Do I Need a Labiaplasty? 

It may be an uncomfortable topic, but the size and shape of the labia can cause a lot of women feelings of embarrassment and distress. We spoke with Dr Mark Kohout to get an insight on surgical options to help women feel confident, especially with the upcoming bikini season!

Labiaplasty is the most common genital procedure. According to Medicare data, the popularity of this procedure has increased approximately three-fold over the past five years.

The exact cause for this rise is not known however it is understood that there is a greater awareness of the existence of labiaplasty surgery and greater public discussion.

The most common reasons for requesting labiaplasty are: 

• It’s functionality 
• To avoid discomfort during physical activity, such as bike-riding, horse-riding, running and sexual intercourse.  
• Concerns about the physical appearance of the labia if they protrude beyond the outer labia. Asymmetry is quite common as are extra skin folds between the outer and inner labia. The skin that protrudes beyond the confines of the outer labia has a dark, rough corrugated texture that many women feel self-conscious about. 

Many women cite labial appearance as an important factor in decreased self-esteem.

Labiaplasty is an operation that reduces the length and width of the inner labia.  It can improve the size discrepancy between the two sides and remove extraneous folds between the inner and outer labia.  Labiaplasty also tightens the vaginal opening (however, not the actual vagina), it makes the labia and the whole vulva “neater looking”. 

The operation is performed in a day surgery either under general anaesthetic or sedation. It takes less than 90 minutes to complete and the recovery includes 5-7 days downtime from work, 4 weeks downtime from exercise, and 6 from intercourse. In a recent survey of over a hundred of my patients, the satisfaction with results was rated as very good or excellent in 92%.

If your labia is severely impacting your daily life or making you feel embarrassed and unconfident during sex, book a consultation with Dr Mark Kohout, leading surgeon in labiaplasty to discuss your options or see our pricing for more information.

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