When walking upright, the weight of the abdominal organs is supported by a funnel of soft tissues and muscles that make up the pelvic floor. In the case of women, factors such as pregnancy and the changes inherent to pregnancy and childbirth end up deteriorating the characteristics and firmness of the tissues in this area.
When that happens, vaginal rejuvenation techniques appear to restore its form and function, explains Jorge Alberto García, president of the Colombian Association of Urological Gynecology (Ascogur) and pioneer in the country in this type of procedures. Some of these techniques are done with lasers or other types of energies, García adds; recent technologies that, although they have a good number of supporting studies, are not harmless and their effectiveness is still being studied today.
The vagina has a bacterial flora that provides a protective barrier against infections.
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“There are teams with a good number of studies and sufficient scientific support, which allow the endorsement of authorities such as the European ones and Invima itself in our country. It is important to use these and not other equipment that does not yet have these requirements,” he says.
Worry
Precisely for this reason, in July 2018, the United States Food and Drug Administration Agency (FDA) issued a warning to women in that country, related to the risks of vaginal rejuvenation procedures that they use. laser and radiofrequency devices.
Specifically, according to the agency, “the safety and effectiveness of these devices have not been evaluated or confirmed for vaginal rejuvenation,” adding that, in addition to the misleading health claims made about these uses, such interventions “ They carry great risks.”
“Recently, we have become aware of a growing number of manufacturers marketing vaginal rejuvenation devices to women, claiming that these procedures will treat conditions and symptoms related to menopause, urinary incontinence, or sexual function. The interventions use lasers and other devices that use energy to destroy or reconfigure vaginal tissue. These products carry serious risks and lack sufficient evidence to support their use. “We are extremely concerned that harm is being caused to women,” wrote FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb.
(Also read: What you should know about the vagina in sexual relations)
The concern is that while the FDA has approved or cleared laser or energy-using devices for the treatment of serious conditions such as the destruction of abnormal or precancerous cervical or vaginal tissue, as well as genital warts, the safety and effectiveness of these techniques have not been evaluated or confirmed for vaginal rejuvenation.
Several specialists agree that the vagina does not lose elasticity when having sexual relations.
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As part of the control carried out by this type of agency, the FDA even notified its concerns to seven device manufacturers (Alma Lasers, BTL Aesthetics, BTL Industries, Cynosure, InMode, Sciton and Thermigen) and asked them to provide more information about the procedures.
(Read also: Pimples in the vagina: causes, treatments and prevention)
What aesthetic gynecologists say
The Association of Colombian Aesthetic Gynecologists recognizes that laser interventions on the genitals still lack precise medical indications. However, he states that traditional treatments do not respond to symptoms such as vaginal dryness, sagging, itching and pain during intercourse, encompassed within the genitourinary syndrome of menopause, which the new techniques do manage to do, which, they say, They have scientific backing and a decade of experience.
“Unfortunately, copies and manufactured devices appear overnight; simple adaptations of traditional platforms in dermatology, the vast majority of them without adequate scientific support and safety studies that, in irresponsible hands, become dangerous tools that can generate serious side effects,” they say.
(Also read: How to prevent vaginal cancer and what are its symptoms?)
What methods or techniques exist?
- Laser rejuvenation: They are pelvic floor correction surgeries aimed at solving situations such as the descent of the pelvic floor and the organs it supports, in search of improving diseases and the sexual sphere. These are procedures that must be performed in an operating room with all established regulatory and safety measures. Sexual relations and sports such as cycling and horse riding should be avoided for approximately six weeks.
- Laser vaginal tightening: It is a non-invasive procedure in which, without anesthesia or any disability, laser technology is used to produce contraction of the vaginal walls and improve their tone and produce a sensation of greater tightness in the woman and her partner. This is because it improves friction during sexual intercourse and, incidentally, sexual functional quality. It can be used to relieve certain types of female incontinence and improve vaginal lubrication in menopause. It was approved for use in Europe, but has not yet been approved by the FDA.
- Laser vaginal design: It is the combination of a surgery known as nymphoplasty, with laser technology to achieve functional and aesthetic improvement, depending on the needs of each patient. It consists of the surgical modification of the vulva, the external part of the woman’s genitals, the labia minora and majora, the clitoral hood and the so-called mons pubis.
- Genital whitening: With laser and master preparations, depigmentation of the genital area and nearby stained areas occurs.
- Vaginal gymnastics: It combines laser with pelvic floor rehabilitation exercises and therapies to strengthen the muscles. The laser helps to improve the quality and tone of soft tissues, and training helps to strengthen these muscles. This vaginal gymnastics is an important tool for women who undergo surgery, as it improves the prognosis and helps reestablish sphincter control and the sexual function of the vagina.
It is important as a preventive method for incontinence or vaginal laxity in women, since the need for subsequent surgeries or procedures can be avoided. The best strategy is always prevention.
When we talk about the vagina, we are referring to the muscular canal.
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Who needs it?
This benefits women who have a feeling of a wide vagina or the feeling that something is coming out of the vagina (sensation of vaginal mass) or who have urinary incontinence (involuntary leakage of urine). They should go to a pelvic floor specialist, who must have prior training in gynecology or urology. Urogynecologists are gynecologists and obstetricians who have dedicated themselves especially to the study and treatment of pelvic floor conditions.
What is laser vaginal rejuvenation?
It is a new name for the modification of a medical procedure originally designed to correct problems such as abnormal descent of the bladder, rectum and/or uterus, but which also aims to improve women’s sexual life by “tightening the vagina.” ” in those patients who complain of a sensation of a wide vagina, medically called relaxation syndrome or vaginal laxity. These procedures improve both the aesthetics and functionality of the vagina and the woman’s self-esteem.
HEALTH EDITORIAL
