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Vaginal erbium laser for treatment of stress urinary incontinence: optimization of treatment regimen for a sustained long-term effect

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Abstract

Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is a common health problem that affects roughly 35% of women in the reproductive period. A prospective uncontrolled study was conducted to assess the long-term efficacy and safety of a non-ablative Er:YAG laser treatment of SUI. Forty-three patients participated in the study. All women underwent three sessions of IncontiLase® procedure, and efficacy of laser treatment was assessed by 1-h pad test, 24-h pad test, 3-day voiding diary, and ICIQ-UI SF questionnaire at multiple follow-ups. Statistical analysis was performed using one-way repeated measures ANOVA. Patients were questioned about discomfort during treatment and any adverse events following the laser procedures. All outcome measures showed a significant change over a period of the entire clinical trial. Eighteen-month follow-up revealed a fading of the effect, which was alleviated by single-session maintenance treatments every 6 months. There were no serious adverse events reported during the study. All reported side effects were mild and transient. The application of non-ablative Er:YAG laser for SUI treatment significantly improves the SUI symptoms. High improvement rates and patient satisfaction can be maintained with single-session maintenance treatments performed every 6 months. Long-term safety profile of multiple non-ablative Er:YAG laser treatment is shown. NCT04348994, 16.04.2020, retrospectively registered.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Gynecology Department, Uroclínica, Mendoza, Argentina

    Adrian Gaspar

  2. Gynecology Department, Espacio Gaspar Clinic, Mendoza, Argentina

    Adrian Gaspar & Hugo Brandi

  3. Fotona d.o.o., Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Neža Koron

  4. Urology Department, Uroclinica, Mendoza, Argentina

    Joaquin Silva

Authors
  1. Adrian Gaspar
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  2. Neža Koron
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  3. Joaquin Silva
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  4. Hugo Brandi
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Contributions

H Brandi—study management and data collection.

A Gaspar—protocol development, study management, data collection, data analysis, and manuscript writing.

N Koron—manuscript writing.

J Silva—data collection.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Adrian Gaspar.

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Ethics approval

Study was approved by the Ethics Review Board of the Uroclinica.

Conflict of interest

A. Gaspar has received honoraria from the manufacturer of the medical device used in this study, for speaking at symposia. N. Koron is an employee of the manufacturer of the device used in this study. Other authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Gaspar, A., Koron, N., Silva, J. et al. Vaginal erbium laser for treatment of stress urinary incontinence: optimization of treatment regimen for a sustained long-term effect. Lasers Med Sci 37, 2157–2164 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-021-03474-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-021-03474-z

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