Menopause news
Laser treatment helpful for Genitourinary Syndrome
15 June 2020
Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause (GSM), formerly known as Urogenital atrophy or Vulvo-Vaginal atrophy, is estimated to affect at least 50% of women and can cause significant distress in the form of:
- vaginal dryness
- vulval irritation
- discomfort during sex
- vaginal laxity
- burning and urinary problems
Vaginal estrogen, available in several forms, can be very effective and used long term. Many women also find vaginal moisturisers and lubricants helpful for the vulval and vaginal symptoms.
In recent times, vaginal laser has been used and early studies have demonstrated effectiveness. This was confirmed by a recent study of 645 postmenopausal women with GSM who were given CO2 laser treatments over an average of 6.5 months. 595 women underwent three laser sessions, and 50 women underwent four sessions. All women were assessed before and after treatment.
Overall, no side effects were observed and improvement was experienced for discomfort during sex, dryness, burning, vaginal entrance pain and itching. Interestingly, the group that received three laser sessions noticed greater improvement than those receiving four sessions.
Limitation of this retrospective study is of lack of placebo for comparison. However, it does provide some reassurance about effectiveness and lack of side effects.
Reference: Efficacy of fractional CO2 laser treatment in postmenopausal women with genitourinary syndrome
a multicenter study
Filippini, Maurizio MD1; Luvero, Daniela MD2; Salvatore, Stefano MD3; Pieralli, Annalisa MD4; Montera, Roberto MD2; Plotti, Francesco MD2; Candiani, Massimo MD3; Angioli, Roberto MD2
Menopause: January 2020 - Volume 27 - Issue 1 - p 43-49
journals.lww.com
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