Laser versus topical estrogen for treatment of genitourinary syndrome. What does the research say?

Estrogen cream has been used for many years to treat the genitourinary syndrome of menopause for many years with consistently good results.  Some women, however, do not tolerate estrogen hormones well or may have contraindications to hormone therapy. Some women are simply reluctant to use hormones of any kind.

According to the article published in The North American Menopause Society, vaginal laser therapy produces similar results as estrogen therapy with a 70-80% satisfaction rate at 6 months post-treatment.

In this study, 30 women had laser treatment while 32 had estrogen treatment.  At 6 months follow up 85% of patients in the laser treatment group reported feeling much better compared to 70% of patients in the estrogen group.  

Laser treatment for genitourinary syndrome of menopause may be a viable option for some patients but is typically not covered by insurance.  Additional studies in the future may change this.

A randomized clinical trial comparing vaginal laser therapy to vaginal estrogen therapy in women with genitourinary syndrome of menopause: The VeLVET Trial

Author: Marie Fidela Paraiso, Cecile Ferrando, Eric Sokol, et al

Publication: Menopause

Publisher: Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.

Date: Jan 1, 2020