AESTHETIC GENITAL PLASTIC SURGERY

There are a variety of aesthetic genital plastic surgery operations that may enhance appearance and reduce discomfort. These procedures include labiaplasty, clitoral hood reduction, labia majoraplasty, monsplasty and vaginoplasty.

Patients also sometimes refer to these procedures as female genital cosmetic surgery, vaginal rejuvenation, female genital rejuvenation surgery, vulvovaginal plastic surgery and designer vagina surgery, among other terms.

Aesthetic genital plastic surgery involves many choices. The first and most important is selecting a experienced surgeon you can trust.

External anatomy of the female genitalia

The hair-bearing area over the pubic bone at the upper portion of the female genitalia is called the mons pubis. The hair-bearing outer lips are called the labia majora. The inner lips are called the labia minora. In the upper portion in the center is the clitoral hood, which covers the clitoris in part or entirely. Below the clitoris is the urethra, and below that is the vaginal orifice.

Labiaplasty

The term labiaplasty refers to a procedure that reduces the length of the labia minora. It is the most commonly performed aesthetic genital plastic surgery and it can relieve symptoms women experience from twisting and tugging of the labia.

The goal of the procedure is to reduce the labia minora so that they don’t hang below the hair-bearing labia majora. A labiaplasty may be performed to reduce asymmetry when one is longer than the other, or, more commonly, to reduce the length of both labia so that the labia no longer twist, tug or fall out of a bathing suit.

Labiaplasty can be done under either local anesthesia with oral sedation or under general anesthesia.

The most common type of labiaplasty is the trim procedure, in which the extra tissue is removed and sewn up directly. Next in popularity is the wedge procedure, which maintains a natural border after a pie-shaped piece of tissue has been removed. Extra folds of the clitoral hood can also be reduced at the same time. Closure is usually done with absorbable sutures.

The risks associated with labiaplasty include those of most surgical procedures, including bleeding, hematoma and infection. The most common complication is over-resection. While some women desire an aggressive reduction, this can result in chronic dryness, scarring at or near the vaginal opening and pain with intercourse. Healing problems are more likely to occur with a wedge procedure, particularly if the patient is exposed to substances that cause blood vessels to shrink.

Most patients take a week off from work, during which they can reduce swelling and pain by icing with a cold pack sandwiched between the patient’s underpants and an elastic garment, like Spanx. This can be done “twenty minutes on, twenty minutes off.” The patient can also lie with her bottom elevated to reduce swelling.

Patients can resume wearing tampons or having intercourse after four to six weeks. Trim labiaplasty generally allows for a quicker recovery.

While the most distorting swelling is gone by 6 weeks, residual swelling may take six months to disappear.

Labiaplasty typically results in shorter labia that no longer hang down below the level of the hair-bearing labia majora. Most patients who experienced symptoms from twisting and tugging of their labia generally find relief after surgery.

Clitoral hood reduction

Excess folds of the clitoral hood can be reduced with a clitoral hood reduction. The procedure is most commonly done along with a labiaplasty.

The extra folds can create a bulge that is exaggerated when the labia minora are reduced, and a clitoral hood reduction can improve the balance in appearance of the female genitalia.

A clitoral hood reduction is usually done at the time of a labiaplasty under either local anesthesia with oral sedation or under general anesthesia.

There is a risk of bleeding, hematoma, infection, nerve damage, under-resection or over-resection.