What is Vaginoplasty?

Thirty years ago, a vaginoplasty was used to treat women with stress urinary incontinence but these women quickly discovered that it had a rather pleasant side effect: the vagina felt tighter thus increasing the amount of pleasure they experienced during sex.

Today, women are choosing to undergo vaginoplasty in order to tighten vaginas where muscle integrity has been compromised.

As a result of the aging process, the muscles of a woman’s vagina may begin to relax over time. When a woman gives birth, her vaginal canal is widened and her vaginal muscles experience extreme stress, often tearing during the process. These specific situations lead to decreased friction during sex.

Vaginoplasty removes excess vaginal tissue, repairs the supporting vaginal tissue and reduces the vaginal opening. Although Kegel exercises can also help tighten the muscles, the time it takes to see the full results is not conceivable. A vaginoplasty ultimately tones the vaginal muscles thus allowing for greater contraction strength and control during sex.

Vaginoplasty (vaginal rejuvenation or vaginal tightening) is becoming very popular with women all around the world. Vaginiplasty has become more prevalent in the media. There are both critics and advocates of the surgery who argue opposing points. Critics believe that vaginoplasty is unnecessary and unsafe, that the idea of a “designer vagina” is market driven and decreases individuality in women.

Advocates believe vaginoplasty is both an aesthetic and medical treatment that can increase a woman’s confidence. Advocates argue choice should be an important part of this controversial discussion.

Before you make any decisions you should seriously consider your reasons for vaginoplasty and weigh both the advantages and disadvantages of this plastic surgery.

A Good Candidate for Vaginoplasty

Although it is a fairly direct procedure, your plastic surgeon still needs to make sure that you are a good candidate for vaginoplasty. You may want to have vanginoplasty for cosmetic purposes or for more functional and medical purposes. Either way, each situation should be thoroughly discussed with a surgeon.

Reasons for Vaginoplasty Surgery:

· Vagina feels loose or weak

· Sexual intercourse is not pleasurable because there is no friction or stimulation

· Pelvic pain

· Difficulty urinating or having stress urinary incontinence

· Compromised by childbirth, a woman wants to reverse the feel and look of her vagina

If you can relate to any of the above reasons, you are probably a good candidate for vaginoplasty. If your issues are slightly different, a vaginoplasty related procedure might be best for you. Some women have a combination of internal and external genital concerns.

Labiaplasty is a surgical procedure that reduces the size of and shapes a woman’s vaginal lips. Speak to your plastic surgeon to see if you might be a good candidate for labiaplasty.

To be a good candidate for vaginoplasty, you need to be a healthy and well-balanced individual. You also need to have realistic expectations of the outcome of this treatment. Vaginoplasty can help you look and feel amazing but it does have its limitations.

There are things that it can achieve and things that it cannot. You may require alternative or additional treatments depending on your situation. If you have just given birth, you are not a good candidate for vaginoplasty. You will need to wait at least a year for your body to heal. By carrying out pelvic floor exercises during this time, some women find that they do not require surgery later.

Women whose vaginal muscles have been severely compromised still need and want treatment. Unfortunately, many women develop some form of pelvic floor disorder after they give birth and this often leads to incontinence.

You are considered to be a good candidate for vaginoplasty even if you have not had children. If you are planning on having children in the future, it is best to put aside your vaginoplasty until after childbirth.

Vaginoplasty has received some negative criticism in the media over the last few years. Women need to be able to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of this treatment before making an informed choice. Good candidates for vaginoplasty are women doing this for themselves and not as a result of pressure from others.

Risks and Side Effects of Vaginoplasty

Before having surgery, you should make sure that you are aware of the vaginoplasty risks and side effects. To be a good candidate for vaginoplasty, your plastic surgeon will need to know that you understand and accept these potential complications.

Vaginoplasty Risks and Side Effects: Bleeding, bruising, loss of sensitivity, nerve damage, infection, temporary numbness, pigmentation changes, pain, scarring, excess scar tissue, hematoma, blood clotting, sexual dysfunction, adverse reaction to anesthetic.

Recovery from Vaginoplasty

It is very important that you follow the post-operative instructions given to you by the plastic surgeon so that your vaginoplasty recovery goes as smoothly as possible. Make sure you follow-up with the surgeon about any issues that may arise since you had surgery.

The plastic surgeon will use dissolvable stitches during the procedure and these will come out within the first week after surgery. Some pain and discomfort is to be expected during your vaginoplasty recovery but this can usually be alleviated with regular pain medication. You may experience some swelling and bruising as a result of the surgery. This will subside within the first couple of weeks.

You can have your first shower one day after the surgery but you will not be able to have any baths for one week. You will need to wear a pad for the first few days of your vaginoplasty recovery for any bleeding that may occur. If you get your period after the surgery, you will not be able to use tampons until your next period.

It might be difficult to urinate for some time. Avoid wearing tight fitting clothing during your vaginoplasty recovery.

Strenuous activities should be avoided for at least the first three 3 of your vaginoplasty recovery. You should not engage in sex for 4-6 weeks after the surgery.

