Difference Between Vaginal Rejuvenation with Laser and Without Laser?

The important thing to realize is that industry is aware of the growing attention to vaginal condition and it's connection to women's confidence and sexual pleasure in modern times.  There are many companies that are trying to capitalize on these concerns.  These "new technologies" exist not because they are efficacious or offer something beneficial but rather because there is an extremely profitable market.  These lasers claim to promote "vaginal health" without even qualifying what that statement means.  The most common draw is the concept of "vaginal tightening."  The thought is that coagulative contraction would cause shrinkage of the vaginal walls making a tighter vagina.  This simply doesn't work and if it did would cause big problems.  The important thing to understand is that the vagina does not naturally get tightness from its lining.  During climax the vagina can open up significantly and there is enough surface area of lining in a young and tight vagina to allow a baby through.  Vaginal tightness comes from muscular sling and soft tissue.  Laxity can be attributed to both less tone and less soft tissue from atrophy.  Attempts to directly tighten the vagina like excisional vaginoplasty almost invariably lead the to pain with intercourse.  If we were able to tighten the vagina with a laser the result would be similar.  Many techniques toughted to tighten the vagina are simply caustic agents that irritate and inflame the vagina which leads to dryness that can feel like tightening but a dry vagina is not a good thing.  I recommend staying away from these technologies.  I perform vaginoplasty in my practice by directly addressing the problem-soft tissue atrophy.  I use a special technique of fat grafting to pad, soften and tighten the vaginal walls.  I also use this technique to lower the g-spot so it is more engaged in penetrative intercourse dramatically increasing pleasure and orgasmic potential.  Patients report much more pleasurable sex for both partners, increased intensity and frequency of orgasms and improved lubrication.  The procedure is commonly combined with a MACIE-labiaplasty.  Stay away from lasers and incisions in your vagina!  I hope this helps!
All the best,
Rian A. Maercks M.D.

Dear Andy2143,
Thank you for your excellent question.
It is the patient's symptoms and anatomic damage that determines whether or not one is a better candidate for surgery or for a non-surgical approach.  Surgery is best for women with moderate to severe pelvic relaxation affecting bladder, bowel and sexual function and can be done with a scalpel, laser or electrocautery.  Vaginal Rejuvenation is an umbrella term for a number of surgical techniques published in the scientific literature that restore the support to the vaginal canal (anterior, lateral and posterior walls), vaginal opening, and perineum.  Feeling wide or loose after childbirth, not being able to feel one's partner or partner fall-out during sex because of damaged muscles at the vaginal opening, air that moves in and out causing embarrassing gas-like noises are improved with these surgeries.
Women with mild to moderate pelvic relaxation may benefit from a combination of things including hormones, weight loss, radiofrequency(RF) or laser treatments, and pelvic floor therapy.  Both lasers and RF address dryness causing painful sex, stress urinary incontinence and over-active bladder, and vaginal tightness.
The main difference between lasers and RF is that lasers destroy the cells to regenerate them while radiofrequency stimulates the cells to regenerate them.  RF penetrates a little deeper into the tissues, causes no discomfort or discharge and has no downtime after treatments. The cells are stimulated to make more proteins and collagen, with an increased number of cell layers noted microscopically. RF uses the same disposable hand piece for internal and external treatments while many of the lasers have reusable  interchangeable hand pieces.
The main thing to recognize is that both RF and lasers have the same end results, which vary depending on how a woman's body responds to it and are not permanent, lasting a year to year-and-a-half for many women.  Long-term studies have not been published but are in progress.
You can read more about radiofrequency at the link below.
I hope this information is helpful.
Sincerely,
Troy R. Hailparn, M.D, FACOG
Cosmetic Gynecology Center of San Antonio

There is a big difference in these 2 approaches. The laser is a probe that is inserted into the vagina, working to stimulate collagen production, thus rejuvenating the vaginal tissue. This is a great option for women with atrophy, especially those with a history of breast cancer who cannot take estrogen to treat the atrophy. 
Vaginal rejuvenation is a surgical procedure in which the muscle of the vagina is tightened and excess skin may be trimmed as well. For significant vaginal relaxation or looseness, a surgical approach is the better option. 

