In Australia, there are over 4.5 million women over 50 years of age – the approximate age for menopause onset. Genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM) refers to the various symptoms and changes that occur in the vagina, vulva and urinary tract during and after menopause due to decreased estrogen levels.
Research shows that 50% to 80% of women report experiencing at least one GSM symptom during menopause. These symptoms – including vaginal dryness, itching, burning, painful intercourse, urinary urgency, recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs), and urinary incontinence – can significantly affect a woman’s quality of life; however, there are management strategies to reduce these symptoms and improve wellbeing.
Vaginal estrogen treatment has been widely implemented to target GSM; however, a 2013 survey including over 3000 post-menopausal women found high dissatisfaction towards this treatment among participants. This was due to tedious application procedures and vaginal discharge side-effects.
A more recently introduced treatment option is MonaLisa Touch. MonaLisa Touch is a 5-minute laser pulse healthcare service, with 3 treatments in the first year and 1 to 2 top-ups in following years.
A meta-analysis including 25 studies and 1,152 patients indicated a statistically significant effect (p<0.001) of MonaLisa Touch treatment on GSM, with no side-effects.
Dr Archna Saraswat is a leading specialist in the sphere of MonaLisa Touch treatment. Through her medical research study including over 800 participants, she found that after 3 MonaLisa Touch treatments, women experienced the following in terms of vaginal factors:
- 80% of women under 50 years experienced no lubrication problems, 73% from 50-59 years, 68% from 60-69 years, and 74% over 70 years
- 63% of women under 50 years experienced restored vaginal sensation with no problems, 54% from 50-59 years, 62% from 60-69 years, and 45% over 70 years
- 62% of women under 50 years experienced no vaginal ‘bother’, 59% from 50-59 years, 50% from 60-69 years, and 30% over 70 years
In terms of urinary factors, Dr Archna Saraswat found that after 3 MonaLisa Touch treatments, women experienced the following:
- 74% of women under 50 years experienced no urinary frequency problems, 77% from 50-59 years, 76% from 60-69 years, and 68% over 70 years
- 48% of women under 50 years experienced no urinary urgency problems, 44% from 50-59 years, 31% from 60-69 years, and 24% over 70 years
- 70% of women under 50 years experienced no urge incontinence problems, 60% from 50-69 years, and 42% over 70 years
- 50% of women under 50 years experienced no stress incontinence problems, 56% from 50-59 years, 57% from 60-69 years, and 57% over 70 years
- 91% of women under 50 years experienced no recurrent UTI problems, 87% from 50-59 years, 86% from 60-69 years, and 87% over 70 years
- 65% of women under 50 years experienced no bladder ‘bother’, 67% from 50-59 years, 62% from 60-69 years, and 60% over 70 years
Note: the statistics only account for women whose symptoms were completed eradicated; also, a small minority did not have the associated symptoms before treatment, and they are included in final percentages. These percentages do not account for the women whose symptoms were significantly improved, but not completely removed. Numerous studies evidence a significant effect (p<0.001) between MonaLisa touch treatment and the improvement of various menopause-related symptoms.
From these statistics, it is clear that MonaLisa Touch treatment provides beneficial results from menopausal women affected by GSM. Currently, Medicare does not cover this women’s health service, and it is not a claimable procedure via private health insurance. Despite being a somewhat costly procedure, a recent study found that 78% of MonaLisa Touch patients are satisfied with the cost of treatment due to the experienced GSM improvement.
For more information about MonaLisa Touch and its benefits, as well as how you can support your patients in attaining this treatment, visit our doctor-focused page by clicking this link.