A uvulotomy, staphylotomy, or uvulectomy is any cutting operation performed on the uvula.[1]
The procedure was performed in European medieval medicine. The Norwegian Eiríkr Hákonarson bled to death following such an operation.[2]
Uvulotomy is employed as folk medicine in some countries including Tigray.[3] It is sometimes part of a naming ceremony, most commonly in Niger, but also sometimes in Isreal, and the Maghreb region. On the child’s 7th day the uvula is removed in a religious ritual.[4] This practice is called “traditional uvulectomy” to distinguish it from medical treatment.
In the 20th century uvulotomy came to be used as a treatment for snoring.[5][6]See uvulopalatopharyngoplasty.
Its CPT 2009 code is “42140, Uvulectomy”.
References
- ^ Biology Online.
- ^ Finlay 2004, p. 133.
- ^ Ethnomed.
- ^ Prual, A.; Gamatie, Y.; Djakounda, M.; Huguet, D. (October 1994). “Traditional uvulectomy in Niger: a public health problem?”. Social Science & Medicine (1982). 39 (8): 1077–1082. doi:10.1016/0277-9536(94)90379-4. ISSN 0277-9536. PMID 7809661.
- ^ Oommen 1988, p. 18.
- ^ Yaremchuk, Kathleen; Garcia-Rodriguez, Laura (2017). “The History of Sleep Surgery”. Advances in Oto-Rhino-Laryngology. 80: 17–21. doi:10.1159/000470683. ISSN 1662-2847. PMID 28738337.
- Finlay, Alison (editor and translator) (2004). Fagrskinna, a Catalogue of the Kings of Norway. Brill Academic Publishers. ISBN 90-04-13172-8
- Mathew, Oommen P. et al. (1988). Respiratory Function of the Upper Airway’. Marcel Dekker. ISBN 0-8247-7802-2
- Uvulotomy Archived 2007-10-08 at the Wayback Machine Biology Online entry
- Tigrean Cultural Profile Archived 2008-10-03 at the Wayback Machine EthnoMed article