All You Need To Know About Vaginoplasty

Medicine has moved into the realm of aesthetics in recent years. Different people have different ideas about how they look and how they feel.

More patients are requesting for Labioplasty (reduction of the labia). Some patients, especially those below 40 years of age, are very upset by their enlarged labia. Some complain of pain or discomfort when the enlarged labia rubs against their clothes, especially when they are wearing jeans. At the same time, some complain that penetration was more difficult, and they feel the pain when their partner searches for the point of entry. Others feel depressed when their partners look at their vulva, and there were complaints that the partners have been turned off by sight.

Labioplasty is a simple surgery to cut away excess labia skin. Stitching is done using very fine sutures, and these are removed in about 1 week. Labioplasty can be done as a day procedure with minimal pain and excellent results.

Image source: iStock

If a doctor were to put the index finger into the vagina and the thumb into the anus, pinching them together will often give the findings of a hollow between the thumb and finger. This is due to damage of the pelvic floor muscles and the tissue damage in that region called the perineal body. This gives the lax or open vulva/vagina feeling to the patient and her partner. This usual complaints are “looseness”, “no strength”, “no sensation” and “no fun”.

More patients are seeing me for Vaginoplasty these days. In simple terms, Vaginoplasty is the surgery to “tighten the vagina”. Some do this for themselves; many do it for their partners. Certainly, if this situation reaches the “no fun” stage of intercourse, the relationship can be affected. These patients often have a prolapse of the pelvic organ as well.

Vaginoplasty – A Tight Fit | Image source: iStock

The greatest sex organ of the human is between the ears – the brain. The brain needs signals and feedback to function even better. The act of intercourse will have the penis penetrating the vagina. However, for satisfactory vulval/vaginal stimulation, it often requires a good fit at intercourse – there must be good contact and ‘ friction ‘ between the male and female sexual organs. This is the most common complaint from my patients – the problem with a “good fit”.

For my patients requesting Vaginoplasty, I always abide by my teachers’ wisdom of treating the patient as a “whole” and not as a “hole”. It is important to understand the psychological and emotional aspects of the couple. Vaginoplasty alone may not improve sexual relationships as there be other reasons, such as family problems and stress. This will certainly help in managing expectations and improving the successful outcome.

In Vaginoplasty, I repair the perineal body and join the pelvic floor muscles back with sutures. The vaginal skin can be fashioned by the amount of tightness of the pelvic floor muscles. This surgery can be done as a day procedure, with minimal pain and complications, and success rates under skilled hands.

Vaginoplasty can be done with or without laser, and the principles of surgery are the same. Complications of bleeding and infection are uncommon. Some people scar badly, and coupled with over-tightening or cutting away of too much vagina skin, can result in the nightmare of painful intercourse instead of more pleasurable sex.

The success of Vaginoplasty depends on to whom it concerns – the surgeon, the patient or the partner. The real success is when all 3 are happy. Majority of my patients seeking this surgery are pre-menopausal, and a good number are in their 30s. I am heartened that my patients have reported improved sexual satisfaction and relationship after Vaginoplasty.

While Vaginoplasty is not the only way to improve sexual satisfaction and relationship, it is logical and obvious that a proper fit of the penis to the vagina does make sense.

Dr Christopher Chong is a pioneer in Incontinence, Prolapse and Pelvic Reconstruction Surgery, being one of the first Urogynaecologist in Asia to perform such surgeries and has performed thousands of such surgeries to date. At present, Dr Christopher Chong is a urogynaecologist and obstetrician & gynaecologist at Gleneagles Hospital, Singapore.

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