, afterwords my AHI will be 15?
YES.
The simple fact is that most people will need secondary treatment I.E. CPAP, or a dental device to get effective (AHI < 5 ) Treatment.
So if you decide on surgery, realize that you will still be on CPAP or a dental device in most cases.
Link to Study
Quote:
[Failure of uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) in severe obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA)]
PLYWACZEWSKI R, BEDNAREK M, JONCZAK L, CZERNIAWSKA J, GORECKA D, SLIWINSKI P.
Pneumonol Alergol Pol 2007;75(2):121-8.
Zaklad Diagnostyki i Leczenia Niewydolnosci Oddychania Instytutu Gruzlicy i Chorob Pluc w Warszawie
Abstract:
IntRODUCTION: Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) is the most frequent surgical procedure in obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) treatment. The aim of this study was to assess effects of UPPP in OSA subjects admitted to our Sleep Laboratory. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We studied 22 mostly obese males (mean BMI = 33.1 +/- 4 kg/m(2)) in mean age 51.7 +/- 9.7 years. Polysomnography or polygraphy (Poly-Mesam) was performed 28.5 +/- 30.5 month after UPPP. RESULTS: Sleep studies after UPPP revealed severe OSA in most of the patients - mean AHI/RDI = 53 +/- 33.2, mean overnight SaO(2) = 88.1 +/- 5.3%. Subjects spent near half night in desaturation below 90% (T90 = 46.8 +/- 33.8%) and presented daytime somnolence (Epworth score: 14.3 +/- 4.8 points). Only in 3 subjects (13.6%), UPPP was successful (AHI/RDI < or = 10). CONCLUSIONS: Our study confirmed previous data that UPPP is ineffective in majority of obese subjects with severe OSA.
You will see this study saying that 15% of the folks in the study had AHI < 5. But be careful, if you look closely they cherry picked the results and included folks from a larger sample set, 978. So it really looks more like 15 out of 978. (which is more like 1.5%)
http://meeting.chestjournal.org/cgi/content/abstract/132/4/504
And here is a study showing that the "success" of surgery is very questionable (I.E. 50% reduction, AHI <20 versus the standard for CPAP and Dental Devices of AHI < 5)
Quote:
Conclusions: The evidence for clinical efficacy must define treatment “success”. We propose all future surgical audits report “objective cure” rates with success based on AHI outcomes of ≤ 5 and/or ≤ 10. We hope this paper serves as a catalyst for debate and consensus.
http://www.journalsleep.org/Articles/300411.pdf
I realize that people want a simple answer, unfortunately, UPPP has not been proven statistically to be beneficial in completely resolving OSA without using CPAP (compliance of CPAP is the main reason for choosing surgery to begin with) or Dental Devices. (Remember, effective treatment is defined as AHI < 5)