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Raby Institute Offers MonaLisa Touch for Women’s Health

Integrative Gynecologist Katherine A. Thurer, M.D., is one of three doctors now performing the new, FDA-approved MonaLisa Touch procedure at the Raby Institute for Integrative Medicine at Northwestern. No anesthesia is needed, and patients can expect virtually no pain or side effects from the three, five-minute laser treatments.

Millions of women suffer from vaginal atrophy, which results from hormonal changes that take place with menopause. Those changes can lead to painful thinning, drying, and inflammation of the vaginal walls, which may cause painful intercourse and urination.

MonaLisa Touch uses carbon dioxide laser energy to promote vaginal wall health by stimulating collagen. This is especially beneficial for women that have gone through menopause—50 percent of 64 million post-menopausal women have adverse changes to their gynecologic health. The procedure is also helpful to women who have had a hysterectomy; had breast cancer, affecting more than 2.8 million breast cancer survivors; or are breastfeeding.

The laser works by penetrating laser energy into the layers of the vaginal wall to stimulate collagen revival. Prior to undergoing the MonaLisa Touch procedure, each patient must have a routine pelvic exam with Thurer to determine if she is a candidate.

Thurer says, “Now we have something else in our arsenal besides hormones, which work for some people but not others. This new approach goes along with our mission of healing ourselves.”

Location: 500 N. Michigan Ave., Ste. 2100, Chicago. For appointments, call 312-276.1212 or visit RabyInstitute.com.