“Why do people say, ‘Grow some balls’? Balls are weak and sensitive. If you really wanna get tough, grow a vagina. Those things really take a pounding!”
Betty White
Cosmetic surgery lovers no longer know how to reshape their bodies.
With the latest technology in their hands, plastic surgeons can correct the appearance of eyelids, abdominals, buttocks, thighs, breasts, eyebrows, cheekbones, chin, ears, calves, nose…, and also the so-called “intimate surgery”, that is, to modify the parts of your vagina that you like the least.
There are several types of ‘intimate surgeries’ for women, although vaginal narrowing and labial reduction are the most commonly practiced.
The first one is demanded by women who have given birth to several children, and who complain that their vagina is no longer the same as before. To compensate for the widening and possible displacement of the cavity (prolapse), plastic surgeons propose a reduction of this muscle, thus achieving a narrowing of the duct and, supposedly, a greater enjoyment of sexual relations.
According to experts, this treatment effectively improves muscle tone, elasticity and control of the vagina. The procedures are similar to those used by gynecologists with their patients. Thus, for women who suffer involuntary loss of urine when coughing, sneezing, laughing, exercising or having sexual intercourse, tightening the vagina upward can serve to correct their incontinence.
Another option is reconstruction of the labia vulvae. In this section there are suggestions for all tastes, and through a reduction labiaplasty any woman can model her labia minora if she considers that they are too large, or asymmetrical, or simply do not like them for some reason.
If, on the other hand, the patient is looking for an augmentation, the clinic will offer to acquire another appearance by transplanting fat from the same patient, obtained through liposculpture (allows the fat removed from one place to be re-injected in another part of the body), to the labia majora.
The reasons why someone undergoes this type of intervention can be aesthetic, physical or psychological. Although labial hypertrophy can be a health problem, other times it is a problem for self-esteem.
Among the most extravagant is, for example, perineoplasty, which consists of rejuvenating the loose or aged perineum (the set of muscles that form the base of the pelvis), in addition to improving the labia majora.
Other options are vulvar lipoplasty (removal of fat from the mons pubis) and hymenoplasty (reconstruction of the hymen to leave it as if nothing had penetrated it).
As for the most common complications that may arise in intimate surgeries are the risk of infection and bleeding, as in any other surgical intervention. In any case, the plastic surgeon will always take the necessary measures to minimize any complications during and after the operation.
The situation in Spain
In our country, consultations for aesthetic alterations of the female external genitalia have grown in recent years. The International Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) published in its global statistics a 73.3% increase in the number of labiaplasty from 2017 to 2021.
In terms of who resorts to these aesthetic interventions, patients between the ages of 20 and 50 predominate.
Younger women usually resort to intimate surgery for purely aesthetic reasons, such as their labia being symmetrical, although there are also cases in which the labia minora are larger and may be uncomfortable when having sex, wearing certain clothes, practicing certain sports or simply looking in the mirror.
Finally, older women request these procedures because they wish to correct problems of urinary incontinence and/or vaginal prolapse, mainly caused by multiple childbirths. In all cases, these surgeries are considered cosmetic interventions and are not covered by Social Security. However, when very severe dysfunctions affecting daily life are present, labiaplasty surgery can be considered as a restorative surgery to be performed in the public health system.
Intimate surgeries for men
Intimate surgery in the service of men is also practiced, although to a lesser extent. Penis enlargement is increasingly in demand, but this surgery involves many risks since it disconnects a penile ligament that holds the upper part of the penis in the pubic area, which can lead to impotence.
Currently there are much less aggressive methods that offer excellent results, medical devices for penis enlargement, Peyronie’s disease and erectile dysfunction, designed by expert laboratories in urology.
