Typical symptoms of patients with atrophic vulvar leukoplakia at various stages

Atrophic vulvar leukoplakia is a common type of vulvar leukoplakia, which is divided into the following 3 stages according to the severity of the lesions.

Stage I atrophic leukoplakia

Stage I atrophic vulvar leukoplakia generally has no obvious symptoms, but some patients will experience mild vulvar itching, and the vulva will show atrophy that is not easily visible to the naked eye.

Stage II atrophic vulvar leukoplakia

The typical symptoms of stage II atrophic vulvar leukoplakia are mild vulvar atrophy that can be seen with the naked eye, usually starting from the labia majora, labia minora and clitoris, and the patient will feel dryness of the vulva or discomfort during sexual intercourse. In addition, the elasticity of the labia majora and labia minora will decrease, and wrinkles will decrease or disappear on the surface, accompanied by vulvar itching, and the skin will gradually show spot-like or flaky hypopigmentation.

Stage III atrophic vulvar leukoplakia

The symptoms of stage III atrophic vulvar leukoplakia are more severe. The labia majora will become flat, while the labia minora may disappear completely. The clitoris will shrink severely and even adhesions may occur. The urethral and vaginal openings will also shrink, and the patient may experience symptoms such as urinary incontinence or difficulty in sexual life. If the lesion involves the anus and causes anal leukoplakia and atrophy, the patient will have no wrinkles on the perianal skin and reduced elasticity, which will lead to serious consequences such as fecal anal fissures. According to statistics, about 50% of stage III patients have large areas of hypopigmentation on the vulvar skin.