title: Short-term effect of vaginal erbium laser on the genitourinary syndrome of menopause.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In this study we evaluated the short term effects of vaginal erbium laser (VEL) in the treatment of postmenopausal women (PMW) suffering from genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM).
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty-five PMW were evaluated before and after VEL treatment (1 treatment every 30 days, for 3 months). GSM symptoms were evaluated either with subjective (Visual Analog Scale, VAS) and objective (Vaginal Health Index Score, VHIS) measures. In addition, in 21 of these PMW suffering from mild-moderate stress urinary incontinence (SUI), the degree of incontinence was evaluated with the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire - Urinary Incontinence Short Form (ICIQ-UI SF) before and after VEL treatments.
  
  
  RESULTS
  VEL treatment induced a significant decrease of VAS of both vaginal dryness, dyspareunia (P<0.01) and a significant (P<0.01) increase of VHIS). In addition, VEL treatment induced a significant (P<0.01) improvement of ICIQ-SF scores in PMW suffering from SUI. VEL was well tolerated with less than 2 % of patients discontinuing treatment due to adverse events.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  VEL treatment significantly improves vaginal dryness, dyspareunia and mild-moderate SUI. Larger and long-term studies are needed to investigate the role of laser treatments in the management of GSM.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pisa University Hospital, Pisa, Italy - margamba@tin.it.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gambacciani
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Levancini
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D004414:Dyspareunia / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D005831:Genital Diseases, Female / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D053844:Lasers, Solid-State / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008593:Menopause; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014550:Urinary Incontinence, Stress / Q000628:therapy; D014621:Vagina; D014623:Vaginal Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*