How FemiLift works

FemiLift is made by Alma Lasers of Israel. It is a fractional CO2 laser at 10,600 nanometres, and Alma's description is that it pixelates the beam into 81 microscopic pixels. A probe with a single-use sleeve is placed in the vagina, and the laser is pulsed in that pattern in a 360-degree motion throughout the vaginal canal, which may be repeated to cover the whole area. NICE describes the claimed effect as promoting tissue remodelling and the production of new collagen. Every treatment is given by Dr Marie Duggan, GMC 7488383, at Femilift Clinic London, 130 Harley Street, London, W1G 7JU, after a free consultation and examination.

What the regulators say

The FemiLift laser is FDA-cleared in the US as a surgical laser, not for these conditions. Record K250071 of September 2025 clears it "for use in surgical applications requiring the ablation, vaporization, excision, incision, and coagulation of soft tissue", with no wording about laxity, dryness, incontinence or sexual function. In July 2018 the FDA said that "The safety and effectiveness of energy-based devices for treatment of these conditions has not been established." NICE guidance HTG581 and HTG582, both of May 2021, say the evidence "does not show any short-term safety concerns" and that "this procedure should only be used in the context of research". Beside that, HTG581 notes that "continuation of pelvic floor exercises is important", and HTG582 records that the committee was informed the procedure "may have a role for patients who are unable to use topical oestrogen". NICE's menopause guideline NG23 says: "Do not offer vaginal laser treatment for genitourinary symptoms associated with menopause unless as part of a randomised controlled trial." Its rationale adds: "The evidence showed that laser treatment was effective for all outcomes. However, the committee agreed that, despite some promising results, the evidence base was too small." The full guide gives each statement in full with the trials on both sides.

The session

1. Free consultation and examination. Dr Marie Duggan takes your history and examines you, with a smear test first, and sets out the price in writing. In our practice she also gives you the regulators' statements and the trial results for your symptoms. If pelvic floor training or vaginal oestrogen is the better first step, she says so.
2. Preparation. A numbing cream can be applied, as Alma describes. A single-use sleeve goes on the probe.
3. Treatment. The probe is placed in the vagina and the laser delivered to the wall in its pixel pattern in a 360-degree motion throughout the vaginal canal, repeated as needed to cover the area. Alma describes the treatment as fast, as little as ten minutes, with some mild discomfort.
4. Straight after. Alma describes minimal downtime. In the 59-woman FemiLift series some women had discharge, swelling or itching, none lasting over five days.
5. The first days. No intercourse or swimming for three days, or for as long as Dr Marie Duggan advises.
6. The course. Two or three sessions initially in Alma's words, typically three at four to six weeks apart in NICE's, with the plan set at the consultation.

Which conditions it is used for

Every indication the device is used for, we offer, each with its evidence level: dryness and atrophy after the menopause, stress urinary incontinence, vaginal laxity and sexual function, recurrent vaginal infection, changes after childbirth, and vulvar lichen sclerosus. Alma also makes four separate skin applicators for scars and skin resurfacing, a different use from the vaginal probe. The menopause page, the incontinence page, the laxity page and the lichen sclerosus page set out the trials for each.

Who it suits

In our practice FemiLift suits a woman who has read the regulators' statements and chooses an outpatient laser course with its evidence understood. She has usually tried or discussed the treatments NICE recommends: pelvic floor training for incontinence and vaginal oestrogen for dryness. It is not given during a period, in pregnancy, with an active cancer, with abnormal smears, or with a vaginal infection or tissue damage. The full guide covers the rest.