Dr Irena Hreljac
Clinical Affairs Manager, Fotona
Find out how precision laser therapy benefits women’s pelvic health, offering non-invasive solutions for pelvic floor issues.
The women’s health landscape is fraught with hidden struggles that can disrupt day-to-day life. Many struggles arise from impaired function of the pelvic floor muscles and tissues, which cradle the pelvic organs and ensure their proper function. When balance is disrupted, symptoms like urinary leakage, intimacy issues and pelvic organ prolapse may occur. Unfortunately, solutions offered are scarce, and some may even exacerbate the issue.
Precision laser pelvic therapy
With today’s technology, lasers can emit precisely engineered thermal pulses that trigger the body’s regenerative response without damaging the tissue. Particularly, a new class of non-ablative Fotona SMOOTH® laser treatments offer therapeutic options for several problems impacting women’s pelvic floor health.
The Fotona SMOOTH® erbium laser works by triggering regeneration within the pelvic floor tissues, making them firmer and healthier and restoring their supportive function. The treatment has been proven to reduce symptoms of stress urinary incontinence,1 vaginal atrophy2 and more.
85% of women preferred non-surgical
treatments with moderate improvement
rates and fewer associated risks.
Advanced therapy for Lichen sclerosus
Besides pelvic floor dysfunction, women are commonly faced with symptoms potentially connected to chronic inflammation. One example is Lichen sclerosus, a debilitating condition impacting women of all ages; symptoms range from vulvar itching to pain during sexual intercourse.
A recently published clinical study from Switzerland3 shows that a combined therapy of erbium and neodymium laser treatment with Fotona’s unique Piano and PLLTä pulse modes bring even more benefit than standard topical corticosteroid treatment. The laser treatment’s effects lasted several months with only a few sessions performed.
Merging medical expertise and patient preference
The biggest benefit of these novel laser treatments is the ‘menu’ of available therapeutic options. A recently published study on patient preference in pelvic floor dysfunction treatments4 suggested that 85% of women preferred non-surgical treatments with moderate improvement rates and fewer associated risks.
Only 15% of women experiencing more severe symptoms were inclined to choose surgical procedures despite higher risks. Factors such as treatment efficacy, complications and recovery time influenced decisions significantly. Evidently, women want the freedom to choose the right treatment for their needs.
[1] O’Reilly BA, Viereck V, Phillips C, Toozs‐Hobson P, Kuhn A, Athanasiou S, et al. Vaginal erbium laser treatment for stress urinary incontinence: A multicenter randomized sham‐controlled clinical trial. Int J Gynecol Obstet. 2023;
[2] Gambacciani M, Levancini M, Russo E, Vacca L, Simoncini T, Cervigni M. Long-term effects of vaginal erbium laser in the treatment of genitourinary syndrome of menopause. Climacteric 2018 Mar 4;21(2):148–52.
[3] Viereck V, Gamper M, Regauer S, Walser C, Zivanovic I. Nd: YAG/Er: YAG dual laser vs. topical steroid to treat vulvar lichen sclerosus: study protocol of a randomized controlled trial. Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2023;1–7.
[4] Shah GS, Phillips C. What women want now! Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 2023;286:118–20.
