THE SURGICAL-TREATMENT OF VULVAR VESTIBULITIS SYNDROME - A FOLLOW-UP-STUDY

This study evaluated the effectiveness of vestibulectomy in relieving coital pain and improving sexual function in women diagnosed with vulv ar vestibulitis, Vulvar vestibulitis syndrome, a chronic, nonspecific inflammation of the vulvar vestibule, probably represents the most fre quent subtype of premenopausal dyspareunia. Participants were 38 women who underwent vestibulectomy at a university hospital between 1986 an d 1994. Telephone interviews were conducted to assess whether vestibul ectomy or other subsequent treatments affected coital pain and sexual functioning. Length of postoperative follow-up ranged from 1.1 to 10 y ears, with a mean of 3.3 years. Vestibulectomy yielded a positive outc ome for 63.2% of the participants and moderate to no improvement for t he other 36.8%. The surgery was linked to a significant increase in in tercourse frequency for the entire sample and to an increase in oral a nd manual stimulation for the women with successful surgical outcomes. No other factors were significantly associated with treatment outcome .