Laser Vaginal Rejuvenation (LVR) is the trade name for a specific type of vaginal tightening of the Kegel muscles and the perineum designed by Dr David Matlock from Beverly Hills. Matlock has taught this operation to many surgeons. Only surgeons that have been trained by Matlock are legally allowed to use the term LVR or Laser Vaginal Rejuvenation in their advertising. Matlock is a fine surgeon and his LVR is a very thorough and excellent operation. The laser is used as a cutting instrument during the procedure, but the cutting phase constitutes only a tiny piece of a much larger procedure. Certainly, the laser is not essential, but the rest of procedure is what really gives you a reliable vaginal tightening. In brief, it's a brand of vaginal tightening, and a good one at that.

Vaginal rejuvenation can be done with laser or radio-frequency. Both stimulate collagen production and strengthen the mucosa. They both increase tightness and lubrication. In my experience, radio frequency works slightly better for tightness, while laser provides slightly more lubrication.
New machines emerge every year claiming they are the best without evidence base. All these devices are FDA cleared machines (meet standard for safety to use) but they are not FDA approved for the indication of vaginal rejuvenation. The closest one to my knowledge is ThermiVa radio frequency which is approved in Europe for Vaginal Rejuvenation.

This is a good question but clarification is needed.  If you are referring to office procedures that are non surgical there are Lasers such as the femlift that can provide some tightening. Compare this to Thermiva that uses radiofrequency.If you are describing a surgery to tighten the vaginal canal that is different.  Laser vaginal rejuvenation has been marketed from Beverly Hills for twenty years.  The surgical outcome is determined more by the surgeon and the anatomy than the energy source used such as a laser. 

Thank you for your question 
There are two uses for lasers in “vaginal Rejuvenation “ 
One is the noninvasive procedure which takes a few minutes(Mona Lisa etc) . This along with radio frequency (thermiva)can increase circulation and collagen formation to improve dryness and mild vaginal “tightening “
The other is use in surgery. This is only a marketing tool and has no practical effect. There is no significant difference in blood loss or any other benefit. The term is a trademark used to promote a traditional procedure called anterior and posterior repair.

A laser is a device which emits energy at a particular wavelength and, in the case of vaginal rejuvenation, delivers energy to vaginal tissues causing shrinkage and tightening. The ThermiVa uses radiofrequency to heat the tissues to allow for shrinkage. While we don't do laser vaginal rejuvenation, I can tell you that an overwhelming number of ThermiVa patients are thrilled with their results.

It used to be that laser vaginal rejuvenation referred to using lasers to cut skin and tissues during vaginal surgery.  They (lasers) were not a necessary part of the procedure and were only part of the hype because the how the rest of the surgery was designed and performed was more important.Now - some companies have created lasers to place into the vaginal canal and produce tightening.  I dislike this procedure because you are using a laser to create little pin hole damage or burns throughout the tissue that will cause constriction for the resulting scar that is formed.  I PREFER more non invasive ways of producing identical results with ThermiVA.  It uses radiofrequency applied topically (ontop) of the tissue without creating holes, burns, or other damage.  It encourages tightening of the tissues with gentle heating and produces collagen formation that tightens tissue, improves bladder leakage, can tighten and shrink external labia minora and majora.  All this without any direct damage to the tissues.  Thats my 2 cents!

The main difference (aside from marketing) is this: is surgery being performed or not?In my practice, I use lasers to describe non-surgical vaginal tightening options (see video). Lasers are good at mild tightening, and improving the health of the vaginal mucosa: making things more moist. In addition, the laser can also help to improve mild urinary leakage.The surgical option is vaginal tightening with a procedure known as a vaginoplasty and/or perineoplasty. The surgical option is much more aggressive and should be implemented if you feel that your vagina is "open" or that there is very little feeling and friction during intercourse. The surgery does not improve the mucosa so the laser may be used in addition and at the same time, to improve lubrication.