Both CO2 and Er:YAG lasers have been evaluated for their ability to rejuvenate vaginal tissue. 64 The Er:YAG laser emits light at a wavelength of 2.94 µm and is 16 times more highly absorbed by water than the CO2 laser light. 65-67 Because of this higher water absorption rate, the Er:YAG causes much more superficial penetration and ablation of tissue. Most importantly, the Er:YAG laser does not increase the zone of thermal damage with each subsequent laser impact, as the CO2 laser does. Currently, the Er:YAG is the most commonly used laser treatment for VVA.
Into Emergency room:YAG laser beam customers usually are handled once a month to possess 3 months. Women can be educated to help you avoid sex for at least dos months immediately after medication. Laser treatments target brand new vagina simply, not the perineum. Composed data indicates new service should be regular a year. 68,69
The fresh new Emergency room:YAG laser features shown encouraging results for breast cancer survivors. In one single research 43 postmenopausal breast cancer survivors was in fact treated with 3 laserlight programs all 30 days. Its episodes was basically analyzed prior to therapy and just after 1, step three, six, twelve, and you will eighteen months, using 2 tips: subjective graphic analog level (VAS) and you will mission Genital Health Index Score (VHIS). For everyone of feamales in the research, genital dryness, VAS, dyspareunia, and you can VHIS ratings rather increased after the 3rd procedures. The fresh results rejected during the twelve and you can 1 . 5 years but remained rather improved in contrast to standard. The research means “genital erbium laser is very effective and you can safe for the treatment of genitourinary disorder off menopausal in the cancer of the breast survivors.” 68
Using laser devices for VVA truly is a formative science, and we do not have definitive answers about the optimal number and frequency of treatments. Athanasiou and Pitsouni aimed to address this question in a recently published study. 69 In their study, 55 women received 3 sessions of CO2 laser therapy, 53 had an additional fourth session, and 22 had an additional fifth session. Results of their study are summarized in Figure 1.
Figure step 1. Improvement in sex-related parameters certainly girls addressed with carbon dioxide laser beam procedures for vulvovaginal atrophy shortly after step 3, 4, and you will 5 providers.
This new writers concluded that laser treatment may sign up to complete regression from dyspareunia and you can dry skin in a dosage-response style. An additional next otherwise fifth class can get next increase the GSM symptom-free rates.
Radiofrequency gadgets having vulvovaginal rejuvenation
Radiofrequency gizmos are the current choices for treatments for VVA. The newest radiofrequency service are monopolar, bipolar, and multipolar products. I have far fewer education in order to validate the cover and you can possibilities weighed against laser treatments.
Radiofrequency treatments are repeated weekly to monthly, usually for a total of escort girl Glendale 3 treatments. While the CO2 and Er:YAG lasers treat only the vagina, the radiofrequency devices rejuvenate the perineum as well. Women can have intercourse the same day. Like the laser treatments, the effects of radiofrequency treatments diminish over time and likely need to be repeated annually. 70
Breakdown of nonsurgical solution to vulvovaginal atrophy
Both the laser and radiofrequency treatments offer viable options for nonhormonal treatment of VVA. The CO2 and Er:YAG lasers have been used clinically for a couple of decades, while the radiofrequency devices offer promising new treatment options. The Er:YAG laser has been shown to benefit both VVA and mild to moderate stress urinary incontinence (SUI). 71 Less is known about the effectiveness of the radiofrequency devices for treating SUI, but they have the added benefit of treating the perineum as well as vaginal tissue. Insurance companies do not currently cover either laser or radiofrequency treatments for VVA or SUI, and the out-of-pocket expenses are customarily $1,000 per treatment.