Abstract
Background: Non-ablative erbium laser has become one of the newly proposed treatments for various female pelvic floor disorders.
Objective: To determine the effect of non-ablative erbium YAG (Er:YAG) laser treatment for colorectal anal disorders in women with mild and moderate pelvic organ prolapse (POP).
Method: This was a retrospective study that analyzed data from the charts of 91 patients with colorectal anal disorders and mild or moderate of POP: 67 of them (Group 1) were treated by vaginal, vulvar, and perianal non-ablative Er:YAG laser irradiation, and 24 (Group 2) were treated with additional rectal irradiation.
Results: The average POP-Q stages after laser treatment improved from 1.60 ± 0.49 to 0.67 ± 0.75 (p<0.001). The severity of colorectal anal symptoms decreased significantly after the laser treatment. The overall score of the modified CRADI-14 scale decreased from 18.8 ± 4.8 to 6.9 ± 2.4 in Group 1 and from 18.3 ± 5.2 to 4.5 ± 1.0 in Group 2 (p<0.001). The improvement of symptoms in Group 2 was more significant compared to Group 1 (-13.8 ± 4.7 and -11.9 ± 4.6, respectively, p=0.008), despite fewer laser sessions in Group 2 on average (1.5 and 2.4, respectively). Conclusions: Non-ablative Er:YAG laser can be a new safe option for the treatment of colorectal anal disorders in patients with mild and moderate POP.
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