Laser Treatment
urinary tract infection, vulvovaginal candidiasis
VAGINA, URINARY TRACT INFECTION, VULVOVAGINAL CANDIDIASIS
All patients underwent 5 sessions 1 month apart from the vaginal laser treatment. The treatment was performed by a professional blinded to the treatment group.CLT was performed using the fractional microablative COAll patients reporting symptoms suspicious of vulvovaginal candidiasis or urinary tract infection prior to the laser session were treated accordingly. Sessions were rescheduled until treatment was completed.The first step of the procedure involved removal of the external anesthetic cream with a dry gauze. Then, using an exploration speculum, a new dry gauze was inserted into the vaginal canal to remove all residual vaginal moisture. Next, the laser probe was inserted into the vagina without lubrication. A 360° laser probe was used as the first option, but when the diameter was too large, a 90° probe was used. The laser pulses were delivered to treat the entire circumference and length of the vagina from the apex to the introitus. Patients had no visual stimuli since opaque glasses were used; neither was there olfactory stimulus from smoke plume due to the use of an aspirator during the procedure. Auditory stimuli from the laser and aspirator were set to be equal between groups.