Vaginal erbium laser: the second-generation thermotherapy for the genitourinary syndrome of menopause

Figures & data

Table 1 Baseline characteristics of participants who completed the study. The women either received treatment with the vaginal erbium laser (VEL) or vaginal estriol gel supplementation (see text for details). Data are expressed as mean ± standard deviation

	VEL group (n = 43)	Estriol group (n = 19)
Age (years)	60.9 ± 8.1	63 ± 4.5
Age at menopause (years)	49.3 ± 4.1	51.7 ± 3.3
Years since menopause	12.5 ± 5.8	11.8 ± 3.1
Body mass index (kg/m^Citation2)	26.1 ± 3.3	25 ± 3.0
FSH (IU/l)	85.4 ± 7.8	81.5 ± 4.5
Estradiol (pg/ml)	18.4 ± 2.3	20.2 ± 3.4

FSH, follicle stimulating hormone

Figure 1 Effect of second-generation laser thermotherapy on vaginal dryness (upper panel) and dyspareunia (lower panel) using the visual analog score (VAS) on a 10-point scale for the women receiving laser treatment (n = 43) and the women receiving estriol (n = 19). See text for details. *, p < 0.01 vs. corresponding basal values in both groups; **, p < 0.05 vs. estriol basal values and corresponding laser group values

Figure 2 Effect of second-generation laser thermotherapy on the Vaginal Health Score Index (VHIS) for the women receiving laser treatment (n = 43) and the women receiving estriol (n = 19). See text for details. *, p < 0.01 vs. corresponding basal values in both groups; **, p < 0.05 vs. estriol basal values and corresponding laser group values

Figure 3 Effect of second-generation laser thermotherapy on International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire (ICIQ-SF) score in 19 postmenopausal women suffering from stress urinary incontinence. *, p < 0.01 vs. corresponding basal values. See text for details

Sturdee DW, Panay N. Recommendations for the management of postmenopausal vaginal atrophy. Climacteric 2010;13:509–22

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