Vaginal Laser Therapy for Female Stress Urinary Incontinence: New Solutions for a Well-Known Issue-A Concise Review

Background and Objectives: Insufficient connective urethra and bladder support related to childbirth and menopausal estrogen decrease leads to stress urinary incontinence (SUI). The aim of this review is to narratively report the efficacy and safety of new mini-invasive solutions for SUI treatment as laser energy devices, in particular, the microablative fractional carbon dioxide laser and the non-ablative Erbium-YAG laser. Materials and Methods: For this narrative review, a search of literature from PubMed and EMBASE was performed to evaluate the relevant studies and was limited to English language articles, published from January 2015 to February 2022. Results: A significant subjective improvement, assessed by the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Short Form (ICIQ-UI-SF) was reported at the 6-month follow up, with a cure rate ranged from 21% to 38%. A reduction of effect was evidenced between 6 and 24-36 months. Additionally, the 1-h pad weight test evidence a significant objective improvement at the 2-6-month follow up. Conclusions: SUI after vaginal laser therapy resulted statistically improved in almost all studies at short-term follow up, resulting a safe and feasible option in mild SUI. However, cure rates were low, longer-term data actually lacks and the high heterogeneity of methods limits the general recommendations. Larger RCTs evaluating long-term effects are required.

Automated summary

This narrative review evaluated the efficacy and safety of new minimally invasive solutions for stress urinary incontinence (SUI) treatment, specifically the microablative fractional carbon dioxide laser and the non-ablative Erbium-YAG laser. The short-term follow-up results showed significant subjective improvement, although cure rates were low and longer-term effects require further investigation.