Safety and long-term efficacy of fractional CO2 laser treatment in women suffering from genitourinary syndrome of menopause

Fariba Behnia-Willison, Sara Sarraf, Joseph Miller, Behrang Mohamadi, Alison S Care, Alan Lam, Nadia Willison, Leila Behnia, Stefano Salvatore

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

80 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate the safety and long-term efficacy of fractional CO 2 laser treatment in reducing the severity of symptoms of genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM) in menopausal women. 

Study design: 102 women presenting with symptomatic GSM were treated with the fractional CO 2 laser (MonaLisa Touch, DEKA) system across a series of treatments delivered at intervals of six or more weeks. The Australian Pelvic Floor Questionnaire was used to gather data on sexual function and side-effects at three time-points across the study period (prospective panel design study). Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to detect statistically and clinically significant changes in sexual function and side-effects occurring from pre- to post-treatment. The primary outcome of this study was an improvement of the symptoms of GSM. The secondary outcome included bladder function and prolapse symptoms. 

Results: A total of 102 women suffering from moderate to severe GSM were recruited. Eighty-four percent experienced significant improvement in their symptoms after CO 2 laser treatment. Scores on measures of sexual function, dyspareunia, and bothersomeness of sexual issues were improved from pre-treatment to long-term (12–24 month) follow-up. Furthermore, there were improvements on measures of bladder function (P = 0.001), prolapse (P = 0.001), vaginal sensation (P = 0.001), vaginal lubrication (P < 0.001) and urge incontinence (P = 0.003) from the pre-treatment assessment to the second assessment (i.e. after the third treatment). 

Conclusions: In this study, fractional microablative CO2 laser treatment was associated with an improvement in symptoms of GSM and sexual function.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)39-44
Number of pages6
JournalEuropean Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Biology
Volume213
Early online date15 Apr 2017
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2017
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Bladder control
  • Fractional CO laser
  • Genitourinary syndrome of menopause
  • Menopause
  • Sexual function

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