Finally, let’s talk about vaginal laser treatment for symptoms of atrophy: vaginal burning, itching, discharge, dryness and pain with intercourse.

The story of how this laser treatment originated is interesting.

For years, carbon dioxide laser technology has been used to treat facial skin, restoring the skin’s healthy and youthful appearance. An Italian physician came up with the idea that if this laser could successfully restore the health and vitality of facial skin, perhaps it could do the same for vaginal skin.

This physician then set out to develop a specially designed handpiece to deliver the laser treatment in a safe and effective way for the vagina.

After developing and testing this technology, amazing results were repeatedly achieved. The researchers noticed an interesting “side effect” from the vaginal treatment – women who were in the test group started reporting a dramatic improvement in bladder symptoms as well.

This was not part of the original expectation but was so impressive that it has now become an indication for this treatment.

How does the laser work?

The laser is nothing more than focused light. The light penetrates the surface layer of the vagina and creates small pockets of damage. The body responds by increasing blood flow to the area and forming new elastin and collagen.

The increased blood supply restores health to the tissue (getting rid of the dryness).

The increased elastin and collagen restore stretch to the tissue so rather than microscopic tearing occurring (the cause of the burning, itching and pain with sex) the skin stretches the way it used to.

Each treatment causes further improvement to occur.

Depending on your age and the length of time your symptoms have been present, a treatment package will be designed specifically for you. Most women need 3 treatments done on a monthly basis, followed by a treatment at 6 months and then annually.

With time, the benefits start to be lost as the vaginal lining starts to thin out again, but this can be restored with ongoing maintenance involving single treatments, typically on an annual basis.

If this sounds good to you, please contact my office for an assessment.

The assessment is covered by OHIP and I would be pleased to meet with you and assess you to see if you would benefit from this simple, safe and effective treatment.

This treatment has been approved by Health Canada for the treatment of vaginal atrophy.

Thank you for following along with this blog series.

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