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Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty

Hello, I am 36 yrs old suffering with mild sleep apnea. I am scheduled to have a tonsillectomy,UP3, septoplasty, and inferior turbinate reduction done next week (May 25th). After doing some research I'm not finding many success with the UP3.
This is what i've found:
1.Drainage of secretions into the nose and a nasal quality to the voice.
2.Patients who have had the uvula removed will become unable to correctly speak French or any other language that has a uvular 'r' phoneme.
3.Nasal regurgitation
4.Choking easily
5. Re-growth of the soft palate
6.No change
7. Problems with phlegm

I'm now pretty nervous about having the proceedure done and wanted to get your thoughts on this. What is the rate of this proceedure being effective and is there some other alternative besides the UPPP? I've even thought about trying the pillar. What do you think about that?

Thanks,
Michelle
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Avatar universal
I had the septoplasty done 3 months ago and am very happy with the results. I had the up3 and tongue reduction done 2 days ago and am pretty miserable right now. Can't eat anything...very difficult to swallow ensure or water..A lot of times when i swallow it ends up coming out of my nose. I'm only sleeping for about an hour and i wake up chocking. two of my friends have had this done and they are both very happy and have no problems. My ENT says it will take a few weeks for the swelling to go down before i'll notice the effects of the surgery. I know you have the option to get the septoplasty and the up3 done all at once or separtly...I'd advise doing them seperatly...each surgery is pretty painful and hard to cope with for the first week....Good luck on whatever you decide.
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Avatar universal
Thank you very much for your help and quick reply! I will go to your site now.
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Avatar universal
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
The overall success rate with UP3 is about 40%. There's a lot of heated discussion about the usefulness of this procedure. It's not a matter or whether or not it works, but how it's used in the context of treating the entire upper airway (from the tip of your nose to your voice box). The complications you mention, although it can happen sometimes, is not too common. You should discuss these issues with your ENT, since he or she is the one that's examined you and made the recommendations. I have much more information about these procedures on my website at doctorstevenpark.com. Good luck.
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