The use of high-intensity focused ultrasound in the treatment of genital forms of scleroatrophic lichen
The article presents an overview of the use of high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) in the treatment of vulvar lichen sclerosus. The paper provides the definition and principle of operation of HIFU, analyzes studies that show the effectiveness and safety of this method. The first attempts to use HIFU in medicine were made in the field of neurosurgery in the United States in the early 1940s by Professor William Fry. In the 1950s, his laboratory designed a device for the use of focused ultrasound in experimental neurosurgery, namely, to cause local destructions of a certain size in the deep structures in the brain of animals. In the USSR, the research on the clinical application of focused ultrasound started in the early 1970s at the Acoustics Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences (AKIN), Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry, Institute of Human Brain, Pavlov Institute of Physiology and a number of other scientific institutions. Nowadays, HIFU can be used not only in neurosurgery, for example, to control neuropathic pain, intracerebral hemorrhages and Alzheimer’s disease, but also in many other fields of medicine (dermatology, gynecology, oncology, mammology, etc.) as surgical treatment of malignant tumors in oncology, surgery of uterine fibromyoma, destruction of prostate tumors, exposure to tissues located behind the chest, or intracerebral tissues without performing craniotomy.Teterina T.A., Ishchuk M.P., Ramazanova M.O., Apolikhina I.A.
Conclusion: It can be assumed that the treatment of vulvar lichen sclerosus with high-intensity focused ultrasound can be an alternative to the therapy with topical corticosteroids, as their frequent and prolonged use can lead to skin thinning, ricochet reactions, scarring of tissues, reactivation of fungal and papillomavirus infections. HIFU is a new and promising method for the treatment of vulvar lichen sclerosus and requires further randomized controlled trials.
Keywords
vulvar lichen sclerosus
high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU)
References
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Received 12.07.2021
Accepted 15.07.2021
About the Authors
Tatiana A. Teterina, PhD, obstetrician-gynecologist of the Department of Aesthetic Gynecology and Rehabilitation, Academician V.I. Kulakov National Medical Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology, Ministry of Health of Russia, t_teterina@oparina4.ru, 117997, Russia, Moscow, Oparina str., 4.Maria P. Ischcuk, pediatrician, N.N. Burdenko Voronezh State Medical University, Ministry of Health of Russia, +7(473)259-38-05, marumariyaish@gmail.com,
394036, Russia, Voronezh, Studencheskaya str., 9.
Marina O. Ramazanova, the 2nd year resident, Academician V.I. Kulakov National Medical Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology,
Ministry of Health of Russia, mar1naramazanova@yandex.ru, 117997, Russia, Moscow, Oparina str., 4.
Inna A. Apolikhina, MD, Head of the Department of Aesthetic Gynecology and Rehabilitation, Academician V.I. Kulakov National Medical Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology, Ministry of Health of Russia; Professor of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, Perinatology and Reproductology, Institute of Professional Education, I.M. Sechenov First MSMU, Ministry of Health of Russia (Sechenov University); President of the Association of Aesthetic Gynecology Specialists (AAGS),
President of European Association for Genital Aesthetic Medicine and Plastic Surgery (EAGAMPS), i_apolikhina@oparina4.ru, 117997, Russia, Moscow, Oparina str., 4.
Authors’ contributions: Teterina T.A. – selection, examination and treatment of patients, review of publications on the subject of the article, revision of the article after the review; Ishchuk M.P. – selection, review of publications on the subject, collecting clinical material, processing, analysis and interpretation of data, writing the text of the manuscript, editing the article after the review; Ramazanova M.O. – collecting clinical material, analysis and interpretation of data, writing the text of the manuscript;
Apolikhina I.A. – verification of the content, approval of the manuscript for publication.
Conflicts of interest: The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.
Funding: The article was prepared without sponsorship.
For citation: Teterina T.A., Ishchuk M.P., Ramazanova M.O., Apolikhina I.A. The use of high-intensity focused ultrasound in the treatment of genital forms of scleroatrophic lichen.
Akusherstvo i Ginekologiya / Obstetrics and gynecology. 2021; 9: 199-203
https://dx.doi.org/10.18565/aig.2021.9.199-203
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