You will be completely healed from your vaginoplasty 1-2 months after the surgery. It will take a few months for your scars to disappear but they are fairly small and usually hidden in the folds of your skin.

Related Vaginoplasty Procedures

Vaginoplasty has become very popular over the years. As a result, a number of related vaginoplasty procedures have also been developed and introduced into the mainstream market. Some of these still have a medical basis and are used to correct function more than aesthetics.

Vaginoplasty procedures available to women today:

Hymenoplasty, Hymen Repair Surgery, Revirginisation: Hymenoplasty is a surgical procedure related to vaginoplasty that basically reconstructs a broken hymen. It recreates “virginity” by putting in place a flap of the vaginal lining or another membrane.

The reason hymenoplasty has surged in popularity in recent years is because older women who have been married for a long time want to share the “first time” experience with their husbands. It is also carried out on Middle Eastern women for whom virginity is still very culturally important.

Clitoroplasty, Hoodectomy, Clitoral Hood Reduction: Some women experience pain or find it difficult to orgasm during sex because their clitoral hood is particularly thick. Other women have large clitoral hoods that hide their clitoris. This related vaginal procedure simply removes some of the clitoral hood so that the clitoris is more exposed.

Clitoroplasty is usually carried out at the same time as labiaplasty and the recovery time is 1-2 weeks.

Laser Perineoplasty: Significant weight gain can stretch the perineum – the area between the anus in males and the vagina in females. Childbirth can also stretch or tear the perineum. Laser perineoplasty is a related vaginoplasty procedure that tightens the muscles of the perineum so that sexual stimulation is enhanced.

Augmentation Labiaplasty: Unlike labiaplasty which reduces the labia minora and labia majora, augmentation labiaplasty increases the size of a woman’s vaginal lips. This related vaginoplasty procedure is carried out in two parts. First, fat from any fat deposit around the body is removed and purified so only healthy fat cells remain. Second, the fat is injected into the labia to increase them in size.

The benefit of labiaplasty is that a woman with small or saggy labia can rejuvenate her vaginal lips so they appear larger or more youthful looking. Another advantage is that the body won’t reject its own fat. Over time, the fat is reabsorbed into the body but the procedure can be carried out again in 12 months or so.

G-Spot Amplification: This related vaginoplasty procedure has only been recently developed and is not widely available. When choosing a plastic surgeon, make sure he has had experience in carrying out G-spot amplifications. The purpose of this treatment is to increase the size of the G-spot so that sexual pleasure in women in magnified.

G-spot amplification is a very simple procedure that only takes a few seconds and basically involves the injection of special collagen directly into the G-spot. For 3- 4 months, the G-spot is larger than its normal size. When you go back for another treatment, the surgeon will already have your measurements so it will not take as long.

What is Labiaplasty?

Labiaplasty (labial reduction) is a cosmetic surgery procedure used to treat women with protruding, asymmetrical or elongated vaginal lips (labia majora and/or labia minora). These women often experience physical discomfort and embarrassment.

Sex can be difficult and painful. Wearing tight jeans or swimwear can be awkward. Labiaplasty surgically reduces the size of a woman’s labia to produce more aesthetically pleasing results.

Women choose to have labiaplasty surgery for a number of reasons. They may be experiencing hygiene issues or want to correct the damage caused by childbirth. Some women are unhappy with the way a large and awkwardly shaped labia, while others are tired of feeling pain and discomfort during sex.

Labiaplasty does not actually directly increase sexual sensation but it does help to make sex physically and emotionally easier in some cases.

The actual surgical procedure takes 1-2 hours and is carried out under local anesthetic at an outpatient clinic. During the labiaplasty, the labia lips are cut and shortened before being stitched together with dissolvable stitches. The shape can also be altered.

Labiaplasty can be performed as a treatment by itself or in conjunction with vaginoplasty. It may also be carried out together with any of the other procedures related to vaginoplasty. These procedures include hymenoplasty, clitoroplasty, laser perineoplasty, augmentation labiaplasty and G-Spot amplification.

It will take about 5-7 days for you to recover from your labiaplasty. In the beginning you will probably feel some pain and discomfort but this can be alleviated with regular pain medication. Consult with your doctor as to when sex should resume.

About one third of all labiaplasty patients have surgery for aesthetic reasons, one third for functional reasons and the remaining third for both aesthetic and functional reasons. Women say that they love their new look and feel much better about themselves.

The following is a list of common issues women have:

· Their labia minora (small vaginal lips) are asymmetrical and/or elongated

· Their labia majora (large vaginal lips) are asymmetrical and/or elongated

· The woman’s small vaginal lips protrude past the labia majora

· Their labia feel large and floppy

· They do not feel comfortable wearing swimsuits or tight pants

· They experience pain and discomfort during intercourse because the labia get in the way

· This leads to embarrassment and emotional issues connected to sex and relationships

· Their large labia lips cause hygiene problems such as rashes, irritation and trapped moisture

As well as having large or asymmetrical labia, some women find that their clitoral hoods are large or particularly thick. Sex can also be painful. The treatment for this condition is a related vaginoplasty procedure called hoodectomy and is usually carried out at the same time as labiaplasty.

Vaginal rejuvenation is now a common option for women all around the world.