The surgical treatment of vulvar vestibulitis syndrome: a follow-up study.

[Guest guest]

Bergeron

S, Bouchard

C, Fortier

M, Binik

YM, Khalifé

S.

Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montréal,

Québec, Canada.

This study evaluated the effectiveness of vestibulectomy in

relieving coital pain and improving sexual function in women diagnosed with

vulvar vestibulitis. Vulvar vestibulitis syndrome, a chronic, nonspecific

inflammation of the vulvar vestibule, probably represents the most frequent

subtype of premenopausal dyspareunia. Participants were 38 women who underwent

vestibulectomy at a university hospital between 1986 and 1994. Telephone

interviews were conducted to assess whether vestibulectomy or other subsequent

treatments affected coital pain and sexual functioning. Length of postoperative

follow-up ranged from 1.1 to 10 years, with a mean of 3.3 years. Vestibulectomy

yielded a positive outcome for 63.2% of the participants and moderate to no

improvement for the other 36.8%. The surgery was linked to a significant

increase in intercourse frequency for the entire sample and to an increase in

oral and manual stimulation for the women with successful surgical outcomes. No

other factors were significantly associated with treatment outcome.

PMID: 9427210 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

nne