Vulval disease in postmenopausal women

Abstract

The menopause produces profound changes for the vagina, but slow and more subtle changes for the vulva. However, the cause for symptoms in postmenopausal women is less likely to be vulvovaginal candidiasis, and the impact of ageing means that other diagnoses must be considered. Friedrich, one of the founders of the International Society for the Study of Vulvovaginal Disease, wrote: ‘The vulva is an area generally seen only by the gynaecologist, composed of tissues familiar only to the dermatologist and subject to disorders only recognizable by the pathologist’. This chapter aims to familiarise clinicians with these disorders and to advise on their management.