Vaginal Erbium Laser for the Treatment of Mild-to-Moderate Stress Urinary Incontinence: A Multicentre Randomised Sham-Controlled Trial

Objective: To assess whether Er:YAG laser is superior to sham in treating women with mild/moderate stress urinary incontinence (SUI).

Design: A single blinded, multi-centre RCT comparing Er:YAG laser to sham in women with mild/moderate SUI with patients blinded to allocated treatment.

Setting: Three urogynaecology departments in United Kingdom, Switzerland and Germany.

Population or sample: 79 participants were recruited with mild/moderate SUI.

Methods: Participants were randomised (2 active: 1 sham) receiving 3 treatment sessions. Participants were assessed at baseline and 6 months post final treatment.

Main outcome measures: Primary outcome measure: cure defined as at least 50% reduction in 1 h pad weigh test (PWT) at 6 months compared to baseline (as per FDA guidelines).

Secondary outcomes: Change in PWT, (ICIQ-UI SF), (PISQ-12), cough test standing and supine and visual analogue score for pain.

Results: 32/51 patients (62.7%) of patients were defined as cured (per FDA guidelines) in the laser group compared with 4/23 (18.2%) cure in the sham group, p < 0.001, (OR 7.6, 2.2-25.8 95% CI). There was a statistically and clinically significant improvement in patients treated with laser in PWT, ICIQ-UI SF and PISQ-12 at 6 months (3 g, p = 0.002, 5 points, p < 0.001 and 6 points, p < 0.001, respectively). There was no evidence of statistically significant differences in the sham group.

Conclusions: This RCT demonstrates a beneficial effect of Er:YAG laser in women with mild/moderate SUI compared with sham.

Trial registration: www.

Clinicaltrials: gov (NCT03996070).