Short-term results of laser palatoplasty have been encouraging. This study was undertaken to evaluate if there is a deterioration of benefit with time as seen in uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP). The Glasgow benefit inventory (GBI) was applied retrospectively by means of a postal questionnaire to measure the quality of benefit and to evaluate any deterioration in benefit with increasing post-operative time. Our results show that laser palatoplasty benefited 53 per cent of patients. With increasing postoperative time there was a decrease in the percentage of patients who felt the operation had made no difference, with a corresponding increase in the percentage of patients who felt worse. Although the number of patients who benefited remained fairly constant, there was deterioration in the quality of benefit in the first year, after which the benefit remained stable. This has implications in the pre-operative counselling of patients.