Plastic surgery on occasion tackles some sensitive topics. Today’s subject, labiaplasty, certainly belongs in that category. While other surgeries may have more social prevalence, such as breast augmentation or rhinoplasty, there is an emerging sensibility about the role labiaplasty plays.

In this episode we cover the rise in popularity of labiaplasty here in the US, and how the taboo around it is slowly going away. We discuss the importance of understanding what a labiaplasty actually is, what it ultimately does, and the changes it can make for the women who choose to have the procedure. 

Highlights:

• Introducing labiaplasty and getting to the better information (00:00)
• What a labiaplasty actually is (02:00)
• Who gets labiaplasty (04:45)
• How the surgery is done (07:07)
• Recovery (12:15)

Links:

Dr. Jason Hall, MD

• Website: https://drjasonhall.com/
• Twitter: twitter.com/jhallmd
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jhallmd/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrHallPlasticSurgery/

Transcript

Dr. Hall: Welcome to The Trillium Show, where we help you make the changes you want to see in your body, in your mind, and in your life. I’m your host, Dr. Jason Hall.

All right, welcome to the show. On today’s show, we’re going to talk about a really sensitive topic. Now, most of plastic surgery, most of the stuff that we discuss on the show is really out in the open. Labiaplasty surgery is not there. It is still very hush-hush, obviously, and is not one of those procedures that people talk about at parties, or that you’re going to discuss with a casual group of people like you would a breast augmentation or rhinoplasty surgery.

However, labiaplasty is really becoming more popular in the United States, largely due to social media and a more relaxed attitude towards plastic surgery enhancements. Every year, there are about 10,000 labiaplasties performed in the United States and that number is going up. So, labiaplasty is a thing, for lack of a better term, and it is one of those things that people are looking for information for. And the reason to make this show, in particular, is that there really is not a lot of good information out there. There’s a lot of social media stuff; not a lot of great information.

So, why I really wanted to record this episode is to give you good information about what a labiaplasty is, what it treats, and what else is out there because there are other non-surgical treatments that are out there that are kind of aimed at the same population, but not really. So, let’s start with what a labiaplasty actually is. Now, without going into great anatomic detail here, there are two main portions of the female external genitalia that we surgically manipulate. One is the labia majora, which are large and largely fatty tissue on the outside, and then the labia minora, which are on the inside—so medial or inside of the labia majora—and are right at the edge of the vagina and urethra. This is the very thin tissue that does have muscle in it that is highly sensitive and sort of shields the opening of the vagina and the urethra, as well as providing cover for the clitoris.

In labiaplasty surgery, what we’re primarily doing is altering the labia minora which is that thin tissue on the inside, which can get stretched out or enlarged, or some women are born with it enlarged. Now, why would we want to perform a labiaplasty and remove this tissue? Well, there are medical reasons for that, mostly chafing, pain, discomfort with activity or exercise, something called dyspareunia, which is pain w