Vaginal Laxity and Prolapse | Glasgow

Your pelvic organs include your bladder, uterus (womb) and rectum (back passage). These organs are held in place by tissues called ‘fascia’ and ‘ligaments’. These tissues help to join your pelvic organs to the bony side walls of the pelvis and hold them inside your pelvis.

Your pelvic floor muscles also hold up your pelvic organs from below. If the fascia or ligaments are torn or stretched for any reason, and if your pelvic floor muscles are weak, then your pelvic organs might not be held in their right place and they may bulge or sag down into the vagina.

Relaxation of the vaginal tissues called pelvic floor relaxation syndrome (PFRS) subsequently leads to prolapse of the vaginal walls and bladder or rectum. Although it can be a natural ageing phenomenon pregnancy and vaginal delivery are major contributing factors.

Other factors that may influence the occurrence of relaxation are obesity and lack of appropriate muscular exercises.

The PFRS becomes most evident during menopause when hormonal changes cause the tone of vaginal and pelvic floor muscles to decrease and the vaginal mucosa to get thinner. The PFRS manifests itself through vaginal and uterine prolapse of different severity, decrease of vaginal elasticity or widening of the vagina which is progressive with age.

Thus, the advantages of innovative laser treatment are: minimally invasive, painless, stimulating the formation of new collagen and selective reconstruction of collagen in a weakened and aged vaginal wall. Such minimally invasive technologies in some patients can be considered as an alternative to surgical treatment of pelvic floor dysfunctions.

As with most medical conditions, conservative approaches are employed first, primarily pelvic floor exercises designed to strengthen the muscles in the entire region. Women whose age or physical condition may prohibit exercise may be fitted with a pessary, a vinyl ring inserted in the vagina to hold the prolapse in place.

If conservative measures fail, your physician may recommend surgery to help fix vaginal prolapse. The degree of prolapse and anatomical conditions will affect decision as to which surgical procedure to pursue. For instance, a hysterectomy (removal of the uterus) may be required when significant prolapse is present.

The Intima laser treatment of vaginal prolapse is carried out with the internal vaginal probe the same way as other treatments of the vaginal canal, but with the use of a slightly different setting allowing maximum treatment intensity to be adjusted for individual patients.

Even when using the high power of the laser beam the treatment remains safe, well tolerated and is practically painless.

Patients generally notice a positive difference after their first session, with optimal tissue remodeling continuing for up to 3 months post-course. Annual top-up treatments are recommended to maintain structural tone.

The CO2RE® Intima treatment is highly well-tolerated. Most patients describe only a mild, warm, vibrating sensation during the internal procedure, which requires no topical numbing agent.