Biofeedback is a training program designed to develop the individual's ability to control the involuntary nervous system. Using this technique, the woman may be able to relax the muscles in the pelvic organs that may be having spasms and causing pain. Surgery is an option for some women only when other treatments do not produce satisfactory relief. Scalpel surgery involves excising the sensitive areas around the vaginal vestibule and then pulling the healthy skin over the excised area. Recovery time for this procedure can take weeks.
Laser surgery involves the same procedure but instead of a scalpel, a laser is used.
Recovery time for laser surgery can take longer and be more painful than with scalpel surgery. Pudendal nerve decompression is a surgery in which the pudendal nerve is cut. The basis of this surgery is that the pudendal nerve may be a source for the pain involved in vulvodynia. This surgery is performed through an incision near the anus. In one particular study, this surgery provided relief in 9 out of 11 women.