When Rosana De Andrea at 50 had four vaginal laser sessions, hyaluronic acid and platelet-rich plasma was injected throughout her genital area, and a testosterone pellet was implanted in the fat of her buttock, she
never wanted
to rejuvenate
her vagina.
.
She sought
to regenerate it
.
The difference in concept goes beyond semantics.
And aesthetics.
Although these pricks and sessions have been getting press since celebrities like Yanina Latorre and Jésica Cirio shared their experiences on Instagram, they also
go beyond sexual pleasure
.
With absolute discretion in the country, where in 70% of consultations nothing is mentioned (or asked) regarding genital well-being, the specialty of
regenerative gynecology
pushes hard to remove very serious conditions from the level of intimacy (and superficiality). frequent and hidden.
Once exposed, they can be treated with anesthesia-free or minimally invasive procedures.
Whether against vaginal dryness, mild incontinence, vaginismus, irritation when wiping after peeing, recurrent candida or pain during intercourse, they are
charged in dollars
.
As with botox and fillers for the lips of the face.
Regenerative
-gynecology
also aims for a consultation to encompass more than the very important PAP and colpo studies: it can prevent, several years in advance,
problems that are still perceived as inevitable at a certain age
or are highly sexualized, although the issue is not go
there
.
Vagina Pride and Prejudice
Rosana, who lives in Ituzaingó, was detected with
cervical cancer
in February 2021 .
She completed six sessions of chemotherapy, 24 of “external rays” and six of brachytherapy, where she had radiation placed in her vagina, near the tumor.
He beat carcinoma
.
But she lost something else and was encouraged to deal with what was also happening inside her.
Injections in the genital area, far from aesthetics and close to well-being.
Photo Shutterstock
“What the oncologist told me went well.
I beat cancer.
Then other complications came, because with the last process they burn everything inside,
the vaginal walls stick together
(referring to the injury caused by brachytherapy).
The regenerative treatment I did a year ago changed my life 200%.
I became me again
,” he tells
Clarín
.
“There is not much information about these treatments that help so much.
I told my friends (because they are their age, not because they have gone through oncological diseases) so
they know they exist
,” she adds.
The profile of patients who undergo these treatments ranges from 35 to 50 years old.
But the majority are over 45
.
Lorena Claus, a doctor specializing in aesthetic and functional regenerative gynecology, warns of this widespread lack of knowledge regarding such frequent symptoms and explains
why it is important to differentiate terms
.
“The term vaginal rejuvenation gives a trivial framework to a scenario that is actually
a biological modification of a tissue
, which aims to improve the functionality of the organ to be regenerated (in this case, the vagina and vulva) and
improve the quality of life
”, he marks.
Complications "are not always related to menopause" (as in Rosana's case), but
they have not yet earned a place in classic consultations
.
“Regenerative gynecology, in addition to the early diagnosis of diseases, assesses the scenario of each patient and adds
prevention tools so that symptoms such as vaginal dryness do not appear
.”
It is the transition from the express consultation, a difference, "of 15 minutes", which is covered by prepaid and social works, to the "comprehensive" private consultation, which opens "a space to express symptoms that are often profound, due to the discomfort that it generates.”
That's where prejudice comes in.
“Although lasers can be promoted as linked to improving female sexuality, it ends up being a minimalist view.
The versatility of the treatment allows it to be used for gynecological pathologies.
It is a therapeutic tool that
is far from that reductionist view of 'vaginal rejuvenation
,'” María José Araujo tells
Clarín
.
The laser is used in regenerative gynecology treatments.
Photo Shutterstock
She is the main reference for this specialty in the country, and a
gynecological influencer
with more than 94 thousand followers.
Araujo highlights everything from genitourinary syndrome and treatment-resistant herpes to vulvar fissure, to summarize the versatility of the laser outside of intimate aesthetics.
“Hyaluronic acid can be used against vaginal dryness (which is not an aesthetic problem) or as a filler to volumize the labia majora in patients who had a marked weight loss or who (due to advanced age) changed their anatomy in the area of the vulva, losing its fatty core in the labia majora,” he points out.
