The following is a small selection of the many comments and letters I get from genital plastic (labiaplasty, clitoral hood, vaginoplasty, vaginal rejuvenation) patients.
I am approaching my 30th birthday and had been contemplating doing this procedure for the last year or two. I have one child who is almost 11 years old and my husband and I decided that our family is complete. Due to how personal this type of procedure is in nature, I was very diligent with researching who would be my specialist. I am so grateful to have selected Dr. Goodman and his team. I flew out of state to see him specifically for his expertise and incredible knowledge and bedside manner. The entire experience from the moment I picked up the phone to schedule a consultation was wonderful. Dr. Goodman took the time to make me feel comfortable every step of the way. I’m thrilled with how the procedure went, the healing time and post-op. Any questions or concerns I had along the way were answered with great care and compassion. I highly recommend anyone who is even considering this type of procedure to choose Dr. Goodman and his team. I’m lucky to have found him and would travel any distance to be in his care. Thank you, Dr. Goodman, for everything!
Dear Dr. Goodman,
I was feeling so good today I thought I’d give you a follow-up on the surgery you performed on me a few years ago.
I had labiaplasty and vaginal rejuvenation in May of 2008. Before surgery, my vagina felt very loose and there was extra skin (labia) that rubbed and chafed, making me feel older than my 51 years. My husband and also Dr. Goodman assured me that I was normal, and my husband said he had never noticed anything that annoyed or bothered him. I decided to go ahead with the surgery and have never been happier.
I have not spent a lot of my time looking “down there,” but the visual difference is not even the best part. I feel much more snug. My husband is extremely happy, too. He has mentioned many times that there is a positive difference in appearance and fit.
Dr. Goodman, I love you, my husband loves you and my hoo-hoo loves you! Please feel free to use my name and give my information for a reference.
-Melissa B.
Getting my labiaplasty and clitoral hood reduction was the most meaningful treatment I have ever done just for me! I have stopped stressing about my large labia and have enjoyed the sensations of intimacy again. The staff was very knowledgeable and sincere and took the time to answer my questions and concerns. Dr. Goodman took the time to listen to my concerns and helped me decide on just the right procedure, giving me back my interest and security to enjoy my sensual side once again. I will always refer him for his surgical skill, his integrity, honesty and his sincerity!
After I had my last child, I noticed that intercourse just didn’t “feel” the same… I wasn’t able to grip my partner the way I used to. I didn’t have any complaints from my partner, but I know my body. So I finally had the courage to have a consultation with Dr. Goodman, and I must say I am so elated and relieved that I had the procedure done. All of my insecurities with my womanhood flew out the window.
I wish that I knew about this [genital plastic surgery] years ago! I was dissatisfied with how I felt and looked for years. I am so much happier now. I had no idea a procedure even existed to help… Even though no one sees [the results of surgery], it makes me feel better as a woman. I did it for myself, not my husband… For me, not anyone else. I felt under no pressure… I can accept someone saying ‘I don’t understand why.’ It’s OK to not agree, but not [to say], ‘You shouldn’t do this.’ It’s my body—I can do what I want, and unless the person has walked in my shoes they have absolutely no right to make a pronouncement on what I should or should not do…
I cannot thank you enough. You took the time to listen, were not judgmental and [produced] the exact results I was hoping for!
-RC
It will be two years since my surgery come March, and I just want you to know having my surgery was the best thing I have done for myself.
Since I saw you last, my husband passed away from his lung disease and my relationship with Alex has blossomed. We were sweethearts when we were 16 years old and now we are enjoying life—and because of my labiaplasty surgery, enjoying the best sex of our lives.
At 62 years old, I really feel like I’m 16 again!
Thank you so much.
It has been about two months since I had my labiaplasty surgery. Going to Dr. Goodman for this procedure was one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life. I feel a freedom that wasn’t accessible to me before the surgery. I can go in the locker room and change and shower without trying to hide myself from other people. While it is true that all women are normal and every size labia is a normal size labia, the only women I have seen walking around naked and changing like it is no problem are the women whose labia aren’t so exposed and in your face.
