Eric Tabas, MD

Maintenance Treatments for Mona Lisa Touch are a repeat procedure when you begin to feel a resumption of the symptoms that prompted you to initially have the Mona Lisa Touch procedure. For most  women that occurs after 18 months to 2 years or as early as one year after the initial procedure. Unfortunately the underlying aging process that initially causes the painful sexual experiences is part of life. If you are able to use estrogen vaginally or systemically it will last longer but everyone is an individual and their body reacts uniquely. The maintenance treatment is typically one vaginal wand introduction and lasts about the same time as the initial to repeat treatment interval.  

Yes, It is perfectly reasonable to be on the Hormones while you are having the Mona Lisa Touch Procedure. In fact continuing the hormones after the procedure will help maintain the positive effects of the MLT procedure longer as well as help the vaginal tissue and your sense of well being. I also want to remind you that for the day of and the day before your procedure you should avoid introducing any creams or jellys into the vagina as it may obscure the MLT laser from reaching the targeted vaginal tissue and thereby reduce the effectiveness of the procedure on that treatment day. 

Unfortunately, the Mona Lisa will not help your prolapse. After the prolapse surgery and recovery you could consider the Mona Lisa Procedure to offer some better lubrication and thickening of the vaginal skin. If you wish to use the Pessary to treat your Prolapse then estrogen therapy is the primary therapy. You could then try the Mona Lisa Touch in an effort to develop elasticity and to maintain the vaginal tissue. 

The procedure is quick and painless such that patients afterwards can get up and resume their normal activities.We counsel patients to wait for sexual relations for 72 hours to allow their body to heal. Most patients will notice an increase of their vaginal secretions for the first 24-48 hours. 

The most common risk of the procedure is an increased discharge for the first 24-48 hours after the procedure as the vaginal tissue is healing, When the outside of the vaginal openiing is treated that may cause some swelling and an ice pack or vaseline is particularly helpful for the first 24-48 hours. Since the Fractional Laser only goes to a microscopic limited depth the surrounding bladder and rectum organs are not affected. It is an effective, safe, FDA approved treatment for vaginal dryness but an occasional person, like any procedure, do not receive the intended benefits.