Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Assessment of health-related quality of life (QoL) is particularly crucial in urinary incontinence because this condition significantly affects patients' social, psychological, physical, emotional, and economic wellbeing. The objective of this service evaluation was to assess various QoL outcomes in patients with stress urinary incontinence (SUI) before and after treatment with a nonablative Er:YAG laser. METHODS: Upon receiving SUI laser treatment (IncontiLase) at our clinic, 49 patients subsequently provided follow-up assessments of health-related QoL outcome measures at two time points (2-month FU (FU1) and 9-month FU (FU2)). RESULTS: Prior to treatment, patients were strongly bothered by their SUI symptoms. Two months after treatment, all the patients reported significant improvements of SUI symptoms and SUI-related QoL, which continued to improve with time. According to the QoL scores, patients did not consider their SUI symptoms bothersome enough to seek further medical care after laser treatment, even after a period of 9 months. CONCLUSIONS: Nonablative Er:YAG laser treatment was associated with substantial, clinically meaningful improvements in patient-reported SUI-related QoL in a real-world clinical setting. This service evaluation supports the use of Er:YAG laser treatment in clinical practice, although the study design limits the strength of conclusions regarding its effectiveness.