The study of the effectiveness of CO2 fractional laser for dyspareunia in premenopausal women with vestibulodynia

Abstract

ABSTRACT Introduction Among female sexual dysfunctions, a relatively large number of women with dyspareunia are encountered in clinical practice. However, there is no effective standard treatments in the absence of endocrine abnormalities. Objective The purpose of this study is to investigate the efficacy and safety of CO2 fractional laser for dyspareunia in premenopausal women with vestibulodynia. Methods From September 2019 to September 30, 2020, we enrolled the patients who were diagnosed with vestibular redness and vestibular pain but were not effective enough with symptomatic treatments or physical therapies. Patients with obvious atrophy findings were excluded. The patients received a CO2 fractional laser irradiation 3 times in total at 1-month interval. The equipment used was Smart Side Square. Irradiation was applied only to the vestibule and vulva, not to the vagina. Surface anesthesia was performed 10 to 20 minutes before laser irradiation. The irradiation output setting conformed to the basic setting, but it was adjusted at the discretion of the attending physician and the actual irradiation setting was recorded. The effect was evaluated using the VAS scale for vestibular pain. Results There were 20 patients aged 23 to 38 years (mean 28.7 years, median 28 years). Eighteen people completed the three times irradiation. The average VAS decreased from 8.5 before treatment to 5.1 after 3 treatments. No obvious adverse events were observed. Conclusions CO2 fractional lasers are effective for dyspareunia in premenopausal women with vestibular pain. Disclosure Work supported by industry: no.