Natasha, 43 years old, who had all these treatments, was implanted twice
with a testosterone pellet
(known as a "sex chip", the size of a rice, which releases hormones, like the one Georgina Barbarosa said she has) and is going a third.
"It took me seven years to get pregnant. There were multiple treatments, chronic endometriosis, operations and years of hormonal and physical manipulation.
My body was resentful.
Vaginal dryness, pain during intercourse, bleeding afterwards, lack of desire... I thought that '
I was like that',
that '
it was normal
'. I learned that it wasn't. I never knew anything that this existed, it is still very taboo to talk about these topics," he tells
Clarín
.
Natasha underwent hormonal studies before devising her regenerative plan.
"They saw that I have
a terrible early menopause
," she says.
Silvina Valente, president of the Argentine Society of Human Sexuality, says that this aspect of gynecology
must be separated from fashionable injections
.
“
We are not talking about aesthetics like what is done on the face
.
We are talking about a function in the vulva and vagina that deteriorates with aging, or rather, with longevity.
You are losing collagen, elastin, fiber.
Vascularization is being lost throughout the genital area.
That is what needs to be recovered,” she says.
The prevention of vaginal dryness, Valente warns, “can start at 45, if the subject is discussed in the consultation.
And if professionals also give rise to talk about the vulva beginning to atrophy and that
the path to orgasm is increasingly slower or less intense
.
In addition to the dryness, which is often disabling for having relationships, something very quiet, Claus describes, "is that there are
disorders of the genital anatomy that generate shame
."
It is difficult to say, as she exemplifies, "I don't want to have a relationship with a partner because my longer lips bother me" or "I feel that the opening of my vagina is large." Everything that is not said, even out of pride, "can have a "Assessment for the patient is as important as the nose.
The difference is that consultations are not allowed to talk about this
."
Training in the area is through courses, outside the classic career.
But, whether sessions or injections, which do not require an operating room,
are performed by gynecology specialists
.
The treatments
Laser technology (which is not the same as that which can be used, for example, for permanent hair removal) has water as its action point, which is the main component of the vagina.
The laser produces desirable damage, which results in regeneration.
The session, with
a cost between 80 and 100 dollars
, is done once a month, until four sessions are completed.
The device (there are all price ranges) is inserted into the vagina (as during a transvaginal ultrasound) to activate the emission of that laser energy.
“There is no direct contact with the tissue, where it impacts, a controlled thermal stimulus is generated and biological changes occur, such as
the formation of collagen, elastin, and greater vascularization
, which causes more fluid to be produced,” explains the expert.
When platelet-rich plasma (about $50 per session) is injected into the vulva and vagina (as in the face, the liquid is extracted, processed and returned to the area to be treated, after local anesthesia and with microinjections or cannulas) , another regenerative stimulus occurs.
Only the mechanism changes.
Radiofrequency
, another thermal action but through waves, which requires more sessions, costs half as much as the laser and the effect lasts less, it can be done in the vagina or on the labia majora and inferior, with the help of a gel
.
In the portfolio of possibilities is the electromagnetic chair, which strengthens the pelvic floor thanks to the multiple contractions generated by a magnetic field (about $500 for eight sessions);
or the carboxytherapy cabin, which uses medicinal carbon dioxide (CO2) on the vulva and vagina.
“The damage to the tissue in the genital area may be age-related (pre- or menopausal) or not.
I have 35-year-old patients with tremendous vaginal dryness
, because they have recurrent candida.
Or there are bodily disorders that block them from having sex, such as vaginismus, which prevents them from being penetrated.
There is also vaginal hypermobility.”
Hyaluronic acid ($180 per syringe) and tightening threads (the same for the face, $150 to $1,000) can be applied in a regenerative or aesthetic way.
The threads can correct incontinence or mild prolapse after a natural birth.
Depending on whether they are preventive or regenerative and depending on each patient, maintenance sessions are every six months or a year.
But, first, you have to get to the treatment.
"Orthodox medicine, which has its effect on the education of patients, leads to this 'I only consult when I don't give anymore.'
That is changing little by little, the networks help,” Claus concludes.