A comparison between ultrasound therapy and laser therapy for symptomatic cervical ectopy

The purpose of this study was to compare the clinical efficacy of ultrasound (US) therapy and laser therapy in patients with symptomatic benign ectopy of the uterine cervix. Patients with symptomatic benign ectopy of the cervix (n = 200) were enrolled in this study. Abundant leukorrhea, contact bleeding, recurrent cervicitis and pelvic pain were also evaluated. Patients were allocated alternately to the US and laser groups. In the laser group, Nd: YAG laser was used for tissue vaporization destruction. In the US group, the therapeutic US device Seapostar (Chongqing Haifu [HIFU] Technology, Co. Ltd., Chongqing, China) was applied. Neither anesthesia nor analgesia was used. Results showed that patients in both groups tolerated the procedure well and had excellent treatment outcomes. A symptomatic cure rate of 97.33% was obtained in the US group, and 98.81% was obtained in the laser group (p > 0.05). Ectopy areas were managed with a success rate of 95.95% in the US group, and 96.43% in the laser group (p > 0.05). The rate of side effects (including vaginal reactive discharge and colporrhagia) was found to be lower in the US group than that in the laser group. Mild-to-moderate bleeding occurred in US group (8.42%) and laser group (45.56%). The bleeding rate in the US group is significantly lower than that in the laser group (p < 0.01). We conclude that focused US can treat symptomatic ectopy of the cervix successfully, with excellent clinical results and minimal risk. Focused US therapy appears to be a promising new treatment method for symptomatic ectopy of the uterine cervix.