The Effect of Anterior Palatoplasty Plus Modified Expansion Sphincter Pharyngoplasty on Voice Performance in Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome

Objective:We aimed to investigate the effect of anterior palatoplasty (AP) plus modified expansion sphincter pharyngoplasty (MESP) on voice performance in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS).Methods:Fourteen OSAS patients who had AP+MESP procedure were included in the study. Voice performances of the patients were analyzed with acoustic voice analysis before surgery, and 6 months after surgery.Results:Preoperative and postoperative F0, jitter percentage, and shimmer percentage were compared. Mean preoperative F0 was 129.85Hz, and mean postoperative F0 was 138.07Hz, with a significant difference in between (P=0.017). Mean preoperative jitter percentage was 0.65, and mean shimmer percentage was 0.88, while those values were 0.67 and 0.84, respectively, in the postoperative period. The differences were not statistically significant (P=0.801 and 0.652).Conclusion:The AP+MESP procedure performed for OSAS results in improvement of F0 in the long term; however, there were no differences in jitter percentage and shimmer percentage.