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A vagina is made up of predominantly elastic tissues and muscles under the influence of female hormones such as oestrogen and progesterone. As a woman ages or gave birth, the vagina will start to lose its elasticity. Many women may see it as a major problem and constantly seeking ways to tighten their vaginal for sexual pleasure for their partners. Hence, this vast demand has created opportunities for many manufacturers to incorporate their technologies in vaginal health.
Procedures regarding vaginal health are on the rise along with this technology savvy era. There are several manufacturers advocate and promote the use of energy-based (laser) vaginal rejuvenation procedures in conditions such as vaginal tightening for sexual pleasure. The mechanism postulated for these procedures are to induce microdamage upon the vagina tissues, subsequently, our body natural healing process will take place and stimulate more elastin and tissue formed, rendering a “tighter sensation” during sexual intercourse. Such certified laser treatment by Nexus Clinic is done only upon approved indications and after careful evaluations of the patient’s condition.
In 2018, FDA has issued warning letters to multiple manufactures demanding for evidence to prove the beneficial effect that they are claiming. To date, the approved uses for energy-based vaginal rejuvenation only pertaining to treat abnormal or pre-cancerous cells and genital warts. Other uses that these manufacturers are claiming have limited data and the safety profile has not been established. They advertise laser vaginal rejuvenation procedure as painless and free from side effects which are false. There have been reports revealing that patients suffered from chronic vaginal pain, painful sexual intercourse, burn of vaginal tissues and frequent voiding after the procedure. These misleading information by the manufacturers have raised worries from FDA and medical professionals, so awareness has been raised to educate the public to understand better about this procedure.
Although such controversial has been brought up, there are also a number of medical professionals keeping an open mind about laser vaginal rejuvenation in helping menopausal women. Some even incorporate such treatment in their clinical settings without any financial bond with the manufacturers. They agreed that laser vaginal rejuvenation has a promising outcome in treating vaginal atrophy in menopausal women who cannot tolerate long term hormone replacement therapy or has breast cancer/ovarian cancer risk if given hormone replacement therapy. They are expecting a larger randomized controlled trial can be conducted so that the safety and complication profile can be well-established. Comparing to hormone replacement therapy, laser vaginal rejuvenation does not need a long duration, where it is just an out-patient procedure requiring only 20 to 30 minutes and it is a safe procedure if conducted by trained doctors.
Laser vaginal rejuvenation is the cheapest and one of the most enquired procedures in plastic surgery clinics. Although it is still an approved procedure that can be conducted for suitable patients, the healthcare professionals are still responsible to disclose full information about this procedure to the patients. The patients should also understand the risks and the disapproved uses before they are opt-in for laser vaginal rejuvenation so that they can research for more widely approved and safer alternatives for their problem.
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