There are a lot of women who are dealing with a large or irregular labia. Some women are born with this condition, while others develop this as they age as well as during childbirth. To many of these women, the appearance of an enlarged labia causes them embarrassment with their sexual partner. It can cause them discomfort while doing certain activities and can even lead to chronic labial irritation. This can have a huge impact on their self-esteem and prevent them from participating in activities such as jogging, bike riding, and sex.
For these women, a labiaplasty procedure is a good surgical option. This is also true for woman who simply want to improve the appearance of their labia.
Labiaplasty can be performed with the patient under local anesthesia or general anesthesia. Length of procedure is 1-2 hours. Most patients can return to work within 1 week, but should avoid vigorous activities for at least 2 weeks and refrain from vaginal intercourse for 4 to 6 weeks. Visible bruising and swelling should begin to resolve within 2 weeks.
Labiaplasty is a cosmetic surgery for the female genitalia that involves the reduction of the size or the changing of the shape of the labia minora which are the small inner lips of the vagina. This procedure enhances the cosmetic appearance of the vagina and helps to restore confidence and self-esteem to women who were embarrassed by its appearance. Women who have had labiaplasty surgery, find that their labia no longer become irritated or painful like it was prior to surgery.
Labiaplasty will treat the following issues:
- Labia hypertrophy
- Enlarged labia
- Painful pinching of the labia
- Friction of the labia
- Labia irritation
- Aesthetic purposes
Labiaplasty procedure is performed to reduce the size of the inner lips called the labia minora, the outer lips called the labia majora, or in some cases, both. There are different approaches that can be used depending upon whether we are working on the inner lips or outer lips.
To reduce the inner lips, surgeons use two common techniques. The first technique, will remove a wedge from each side. Once that is removed, the surgeon will then close the wedge by bringing the upper portion of the labia minora down. By doing this, the labia profile is reduced and the results look natural. The incision for this technique is located inside the labial folds and once it has fully healed, the scar is virtually invisible. Unlike the second technique called the trim method, which involves removing the entire projected labia portion and can sometimes lead to painful scarring. We only use the trim method for women who wish to have a small labial profile with smoother edges on the inner lips.