51 yrs old is the average age of menopause, give and take several years. It is genetically programmed, subject to some variability...
However, as life expectancy increases beyond the 8th decade worldwide, 1/3 of a woman's life is now spent after menopause.
Oestrogen deficiency is strongly associated with collagen loss
resulting in skin laxity and bone loss (that's potentially 3 decades after our golden age of 50).
30% collagen loss in the 1st five years of menopause, then 2% yearly after - and since it is systemic, what is evident on the face is also happening in the Vagina!
The syndrome of menopause causes vulvovaginal atrophy, vaginal relaxation syndrome---- resulting in incontinence, vaginal mucosal dryness and sexual dysfunction, and lichen sclerosis or chronic itchiness.
These symptoms could start as early as perimenopause- around 4 yrs before menopause, I have some patients complaining of hot flushes in their early 40s.
Case 1.
46-year-old female who came in for filler of the labia (loss of fat pad in the labia majora).
Knowing about the Vulvovaginal Syndrome (of menopause or perimenopause), I DISCRETELY asked about other genitourinary issues she may have.
It is just like opening a Pandora's box: urine issues include going to the toilet often, incomplete emptying of the bladder, and leaks unexpectedly. The vaginal dryness is been affecting her sex life and intimate relationship with her husband.
(Real life) examples of how incontinence has affected her life?
- stopped wearing very tight yoga pants and started wearing long gym shirts to cover the wrinkle in the pubis area
- stopped lifting weights in the gym
- avoids jumping on the trampoline and playing with her eight year old son
- she starts wearing diapers when she goes out with her friends or sits in a meeting for more than 2 hours
- phobia with social gatherings in unfamiliar places, or googles where the toilets are
- the family has not gone for a long drive as it is bothersome (frequent toilet breaks, googles toilet locations along the way, etc)
- on plane rides, she sits near the toilets in an aisle seat.
- lower libido, affecting her relationship with her husband
- lower self-confidence and self-worth
Most of my patients who are candidates for treatment using EmpowerRF are perimenopausal (from the early 40s) seeking preventative therapy as they are starting to experience sexual dysfunction due to dryness. Half of them are already experiencing pelvic muscle weakness after childbirth and do not want to be like their diaper-wearing grandma down the tract. Because when the pelvic muscles start to weaken, it will never go right until you specifically do something about it.
Take for example Patient A.......
This myriad of symptoms affects every woman's quality of life potentially, not only after menopause, but after pregnancy or post-partum, weight fluctuation, hormonal change (following cancer care tx), and changes brought about by natural ageing.
The Market
Women's health and wellness is a multi-billion dollar growth opportunity
worth $32 billion, with a compound annual growth rate of 4.9% by 2027.
Non-invasive options offered by energy-based devices had been proven effective, and the safety profile of new technologies had improved over time, pushing the sales up and meetings like this had opened up the conversations about incontinence (for example), that options are available and women need not suffer in silence, but enjoy their last decades of their lives DRY.
The opportunities:
The hormonal changes during puberty, pregnancy, post-partum and menopause cause physiologic and anatomical changes in a woman's body.
These Genitourinary conditions and symptoms affect intimate female wellness over time, affecting the quality of life, self-esteem, and quality of interpersonal relationships. If these conditions are left untreated, they tend to worsen with age.
Some patients are adverse to the side effects of medications like anticholinergic and HRT, hence energy-based devices offer
non-invasive options have proven effective for some patients, and the safety profile of new technologies has improved over time.
Some statistics on how common symptoms of stress urinary incontinence is, 1:3, Affecting 400 million lives worldwide
With sexual dysfunction affecting majority of women.
EmpowerRF by InMode
EmpowerRF has 7 technologies, all offered in-office
It improves incontinence symptoms- by collagen stimulation hence improving pelvic support, muscle stimulation with it's EMS train the pelvic muscles equivalent to thousands of Kegels’ exercises.
Sexual dysfunction- RF produce thermal energy to improve circulation hence improving dryness.
RFALipolysis has the cosmetic function of giving us the Non-Invasive option for a Designer Vagina in Sydney . It tightens the the labia, and is an in-office answer to labiaplasty.
The popular technology of Morpheus8 microneedling RF on the face and body, now has a vaginal handpiece Morpheus8 V for collagen stimulation (for the Designer Vagina option) to improve pelvic support, vaginal tightening, improve circulation intravaginally and labial skin laxity.
During the procedure we just use a stong compounded topical aesthetics (as there are not much nerve endings intravaginally)
Each treatment should be individualised, and the machine is best for prevention rather than treatment of severe cases such as vaginal prolapse.
For enquiries please book a consultation with Dr Liz Golez (please call 02 91891000).
https://www.inmode.com.au/pages/empower-rf-womens-wellness?utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=EmpowerRF+Launch+-+Join+our+event+%F0%9F%8C%B8&utm_campaign=INM0202-Empower-RF+Taronga+Invite+%28NSW%29&vgo_ee=PHWxaHP%2BUdwrmbmulLSvLwA3SuMkJhmkGexv49sZvNU%3D
