Laser Therapy in the Treatment of Female Urinary Incontinence and Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause: An Update

Table 1

Clinical studies using different laser devices for the treatment of UI/GSM.

Author(s)	Laser type	Primary goal	Study type	N	Outcome	Follow-up (months)
Fistonic I, et al. [52] 2012	Er:YAG SMOOTH®	SUI	Obs	39	3.3^1	6
Fistonic N, et al. [15] 2015	Er:YAG SMOOTH®	SUI	Obs	73	5^1, 38.3^2	6
Fistonic I, et al. [11] 2015	Er:YAG SMOOTH®	SUI	Obs	31	5.1^1, 32.5^2	6
Ogrinc BU, et al. [17] 2015	Er:YAG SMOOTH®	SUI/MUI	Obs	175	4.7^4, 62^2	12
Gambacciani M, et al. [19] 2015	Er:YAG SMOOTH®	SUI/VVA	Obs	19	6.4^1, 11^3,	6
Leshunov E, et al. [21] 2015	Er:YAG	SUI	Obs	37	5^3	1
Khalafalla MM, et al. [53] 2015	Er:YAG SMOOTH®	SUI	Obs	50		6
Pardo J, et al. [20] 2016	Er:YAG SMOOTH®	SUI	Obs	42	8^1, 38.1^2	6
Tien YW, et al. [18] 2016	Er:YAG SMOOTH®	SUI/OAB	Obs	35	12^5, 50^2	6
Pitsouni E, et al. [25] 2016	CO2	GSM/SUI	Obs	35	4.7^1	4
Perino A, et al.[31] 2016	CO2	OAB	Obs	30		1
Isaza GP, et al. [24] 2017	CO2	SUI	Obs	161	7.5^1	36
Gaspar A, et al. [45] 2017	Er:YAG SMOOTH®	SUI	Obs	22	10^1, 46^2	6
Lin YH, et al. [34] 2017	Er:YAG SMOOTH®	SUI/OAB	Obs	30	4.5^1	3
Lapii GA, et al. [10] 2017	Er:YAG SMOOTH®	SUI	Obs	98	Histology	2
Neimark AI, et al. [22] 2018	Er:YAG SMOOTH®	SUI	Obs	98	73^2	2
Blaganje M, et al. [23] 2018	Er:YAG SMOOTH®	SUI	RCT	114	4^1, 21^2	3
Gaspar A, et al. [46] 2018	Er:YAG SMOOTH®	SUI	Obs	29	4.9^1, 14^3, 45^2	6
Fistonic I, et al. [27] 2018	Er:YAG SMOOTH®	SUI	Obs	85	19^3	6
Gambacciani M, et al. [19] 2018	Er:YAG SMOOTH®	SUI/GSM	Obs	114	4.2^1	12
Okui N [51] 2018	Er:YAG SMOOTH®	SUI	Pro	50	11^1, 31^3	12
Pardo Shanz J, et al. [54] 2018	Er:YAG diode	SUI	Pro	19	8^1, 26.3^2	3
Samuels JB, et al. [55] 2019	CO2	GSM/SUI	Obs	25	65^2	12
Lin YH, et al. [56] 2019	Er:YAG SMOOTH®	SUI	Obs	41	3.5^1, 7.1^3, 36.6^2	6

SUI, Stress Urinary Incontinence; MUI, Mixed Urinary Incontinence; OAB, Overactive Bladder; VVA, Vulvo-Vaginal Atrophy; GSM, Genito-urinary Syndrome of Menopause.
ICIQ-UI, International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Urinary Incontinence Short Form; ISI, Incontinence Severity Index; KHQ, King’s Health Questionnaire; PIFQ-7, Pelvic Floor Impact Questionnaire; OAB-Q SF, Overactive Bladder Questionnaire Short Form; Obs, Observational; RCT, randomized controlled trial; Pro, Prospective Outcomes.
1: Mean ICIQ score reduction; 2: percentage of the continent after follow-up; 3: mean pad test weight reduction (g); 4: mean ISI score reduction; 5: Mean KHQ (King’s Health Questionnaire) score reduction.