The effect of fractional microablative carbon dioxide laser therapy on vaginal atrophy in menopause women: A review

Abstract

Vaginal atrophy is one of Genitourinary Syndrome of menopause. This condition occurs due to decreased estrogen levels during menopause. Epidemiological data obtained from several countries estimated that up to 50% of post-menopausal women experience symptoms of vaginal atrophy. This paper aims to conduct a systematic review, and this meta-analysis is to analyze the effect of micro ablative fractional CO2 laser therapy on vaginal atrophy in postmenopausal women. Data was collected online from Pubmed-MEDLINE, Scopus, EBSCO, Cambridge Core, ProQuest, Springer Link, Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrials.gov databases. Tracking will be carried out in May-July 2023. The population of this study is the result of clinical trial research on the effect of microablative fractional CO2 laser therapy on vaginal atrophy in postmenopausal women. Meta-analysis showed that the VHI score was higher after therapy in the group that received micro ablative fractional CO2 laser compared to the group that received sham laser for vaginal atrophy in menopausal women. VAS scores were lower after administration in the group that received microablative fractional CO2 laser compared to the group that received sham laser for vaginal atrophy in menopausal women. The incidence of side effects in the CO2 laser group did not differ from the sham laser group. This study recommends an RCT study was conducted comparing micro ablative fractional CO2 laser compared to other energy-based devices such as erbium laser and radiofrequency on vaginal atrophy in postmenopausal women so that it can be used as a basis for further systematic review research and meta-analysis.