Vaginal Surgery Labiaplasty & Vaginoplasty Procedure Information & Recovery Time

• Labiaplasty or labia/lip reduction, sometimes also called vulvaplasty, where the labia minora or inner vaginal lips can be reduced in size and reshaped.
• Vaginoplasty or vaginal rejuvenation/tightening, where the inner vagina walls and muscles can be reshaped and tightened to produce a more toned and tight vagina.
• Hymenoplasty, or hymen repair/re-virgination, where a torn hymen is repaired or rebuilt to imply the virginal state of a women; this is most frequently done for religious, ethnic or cultural reasons with the utmost discretion.

Other less commonly practised procedures for vaginal enhancement include:

• Hoodectomy, where the fold of skin or hood covering the clitoris, which can be large or elongated, is removed to expose more of the clitoris, with the aim of making it more sensitive. Currently only anecdotal evidence exists for any success with such a procedure.
• Clitoropexy, where the position of the clitoris can be altered, such as repositioning a protruding clitoris.

(Note: these operations are not the same as female circumcision, practiced in some countries, which removes the clitoris and is a very controversial subject).

• G-Spot Augmentation is a non-surgical procedure using dermal filler products such as collagen and hyaluronic acid injected into the G-spot area, with the aim of increasing the likelihood and intensity of the female orgasm. This technique is marketed under various names including G-Delight and G-Shot™.
• And liposuction or fat transfer to the labia majora (outer lips) or pubic mound, to either reduce or enlarge these areas for a better aesthetic appearance.

For the purposes of this Treatment FAQ, we will only concentrate on the commonly performed procedures of labiaplasty, vaginoplasty and hymenoplasty.

What happens during the operation and how long will it take to recover?

Your first discussion with a surgeon should clearly set out your expectations and whether the operation can give you the results you desire.

Careful discussions regarding the reasons for wanting vaginal surgery and your suitability for this type of surgery are very important at this stage. Make sure that you obtain as much information as is necessary to enable you to make a fully informed choice and make sure you receive satisfactory answers to all your questions.

A medical history should also be taken to make sure that there are no reasons why you shouldn’t have this operation. You would normally be asked to sign a consent form which means that you have understood the potential benefits and risks associated with vaginal surgery.

Photographs will also be taken by the practitioner as a "before and after" comparison at a later date.

The surgeon may also wish to write to your G.P. giving details of the operation so that if there are any problems associated with surgery in the short or long-term your doctor is aware of the procedure and can help you to recover.

Anaesthesia

Vaginal surgery is usually performed under a general anaesthetic. In some cases an alternative using a local anaesthetic and sedation can also be performed.

Please take into account that a general anaesthetic carries more potential risks – this should be clearly explained by the surgeon before you make any decisions about the anaesthetic. Types of anaesthesia available should always be discussed with your surgeon.

The operation

If you make a decision to go ahead with vaginal surgery, the actual procedure may take place in an outpatient surgical clinic where you can go home the same day, but most surgeons and patients prefer a hospital setting where you can recover overnight.

Any vaginal surgery should not be performed at the same time as a woman has her menstrual period, so timing of the operation should be arranged around your monthly cycle.

Labiaplasty

The labiaplasty operation usually takes about 1 - 2 hours, and is normally treated as a day case, meaning that you are discharged to go home a few hours after your surgery is completed. There may be cases where an overnight stay is required.

The surgery can be performed in two ways, either by reducing the excess tissue along the edges of the labia by simply trimming along the inner folds until the labia no longer protrude, or by cutting out a ‘V’ shaped wedge of tissue from the underneath of the labia, the edges of which are then sewn back together. This method leaves the front of the labia unchanged, making the evidence of surgery less noticeable.

Surgeons nowadays tend to use dissolvable stitches in this area to aid healing and reduce pain and discomfort. Some surgeons also use a laser rather than a scalpel for cutting to reduce bleeding in the area, as the laser cauterises blood vessels as it cuts.

Vaginoplasty

The vaginoplasty operation usually takes about 1 - 2 hours, and is treated as a day case, meaning that you are discharged to go home a few hours after your surgery is completed. There may be cases where an overnight stay is required.

The surgery is designed to tighten the vagina and is done by joining together the stretched muscle at the back of the vagina and therefore shortening it, using dissolvable stitches, and then removing excess vaginal lining (vaginal mucosa) and tightening the surrounding soft tissues. This procedure may also be done using a laser. The resulting decrease in the size of the vaginal cavity creates more friction during sexual intercourse, often described as giving a woman back the vagina she had before she had children. The G-spot is not affected by this procedure.

Hymenoplasty

The hymen is a membrane that partially obstructs the vaginal opening, and is believed by most scientists to have no known anatomical function whatsoever, but is simply a remnant from the development of the foetus into a girl in the womb. There are arguments that it serves as an infection barrier to the vagina in infancy but this is simply a hypothesis.

Although the hymen can be easily broken in early youth through sporting activities or tampon use, it is historically associated with a sign of virginity, and consequently is considered to break and bleed on the first experience of penetrative sexual intercourse; (although medically this is not always the case as hymens come in all shapes and sizes which may not always bleed when torn).

This belief of virginal status prior to marriage through the possession of an intact hymen is still practiced in many countries and through many religious belief systems. Therefore in circumstances where a woman has torn her hymen naturally but wishes to prove her virginal status on her wedding night, an operation to repair it may be seen as a credible option.

If you have already had sexual intercourse and are therefore no longer a virgin, hymen repair does not “make you a virgin again” despite it often being marketed as a re-virgination procedure. Such operations have been utilised as a psychological help in child rape cases though.

The hymenoplasty operation usually takes about ½ - 1½ hours, and is almost always treated as a day case, performed under local anaesthesia, meaning that you are discharged to go home a few hours after your surgery is completed. This is often the preferred option for the patient as they are unlikely to have told any friends or family that they are having the operation, due to the cultural sensitivity of it, so cannot afford to be missed for a night. There may be cases though where an overnight stay is required.

The type of hymenoplasty procedure will depend on how much remaining tissue is available to the surgeon.

In a simple hymenoplasty the surgeon can piece together the remnants of hymen, pulling it together and closing the tear with dissolvable stitches so that it covers the vaginal entrance once more. The restored hymen is not very strong or designed to last long, and due to a lack of blood supply in the area will not heal properly in most cases. It is therefore normally recommended that the procedure is performed ideally 3 to 7 days (or certainly less than one month) prior to the wedding night or first sexual intercourse experience.

Alternatively, tissue from the vaginal wall can be used to create a hymen across the vaginal opening if not enough fragments of the hymen exist.

If there is simply not enough tissue and your hymen cannot be restored, a biomaterial or hymen implant can be inserted instead to act as a hymen which will tear through on penetration. It is not easy to notice that this material is not a real hymen.

Due to the way in which the hymen repair is surgical done, it is very likely that upon the act of penetrative sex, there will be pain and some bleeding.