Understanding Labiaplasty Surgery
- Posted on: Mar 24 2017
Labiaplasty refers to plastic surgery on the labia (the lips surrounding the vagina.) It’s meant to reshape the labia and can be performed on the larger, outer lips (labia majora) or the smaller, inner vaginal lips (labia minor). Women undergoing labiaplasty surgery do so for both functional and aesthetic reasons. Some women are bothered by the fact that their outer lips are smaller than their inner lips. Others think their outer lips are too droopy and want them to look fuller. From a functional standpoint, some women want to alter their large labia majora because they believe it will help protect against rashes, irritation and hygiene problems.
The Labiaplasty Procedure
General anesthesia is not necessary. Mild oral sedation or local anesthesia is all that is required. The way labiaplasty works depend on the desired results. In general, the technique works in the following ways:
- To augment the outer labia, the filler is injected to make the lips more pronounced.
- To reduce the outer labia, liposuction is used to remove fat, or sometimes a laser or scalpel is used to cut away part of the labia.
- Reduction of the inner lips is performed using a trimming method that excises the tips of the labia, or the wedge method, which takes away a portion of the center of the outer lips.
Recovery
It may come as a surprise that the labia are resilient and heal quickly form labiaplasty. You may require prescription pain medication for the first few days, but after that, ibuprofen or Advil can be effective at treating any discomfort. It’s recommended that you take at least a week off of work following labiaplasty, sometimes sooner if you have a desk job. Post-op care involves keeping the area clean and applying antibiotic ointment periodically during the day.
Schedule a Consultation
If you are interested in learning more about a labiaplasty procedure, contact our office today. Our practice, Elite Transformations, is located in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Posted in: Labiaplasty