Labioplasty surgery (or labial reduction) is performed on women who’s labia are too big.
Labioplasty surgery involves removing part of the labia minora – the inner lips. Less commonly it involves the labia majora. With Dr Jane this is performed in an accredited hospital under sterile conditions and under a full general anaesthetic.
Who is a candidate for labiaplasty?
Women who come to see Dr Jane have thought about having this procedure done for a very long time. It’s not something they rush into or take lightly.
Most women have a combination of concerns. Concerns about physical discomfort and concerns about the appearance. The discomfort is usually constant, daily rubbing and chaffing made worse during certain activities such as running, bike riding or wearing certain underwear or tight clothing.
Some women have discomfort during sex, often the Labia minora get in the way or roll into the vagina during intercourse causing friction then painful swelling afterwards. This can lead to avoidance of sex and long-term sexual inhibition.
Some women have discomfort even just sitting. Some women need to manually readjust their labia throughout the day to tuck the labia minora inside the labia major so there is nothing “hanging out” causing rubbing.
All of these constant daily problems over the course of months and years can result in feelings of ‘not being normal’, being embarrassed by their bodies and ultimately leading to debilitating, very real, poor self-esteem. They don’t feel confident as women. They can’t embrace their femininity.
For most women the labia minora is smaller and tucked inside the labia majora. So when standing naked, the labia minora does not hang out and is not seen. When the labia minora is too large or out of proportion, it hangs out and some women find this a source of embarrassment. This has been made worse in recent years by Brazilian waxing where the genital area is more exposed. When the labia minora is hanging out some women feel this looks unattractive and they feel abnormal. Some women feel that the bulge can be seen when wearing bathers. Many women have had sexual partners comment that their lips are large. This in particular can cause young women to feel inadequate.
As you can imagine, this is quite a painful procedure in a very sensitive area of the body. The bruising and swelling is fairly dramatic for the first 2 weeks. Ice packs, rest and salt baths are essential during the first week following surgery. By week 6 the body has healed, sutures dissolved and swelling has resolved.
This is an operation with a very high patient satisfaction rate. For many women having had this surgery their lives are better and problem solved. It affects all of their life. How they feel about themselves, their sense of what it is to be a woman and how they relate to others. It’s a big deal. It is life changing surgery. For many women they say “it’s the best thing I ever did.”
Dr Jane specialises in labioplasty surgery and has performed thousands of labioplasties over 10 years.
To learn more about labioplasty procedure and what it can do for you, click here.