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Female genital cosmetic surgery

The number of women who are contemplating and getting female genitalia cosmetic surgery performed is definitely on the rise. The American Academy of Plastic Surgeons recently started compiling information on theses procedures and noted that there was a 30% increase in the number of procedures done since 2006. These numbers do not include surgeries that are performed by OB/GYN’s, Urologists, and Cosmetic Surgeons.

So what exactly are these types of surgery and what has driven the need for these surgeries to increase over the recent years? Well, there seems to be varying reasons for this. There are three types of genital cosmetic surgery that can be performed and are designed to repair or remove different problems or issues that a woman might have.

The first type of cosmetic surgery that will be discussed today is labiaplasty. This procedure is designed to correct issues that occur with the labia majora and labia minora. The labia are the outer and inner folds that stretch from the female’s clitoris downward stretching around the vaginal opening and ending at the bottom of the vulvar vestibule. Labiaplasty can correct labia that is misshapen or irregular in shape. It can also be used to reduce the size if labial folds are overly large.

Women decide to have labiality done for two different reasons. They may need to have the procedure done due to medical concerns. These concerns include increased irritation when wearing tight clothing due to having large labia or discomfort when engaging in strenuous activities. Some women may have had large labia all their life, others may have larger or stretched labia due to multiple childbirth, or the presence of genital warts.

The other reason to have labiaplasty is for aesthetic reasons. Since society is so in tune with the perfect body, there are many women who are very self conscious of their whole body image. These women are looking for cosmetic surgery to improve their body image, self confidence and their sexual experiences. Some women may even want this procedure to help them look and feel younger. These reasons for surgery are by far the brunt of the requests for labia cosmetic surgery at the present time.

The second type of female genital cosmetic surgical procedure is called vaginoplasty. This type of procedure is designed to tighten and rejuvenate the vagina. It is used for women who have had their vagina stretched from having multiple children. This can also happen when women deliver extremely large children or have an extremely difficult labor and delivery. The vagina and the surrounding tissues are stretched, misshapen, and sometimes even ripped and torn during childbirth. These muscles never truly return to their pre-pregnancy state. This condition worsens after multiple pregnancies and vaginal deliveries.

Vaginoplasty is designed to tighten the areas of the vagina, pelvic floor, perineum, and surrounding areas. This procedure restores the vaginal area back to a younger, tighter state. Many older women who have had several children are seeking out this type of surgery in order to give them a more pleasurable sexual experience.

There is a procedure which can be done which is a combination labiality and angioplasty. Some surgeons who specialize in these procedures will do both of these procedures in conjunction with each other. Some women have had both large labia for years and have had issues with their vagina being stretched out due to childbearing. For these women, there are a few surgeons who can do the combination procedure. This is not commonly done so please ask how questions as to how much experience the surgeon has had prior to taking this on.

The third type of female genital cosmetic surgery is clitoral unhooding. This is a procedure where the skin above the clitoris is removed in order to give the woman a heightened arousal during her sexual experience. Women who want to experience more sensitivity around their clitoris may request this procedure. In the past this procedure has been called clitoral circumcision by lay people.

All of these surgeries require a surgeon who is highly experienced as they require exact sculpting and shaping of the tissues and cosmetic work. Therefore it is good to ask lots of questions as to the surgeons credentials and experience prior to scheduling a procedure such as this. Ask about their success rates as well as request to see before and after pictures. They should answer these questions without hesitation! If not, then it is time to find another surgeon!

Last updated on Sep 19th, 2009 and filed under Plastic Surgery, Women's Health. Both comments and pings are currently closed.