Treatment of Prepubertal Labial Adhesions: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Although various treatment options have been proposed for the treatment of labial adhesions, there are currently no clearly outlined limits on the duration of topical therapy, amount of lateral traction to apply, and methods to decrease the recurrence. This clinical trial was undertaken to assess the need for estrogen for treatment of prepubertal labial adhesions.

DESIGN: Randomized, double-blinded, controlled trial.

SETTING: Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology Clinic at a children's hospital in a metropolitan area.

PARTICIPANTS: Prepubertal girls ages 3 months to 12 years with labial adhesions.

INTERVENTIONS: Lateral traction with topical estrogen or topical emollient.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was resolution of labial adhesions. The secondary outcome was the change in severity of labial adhesions over time between the 2 groups.

RESULTS: Forty-three girls were enrolled and 38 (88%) completed the study. The difference in complete resolution between the topical emollient group (19%) and the topical estrogen group (36%) was not statistically significant (P = .21). There was a statistically significant decrease in severity of labial adhesions over time, with the magnitude of improvement favoring the topical estrogen group.

CONCLUSION: Although labial adhesion severity decreased when treated with lateral traction and topical emollient or topical estrogen, the magnitude of the effect was significantly greater for topical estrogen.