I am not a person who usually opts for quick fixes as far as physical appearance goes. About 5 years ago, I became really conscious of how lacking I was in muscle definition. I mean, my legs were really flabby. Instead of getting liposuction or some sort of surgical procedure, I began working out. My journey of strengthening my body has been amazing and I now, 5 years later, get to experience the world through a strong and flexible body that I created for myself through dedication and continual effort. But my labia were another story. No amount of exercise or conscious effort would have made my labia less out there and exposed. Even if I wasn’t self-conscious about my labia, I would have been a spectacle for other women’s scrutiny and comparison every time I took off my panties. (If you are a woman, then you know how much we women compare and judge ourselves to other women.) I felt that I had done my time with my large and exposed labia and was ready to have a new experience of my female parts.
I am happy to say that in the past, I made a few of my girlfriends feel better about their female parts by showing them mine. And while it felt good to help them raise their self-esteem, I also wanted to feel that same feeling and sense of relief. So after years of wishing I could be free of these large and exposed female parts, I took control of my life experience and used the resources available in the world to alter my life experience for what I believe to be the better. While I could have fully accepted the way I was down under and I could have had an enjoyable life of covering myself up and not taking my towel off in the steam room, that is really not what I wanted.
After extensive online research, I chose Dr. Goodman and I knew he was the only one that I wanted to perform this intimate surgery. Because of this surgery and because of Dr. Goodman’s skill and artistry, a part of me has been freed. What may have taken my entire life to come to grips with has been freed up in the few hours of surgery. I knew where I was at with myself and I used the tools available to me to free myself from the psychological burden of having larger and more exposed labia than all the other labia that I have seen. And I have gone to many nude beaches and hot springs and have seen many naked women. In my experience, the women who feel confident and comfortable with their lady parts are the women whose labia aren’t exposed and hanging out there for everyone to see. And now that I have joined this group of women, I too feel confident and comfortable with my lady parts. For the rest of my life I will have this freedom, this physical and psychological freedom. I couldn’t be happier with my decision and am grateful that I found and used a tool (the surgery) to get me to this freedom.
I had my labia minora surgery on June 13, 2011. I’m writing this not to show how much I appreciate Dr. Goodman’s work (although I definitely do), but in the hopes of reaching out to women who may be debating whether they should have this procedure.
I am 21 years old and am currently attending SFSU, where walking about is a daily necessity. Having a larger labia minora became very irritating and painful. I believe an important concept to understand about your vagina is that in no instance should it hurt while doing any normal activity such as walking. I had been struggling with the decision of whether to do this type of surgery for many years. I am a very active person who participates in many sports and has worked as a waitress for 5 years. By the end of my days, I would be in so much pain from my vagina that wearing jeans was unbearable.
To justify the age at which I had this surgery, I would like to point out that I had started complaining about my vagina when I was 12; my reason for the surgery was in no way decided by a boy or the desire to have sex. Of course, sex has always been a painful experience for me, due to my enlarged lips rubbing against condoms as though they were clinging onto the penis for dear life. I know larger lips have the tendency to make many girls insecure. But let’s be honest: do men really care about the appearance of a vagina? Most definitely not. As cynical as this may sound, it’s my experience that men don’t care what it looks like as long as they’re getting the opportunity to be in it! The fact is, guys will only have issues with your vagina if it’s discouraging their chances of sex. On that note, if your vagina is causing pain during sex or the desire to not be intimate, I say what are you waiting for? Get it fixed now.
But getting back to my main reason for writing this—the women who may be doubting whether to get this surgery. I have to say that since my operation, I could not be more grateful. Though Dr. Goodman lectured me a hundred times on taking it slow, I was in fact able to walk around the day of my surgery. I used Vicodin the second day, and that was the last day I used it. I couldn’t believe how good I felt. My parents were constantly yelling at me to lie down because I forgot I’d even had surgery! I honestly believe that the reason it didn’t hurt so bad (besides the fact that Dr. Goodman knows what he’s doing) is because I had lived with so much vagina pain over the years that this was nothing!
Yesterday was my first day back to school, which means a walk up 5 flights of stairs to my first class. By the time I reached that last step, I paused and couldn’t help but smile. I had just walked up over 50 steps without that familiar pain I had grown to bear. I couldn’t help but wonder why I had waited so long to get this done!
On a side note for women researching this surgery, it is all about the doctor! My friend had this surgery done in Lodi for only $800. I couldn’t believe the price, but when she called me the next day stating, “This is the worst pain in my entire life,” I understood why the price was so low. She regretted her choice because of the horrible pain (this coming from a 32-year-old woman who was a physical trainer and had had 3 children and a boob job). Don’t let other people discourage you; it really does depend on having a good doctor—like Dr. Goodman.