Vaginal erbium laser for treatment of stress urinary incontinence: optimization of treatment regimen for a sustained long-term effect.

Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is a common health problem that affects roughly 35% of women in the reproductive period. A prospective uncontrolled study was conducted to assess the long-term efficacy and safety of a non-ablative Er:YAG laser treatment of SUI. Forty-three patients participated in the study.

Combined Treatment of Rolling Acne Scars in Ethnic Skin Using Extensive Subcision, Trichloracetic Acid Peel, and Fractional Ablative Erbium Laser.

Background: Successful treatment of acne scars in ethnic skin requires procedures that are safe and effective with a low incidence of hyper or hypopigmentation postoperatively.

Objective: In this study, the safety and efficacy of a combined treatment protocol including tumescent anesthesia, subcision, trichloracetic acid peel, and fractional erbium laser resurfacing was evaluated.

Methods: This is a retrospective study of 56 patients (22 women and 34 men) with predominantly rolling acne scars and Fitzpatrick skin Types IV-VI who were treated using a combination of tumescent anesthesia, extensive subcision, fractional ablative erbium laser, and a blending 20% trichloracetic acid (TCA) peel.

Safety of vaginal erbium laser: A review of 113,000 patients treated in the past 8 years.

Energy-based devices are becoming a popular option for minimally invasive vaginal procedures. The aim of this study was to obtain information on the frequency of occurrence of adverse effects (AEs) related to vaginal erbium laser (VEL™) treatment. The global survey was conducted among practitioners using the non-ablative VEL™ (Fotona, Ljubljana, Slovenia).

Intraurethral Erbium:YAG laser for the management of urinary symptoms of genitourinary syndrome of menopause: A pilot study.

Objectives: Genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM) combines the conditions of vulvovaginal atrophy (VVA) and urinary tract dysfunction, which is a result of urethral atrophy. There are several treatment methods available for the management of vulvovaginal symptoms of GSM, whereas urinary tract dysfunction often remains overlooked and undertreated. The objective of this pilot study was to assess the safety and efficacy of intraurethral Er:YAG laser treatment of urinary symptoms of GSM.

Source and trophic transfer of mercury in plankton from an ultraoligotrophic lacustrine system (Lake Nahuel Huapi, North Patagonia).

The incorporation and trophic transfer of total and methyl mercury (THg, MeHg) were examined in three size classes of plankton (10-53, 53-200, and >200 μm size range) and a small planktivorous fish, Galaxias maculatus, from the large multi-branched Lake Nahuel Huapi (North Patagonia, Argentina). Three sites representing a large range of lake benthic-pelagic structures (based on depth and shoreline characteristics) and precipitation regimes were sampled. Nitrogen and carbon stable isotopes (δ(15)N, δ(13)C) were analyzed to assess Hg trophodynamics.

Mercury methylation and reduction potentials in marine water: An improved methodology using 197Hg radiotracer.

A highly sensitive laboratory methodology for simultaneous determination of methylation and reduction of spiked inorganic mercury (Hg(2+)) in marine water labelled with high specific activity radiotracer ((197)Hg prepared from enriched (196)Hg stable isotope) was developed. A conventional extraction protocol for methylmercury (CH(3)Hg(+)) was modified in order to significantly reduce the partitioning of interfering labelled Hg(2+) into the final extract, thus allowing the detection of as little as 0.1% of the Hg(2+) spike transformed to labelled CH(3)Hg(+).