The International Society for the Study of Vulvovaginal Disease (ISSVD) is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1970 at the Sixth World Congress of the International Federation of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (FIGO) in New York City. It is composed of health care professionals from different areas, including, gynecologists, dermatologists, general practitioners, physiotherapist, nurse practitioners, etc. devoted to the study, investigation, and treatment of vulvovaginal diseases.
The ISSVD regularly promotes and develops terminology, classification, and guidelines concerning these conditions. These include, among others: vulvar dermatosis (lichen sclerosus, lichen planus), vulvar pain (vulvodynia), vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia, etc. More recently, a guideline concerning female cosmetic genital surgery was published.
Presidents and world congresses
| PRESIDENTS and WORLD CONGRESSES of the ISSVD | ||||
| CONGRESS | LOCATION | City/Province | DATES | PRESIDENT |
| I | SPAIN | Marbelca | Aug. 8, 1973 | Dr. Guillermo R. di Paola |
| II | USA | Key Biscayne | Jan. 9–11, 1975 | Dr. J. Donald Woodruff |
| III | MEXICO | Cocoyoc | Oct. 22–24, 1976 | Dr. Herman L. Gardner |
| IV | FRANCE | Montbazon | May 2–25, 1978 | Dr. Jean Hewitt |
| V | USA | Maui | Oct. 21–23, 1979 | Dr. Raymond H. Kaufman |
| VI | ENGLAND | Cambridge | Sept. 22–24, 1981 | Dr. Charles P. Douglas |
| VII | USA | Lake Buena Vista | Sept. 25–29,1983 | Dr. Eduard G. Friedrich |
| VIII | FINLAND | Mariehamn | Sept. 9–12, 1985 | Dr. Peter J. Lynch |
| IX | AUSTRALIA | Queensland | Aug. 30–Sept 3, 1987 | Dr. Barry L. Kneale |
| X | USA | Washington, DC | Oct. 22–26, 1989 | Dr. Edward J. Wilkinson |
| XI | ENGLAND | Oxford | Sept. 22–26, 1991 | Dr. C. Marjorie Ridley |
| XII | CANADA | Quebec | Sept. 26–30, 1993 | Dr. Michel Roy |
| XIII | ARGENTINA | Iguazu | Sept. 17–20, 1995 | Dr. Nidia Gomez Rueda |
| XIV | ITALY | Baveno | Sept. 14–20, 1997 | Dr. Dale Brown, Jr. |
| XV | USA | Santa Fe, New Mexico | Sept. 26–Oct. 2, 1999 | Dr. Mario Sideri |
| XVI | PORTUGAL | Sintra/Porto | Sept. 30–Oct. 6, 2001 | Dr. Marilynne McKay |
| XVII | BRAZIL | Salvador | Oct. 12–16, 2003 | Dr. Jose Martinez de Oliveira |
| XVIII | NEW ZEALAND | Queenstown | Feb. 20–24, 2006 | Dr. Ronald W. Jones |
| XIX | ALASKA | Inside Passage Cruise | July 28– Aug. 3, 2007 | Dr. Libby Edwards |
| XX | SCOTLAND | Edinburgh | Sept. 13–17, 2009 | Dr. Allan B. MacLean |
| XXI | FRANCE | Paris | Sept. 5–8, 2011 | Dr. Micheline Moyal-Barracco |
| XXII | ROYAL CARIBBEAN | Mediterranean | Oct. 6–13, 2013 | Dr. Jacob Bornstein |
| XXIII | NEW YORK | New York | July 27–29, 2015 | Dr. Hope Haefner |
| XXIV | ARGENTINA | Mendoza | September 11–15, 2017 | Dr. Claudia Marchitelli |
| XXV | ITALY | Torino | September 16–20, 2019 | Dr. Mario Preti |
| XXVI | IRELAND | Dublin | July, 15-20, 2022 | Dr. Colleen K. Stockdale |
Terminology, classification, and guidelines
| Year | Document |
|---|---|
| 2005 | The vulvodynia guideline |
| 2006 | 2006 ISSVD classification of vulvar dermatoses: pathologic subsets and their clinical correlates |
| 2011 | 2011 ISSVD Terminology and classification of vulvar dermatological disorders: an approach to clinical diagnosis |
| 2013 | 2013 Vulvodynia Guideline update |
| 2015 | The 2015 International Society for the Study of Vulvovaginal Disease (ISSVD) Terminology of Vulvar Squamous Intraepithelial Lesions |
| 2015 | 2015 ISSVD, ISSWSH, and IPPS Consensus Terminology and Classification of Persistent Vulvar Pain and Vulvodynia |
| 2018 | International Society for the Study of Vulvovaginal Disease Recommendations Regarding Female Cosmetic Genital Surgery |
| 2021 | The International Society for the Study of Vulvovaginal Disease Vaginal Wet Mount Microscopy Guidelines: How to Perform, Applications, and Interpretation |