Shannon Technologies

Methods

The barrel design facilitates the methods for performing UPP. When compared to the monopolar cautery pen (For example, see Fig. 2 in Gnuechtel at 850), the barrel design utilized in all of the above embodiments, affords the practitioner more manual control of the cutting heads when excising the palate and uvula. The barrel provides some depression of the tongue. In addition, the actuation (by the thumb actuator) of the cutting and cauterizing jaws, takes place outside the patient's mouth.

The specialized design provides more control over improvised equipment. For example, the use of a snare-wire loop, originally designed for gynecological procedures, being used as a knife. See, Wedman and Miljeteig, discussed above. Despite the use of non-specifically designed equipment, the study still supports electrosurgery as a good and cost effective alternative to LAUP.

Reshaping Soft Palate Figure 5 shows the barrel of one of the devices reshaping the soft palate with the vertical incisions or trenches.

Reshaping Uvula Figure 6 shows the trenches incised in the palate and the uvula being reshaped.