When you alter any part of the body, there is always a concern that the functionality of the part will change. One example is breast implants: some women report increased sensitivity in the nipples and breasts, while others lose some or all sensation. Atlantic Coast Aesthetics gets this sort of question a lot, and now that we’ve added labiaplasty procedures to our services, we’re seeing more questions specifically related to the female genitalia. Our ACA Question of the Week comes from Miami and the patient wants to know, “Will having labiaplasty affect my sexual performance?” Dr. Thomas Pane, our Chief Medical Officer and founder, decided to tackle this question to drill down into what labiaplasty entails and what patients can expect from it in terms of both appearance and function.
A labiaplasty typically refers to surgical alteration of the labia minora. These are the inner protective “lips” that fold over the vaginal opening, and are in turn surrounded by the labia majora. While labiaplasty can be done on either, the labia minora are more likely to be elongated and protrude between the labia majora, which many people consider unsightly. The aesthetic consideration is the more common reason for undergoing labiaplasty. However, when the labia minora are elongated and positioned in such a way that they rub or otherwise cause discomfort during normal daily activities such as walking, sitting, standing and during sexual intercourse, this is a functional problem that is also correctable through labial alteration procedures.
Female genitalia come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes and labia lengths. Having longer labia minora that don’t cause function or performance issues is entirely normal and no two women are exactly the same. When there is a question of pure aesthetics, this often goes hand in hand with other body image or sexual issues the patient has. Dr. Pane cautions that he prefers to perform labiaplasty on patients who have fully sorted out what the underlying concerns are, especially in cases where the labia pose no functional bar to sexual or other normal activity. This is because he likes to make certain that the patient is undergoing the procedure “for the right reasons.”
Dr. Pane also points out that labiaplasty will not affect the internal vaginal structure’s tightness or elasticity. While he has the capability to modify or amend the internal structures, labiaplasty focuses on the protective folds of tissue surrounding the vagina and clitoris rather than the structures themselves and therefore should have no physical impact, positive or negative, on sexual performance and response. In certain cases, such as after a difficult vaginal childbirth, labiaplasty and internal muscular tightening of the vagina can be combined, but for the vast majority of patients, this is neither necessary nor desired.
In most cases, labiaplasty is well-tolerated, with very minimal discomfort and postop downtime. As with any other form of surgical intervention involving the female genitalia, there is a window of healing time before resuming normal sexual intercourse is a good idea. This will vary based on the patient’s medical history, environmental and habitual factors, how much tissue is removed from the labia minora and other factors. The approach used to remove the excess tissue and the intended outcome of the procedure will also play a part in determining how much downtime to expect.
As with any other surgical procedure, a clinical evaluation of the problem area, done on an in-person basis, is the most critical step in determining how best to proceed. While it is important to know what is being done, why and how, it is even more important to choose a surgeon who has a good track record with this type of procedure and can balance the desired outcome with your overall best interests. For this reason, selecting an experienced cosmetic surgeon who makes you feel comfortable and reads as both capable and trustworthy will likely get you better results than simply calling the first number you see on Google.
If you have a question about cosmetic surgery or would like to learn more about labiaplasty and our service menu in general, the surgeons and staff of Atlantic Coast Aesthetics invite you to follow us on Twitter and Facebook, call us at (561) 422-4116 or email us at https://acplasticsurg.com. Your question could help us to help others, and be answered live on the air in an upcoming Google Hangout by Dr. Pane personally, if it is selected as ACA’s Question of the Week. Remember, at ACA, we believe the only bad question is the one you don’t ask!