Laser therapy for vulvar and vaginal disease

Abstract

Two hundred and forty patients with condyloma acuminatum (vulva: 128, vagina: 2, cervix: 18, multiple: 28), 51 with Bartholin's cyst and abscess, 5 with Skene's cyst and 8 with benign vulvar tumor were treated with various lasers (Nd: YAG, CO2, YAG/CO2, KTP/YAG lasers). All patients underwent on an outpatient basis with local anesthesia. Their final cure rates showed 93.1%, 73.2%, 44.4%, 70.0%, 100%, respectively. The patients with residue and/or recurrence of condyloma revealed 17 (56.7%) sexual partners with the same disease and 13 (43.3%) partners without the disease. On the other hand, the patients without them revealed 63 (56.3%) partners with condyloma and 49 (43.7%) without it.
Fifty six patients were also treated with anti viral drugs (Idoxuridine, Aciclovir, Vidarabine, Podophyllin, Fluorouracil) before and after the laser therapy. The laser treatment, especially with the CO2 laser, has been suggested as a promissing therapeutic method for vulvar and vaginal disease on an outpatient basis.