Restore sexual pleasure to women
As one treated patient reports: For a long time, she and her husband had a "normal, active sex life". But after menopause, sex became so painful that they finally stopped trying. The sexual problems of middle-aged women are finally coming to the fore the longer they go on. New treatments aim to restore pleasure.
Menopausal urogenital syndrome, caused by a decrease in sex hormones and a change in vaginal pH, is characterised by vaginal dryness, tissue shrinkage, itching and burning, which can make intercourse painful. GSM affects up to half of postmenopausal women and can contribute to bladder and urinary tract infections and incontinence. However, according to a recent study, only 7 per cent of postmenopausal women use prescription treatment.
With today's increased life expectancy, that can be a long haul - an extra 30 or 40 years for a typical woman entering menopause in her early 50s.
With each treatment the sex got better again
Similar to treatments long performed on the face, lasers are used to create micro-abrasions in the vaginal wall that stimulate the growth of new blood vessels and collagen.
The treatment is almost painless and takes about five minutes; it is repeated twice more at six-week intervals. In many patients, the vaginal tissue becomes thicker, more elastic and better lubricated almost immediately.