<p>First Use of Thermal Stabilized Hyaluronic Acid Injection in One-Year Follow-Up Patients with Genitourinary Syndrome</p>

Abstract

Evaluation of the impact of hyaluronan hybrid cooperative complex (HCC) injections in premenopausal and postmenopausal Italian women affected by vulvar-vaginal atrophy (VVA), one of the symptoms of genitourinary syndrome (GS), on self-reported quality-of-life, vaginal symptoms, and sexual activity, as well as treatment side-effects. Methods: We surveyed a sample of 26 women affected by VVA with follow-up at 6 and 12 months. Deep intradermal injections of HCC were delivered at 1-month intervals. Evaluation of the treatment impacting the VVA patients was assessed by three international validated questionnaires (Visual Analogic Scale, VAS; health-related quality-of-life test, SF12; Female Sexual Function Index, FSFI). The statistically significant differences between pre-and aftertreatment responses have been assessed by Wilcoxon signed-rank test and repeated measures ANOVA test. Results: At 6-12-month follow-up, general quality-of-life (SF12) did not show any significant improvement. On the contrary, VVA patients showed significant improvements of genital symptoms (VAS) and sexual function (FSFI). Global FSFI score increased by 58% and evidenced important satisfaction (P≤0.05). Conclusion: Vestibular HCC injection is an office, safe, fast, not expensive, and reproducible procedure effective in vulvar-vaginal atrophy. This study can be used as a pilot for future trials.

Efficacy of injecting hybrid cooperative complexes of hyaluronic acid for the treatment of vulvar lichen sclerosus: A preliminary study

“…Bumps could occur in case of superficial injection of excessive quantities in a single point. 26,27 Recently, in the literature, the use of hyaluronic acid infiltrations for genital disorders is reported, HA injections have been used to TA B L E 3 Associations between stage, therapeutic history of patients, and symptoms at baseline reduce incidence of rectal bleeding in brachytherapy for gynecological cancers, 28,29 in Peyronie's disease, 30 and genitourinary syndrome, 17 they have also been used for aesthetic purposes, such as labia majora [31][32][33] and glans penis augmentation. 34 In this study, we tried to evaluate the efficacy of HCC in patients with VLS through a non-invasive and reproducible instrumental method as videothermography.…”

“…Hersant et al 16 combined autologous platelet‐rich plasma with hyaluronic acid for the treatment of vulvovaginal atrophy in postmenopausal women with a history of breast cancer. In 2020, Garavaglia et al 17 evaluated the use of Hybrid Cooperative Complexes of Hyaluronic Acid (HCC) in the genitourinary syndrome with good results. To date, no study has assessed the efficacy of injecting HCC for the treatment of VLS.…”

The efficacy of injecting hybrid cooperative complexes of hyaluronic acid for the treatment of vulvar lichen sclerosus: A preliminary study

“…Steroid use was discontinued for the duration of the study. We decided to use a highly purified stabilized hyaluronic acid of non‐animal origin without any chemical cross‐linking agents, with 32 mg/ml of two different molecular weights thermally stabilized (HCC, IBSA Farmaceutici Italia Srl) 11–13 …”

“…We decided to use a highly purified stabilized hyaluronic acid of non-animal origin without any chemical crosslinking agents, with 32 mg/ml of two different molecular weights thermally stabilized (HCC, IBSA Farmaceutici Italia Srl). [11][12][13] Patients were assessed according to the clinical LS staging proposed by Latini et al 14 at baseline. Itching, burning sensation, pain and dyspareunia were analyzed in all patient at T0, T1, and at T2.…”

“…Inspired by experience of De Lorenzi et al, 9 and from the study of Hersant et al 10 and Garavaglia et al, 11 we decided to use this HCC in patients with VLS. To date, no study has assessed the efficacy of injecting HCC for the treatment of VLS.…”