Method of treating sleep-disordered breathing syndromes

摘要

A method for treating sleep-disordered breathing syndromes, for example, snoring in a mammal. The method involves applying energy, for example, energy from laser light, to a preselected region of soft palate tissue in the mammal in an amount and duration sufficient to induce thermal injury to subepithelial tissue in the preselected region of soft palate tissue while minimizing thermal injury to epithelial tissue in the preselected region of soft palate tissue. Thermal injury of the subepithelial tissue results in stiffening of the preselected region of soft palate tissue thereby ameliorating the symptoms of the sleep- disordered breathing syndrome.