Do Women Have a Good Reason for Getting Vaginal Plastic Surgery?

More and more women are choosing to undergo vaginal plastic surgery in recent times. And some doctors believe these women are being influenced by the men in their lives. The vaginal plastic surgery known as a labiaplasty is done to make cosmetic improvements to the appearance of the labia. Previously, labiaplasty was mostly performed on women who needed genital defects corrected, and on adult film actresses. But lately, ordinary women are undergoing the procedure in larger numbers, even if their labias have no dysfunction or defect.

In a typical labiaplasty, the plastic surgeon reshapes the labia, or the lip-like structures that extend on either side of the vulva, in order to give them a better appearance--making them symmetrical if they start out uneven, or cutting them back if they are considered to be too large. The procedure is usually considered a form of cosmetic surgery, as it improves appearance but not functionality. However, a labiaplasty is sometimes done to correct damage to the labia that is brought about by disease or by injury--as from childbirth.

One type of labiaplasty is known as a hoodectomy. This is a surgical procedure to expose the clitoris. The purpose of a hoodectomy may be to correct clitoral phimosis, or it can be performed to treat sexual dysfunction, such as the inability to orgasm. But as yet there is no universal consensus that a hoodectomy is truly effective for correcting sexual dysfunction.

According to a number of surgeons in the field, many women give as their reason for wanting a labiaplasty that their male sexual partner had made some negative remark about their genitalia. Some experts even speculate that men expect their female sexual partners to have the same genital "perfection" that they see in nude centerfolds and adult film actresses. And that even if such men do not explicitly coerce their female partners into getting vaginal plastic surgery, they make the women feel insecure enough about their vaginas to want to get the procedure done.

Some critics are also concerned that the procedure is now commonly being performed on teenage girls as young as 15, who may not have adequate information on all of the inherent risks in vaginal cosmetic surgery. One of the risks of labiaplasty is that the surgery creates a ring of scar tissue at the vaginal opening, which may induce pain and complications during a future childbirth. Other risks include changes in sensation when excess tissue is trimmed. Trimming may also cause changes in pigmentation and texture of the labial edge.