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

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 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

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