Day of Surgery.
Labiaplasty surgery is performed as a day procedure under General Anaesthetic. That means you will need someone to pick you up from hospital and take you home. When you are at home you will commence applying ice packs to the area to help reduce swelling. You will be resting on the couch with minimal walking. The local anaesthetic will wear off after 6 hours and you will start taking regular Panadol. (You will also go home from hospital with stronger pain relieving medication which you probably wont need). It is quite common for there to be some bleeding for the first 48 hours.
Day 1-3
The day after surgery you will start having twice per day salt baths. Soaking in the bath for 30 minutes. Again there may be some bleeding which is normal. Continue the ice packs and resting with minimal walking around the house.
Day 6
This is the day of your first post operative appointment with Dr Jane in her rooms in the hospital. Dr Jane will check the area and monitor the healing. Dr Jane will instruct you to continue twice per day salt baths for 2 weeks during this time the dissolving sutures will drop out. There will be no further bleeding. Continue the ice packs less frequently. Most women go back to work.
Week 2
By the end of week 2 you will be feeling much better. The swelling and bruising will have settled significantly. You should not require any more pain relief.
Week 6
At the 6 week post operative appointment Dr Jane will take the “after photo” to compare to the before photo. The swelling and bruising will have gone. The labia will be very comfortable although there may be some small areas of sensativty. Most women by 6 weeks are happy with the results resuming normal activity including exercise and sexual intercourse. Most women at this point experience all the benefits of Labiaplasty surgery.
3 Months
By 3 months the labia will look even better as the new shape of the labia minora settles. Most women are 100% comfortable, no longer feeling any chaffing or rubbing, having no need to readjust the labia for comfort.