This study followed a small group of women requesting female genital plastic/cosmetic surgery (labiaplasty, clitoral hood reduction, “vaginal rejuvenation”) in California and Georgia, comparing them with a “control group” of patients from the same doctors’ offices undergoing surgery for non-cosmetic reasons.
The 2 groups were essentially normal at entry to the study, with the major exception that 61% of the genital plastic group met psychological criteria, as determined by a standardized testing “instrument” (questionnaire) to be diagnosed as having Body Dysmorphic Disorder (“BDD”).
Re-testing was carried out at 1 and 6 months post-op. Psychologically and sexually, the women requesting genital plastic/cosmetic surgery tested no different to controls. Scores for sexual arousal and satisfaction rose very slightly (not statistically significant) at 6 months but, very interestingly, scores for BDD in the genital surgery group fell from >60% to just >8% by 6 months after surgery, to even lower than the control group.
The finding of rapid disappearance of body dysmorphia symptoms (pathological dissatisfaction with the appearance/function of one’s body) occurring with only a surgical procedure is extremely controversial in the psychological community, where it is heresy to believe that women’s symptoms of “body dysmorphia” when evaluated by a validated standard questionnaire utilized by psychologists and psychiatrists, would “disappear with
only a relatively simple, single surgical procedure.{Read More}
An interesting flurry of e-mails among participants in the ISSWSHNET chat occurred recently [1]. The issue at hand was the propriety (translation: “political correctness”) of performing vulvovaginal plastic surgery on women who are desirous of effecting a change in the appearance and functioning of their external and internal genitalia. Many of the responses were quite parental, puritanical, and retro-feminist (“. . . glory in your uniqueness . . .”).
I am a gynecologist, gynecologic surgeon, and perimenopausal practitioner with 35-year practice experience. I have been performing vulvovaginal aesthetic surgery for many years, initially reconstructions of sometimes pretty horrific lacerations of both vagina, introitus, and vulva secondary to stellate lacerations during the many years that I practiced obstetrics and backed-up nurse midwives.
Secondary to requests from my gynecologic patients with redundant labia at or above the large range of normality and/or with widened, relaxed, or gaping perineum or vaginal vaults, I began performing labial reduction (“labioplasty”), perineoplasty, and vaginoplasty several years ago, and presently do 1–3 per month. My experience, working with many women requesting vulvovaginal alterations, is this. {Read More}
“Female Genital Cosmetic and Plastic Surgery: A Review”
Reconstructive reparative procedures designed for cosmetic and functional improvement have been available for thousands of years. As women become more comfortable with the idea of procedures on other parts of their bodies designed to enhance their appearance and self-confidence, it is not surprising that they may wish to alter, change, “rejuvenate,” or reconstruct even more intimate areas of their bodies. Although gynecologic surgeons have for years performed surgical procedures resulting in alterations in genital size, appearance, and function (repairs after obstetrical delivery, perineorrhaphy, anterior/posterior colporrhaphy, and of course intersex and transsexual surgical procedures), Honore and O’Hara in 1978, Hodgekinson and Hait in 1984, and Chavis, LaFeria, and Niccolini in 1989 were the first to discuss genital surgical alterations performed for aesthetic and/or sexual reasons.
This review will give an overview of the most commonly performed procedures: labiaplasty of the labia minora and/or labia majora (LP), clitoral hood size reduction (RCH), perineoplasty (PP), vaginoplasty (VP) (the latter two sometimes referred to by patients as “vaginal rejuvenation” (VRJ), and hymenoplasty (HP), and will review the literature on the rationale of surgery, ethical issues, patient expectations, training issues, psychosexual issues, demographics, the procedures themselves, and presently available outcome data. {Read More}
“Female Cosmetic Genital Surgery”
Genital plastic surgery for women has come under scrutiny and has been the topic of discussion in the news media, online, and in medical editorials. In the absence of measurable standards of care, lack of evidence-based outcome norms, and little standardization either in nomenclature or training requirements, concern has been raised by both ethicists and specialty organizations…
Esthetic surgery of the vulva and vagina has not been described as such nor sanctioned by specialty organizations. Some would go so far as to describe it as experimental. I disagree… {Read More}
“A Large Multicenter Outcome Study of Female Genital Plastic Surgery”
The relatively recent addition of genital plastic procedures to the plastic surgery armamentarium has not been without controversy. The procedures and their credibility have touched a nerve in both the medical and lay communities. In September 2007, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ Committee on Gynecologic Practice issued a Committee Opinion in which they made it clear that in the absence of credible long-term safety and efficacy data, recommending procedures such as “vaginal rejuvenation” (VRJ) and others and touting their potential for enhancing sexual performance and gratification was “untenable.” However, as women become more comfortable with elective procedures on other parts of their bodies to enhance function, appearance and self-confidence, it is not surprising that they may wish to alter, “rejuvenate,” or reconstruct even more intimate areas. {Read More}
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