Labia hypertrophy

The main function of the labia major is a protective function – a cover and closure of the genital organs. It sometimes happens that the lower labia are overgrown and longer than the labia majora. In most cases, this hypertrophy is not big and does not cause discomfort in terms of functionality or appearance. If, however, the labia minora is clearly visible, it may cause inconvenience for both aesthetic reasons and make normal functioning difficult. By reducing or changing the shape, we achieve optimal aesthetic conditions and comfort for the patient.

Labiaplasty is a cosmetic-gynecological procedure that consists of changing the shape (most often it is a reduction) of the majora, minora, or both labia at the same time.

Patients under 18 years of age who have too large, deformed or asymmetrical labia are qualified for this procedure. Often, women who have this problem feel uncomfortable even when wearing plain underwear (not to mention wearing a thong), they also feel uncomfortable in bathing suits, often labia hypertrophy causes inconvenience when doing sports – for example, while riding a bike or horse riding. Sometimes the construction of labia affects negatively the patient’s sexual experience including pain in the course of intercourse.

This problem affects many women, but is not addressed for several reasons:

– first of all, as are many topics related to intimate areas, it is a taboo which women do not want to discuss because it concerns the most intimate regions of their body. Women who suffer from this problem are afraid to reveal their problems to their friends or even their best friends for fear of being misunderstood by them and at the same time being perceived as “different”. It is situation similar to that of a few decades ago in the matter of breast augmentation or ear correction.

– secondly, women who have had this problem have so far frequently not realized that they were actually touched by it and just got used to it. It was only frequent publications on the subject, the development of the internet and the possibilities of impersonal communication and questioning that have made it clear that this problem also applies to them.

– thirdly, many women did not know where to go with this problem and who could help them. Even when they went to a plastic surgeon or gynecologist, these problems were underestimated by doctors.

The procedure is performed under local anesthesia, sedation or general anesthesia. The duration of the procedure depends on its scope, the chosen technique and the patient’s anatomy and varies between 60-90 minutes. Depending on the type of incisions performed, we distinguish 3 basic techniques of performing the procedure: TRIM method, V plastic surgery and deepithelization.

The operation is performed by a gynecologist who specializes in gynecological aesthetics, on the operating table in a gynecological position. Before surgery, the doctor precisely draws lines of the planned surgical incisions in such a way as to determine the size of tissue parts necessary for removal so that the labia have the expected size and appearance and the resulting scars are as invisible as possible and do not cause inconvenience for the patient. During the operation, in addition to very delicate and diligent work, it is necessary to properly stop bleeding. After surgery, cosmetic stitching of postoperative wounds is necessary. For this purpose, either soluble or insoluble seams (which should be removed after healing) are used. The kind of material that should be used for stitching depends on the doctor and his experience.

Pain after surgery is not big, patients often talk only about unpleasant burning noticeable in these places. The time in which the patient is mobile after surgery depends on the anesthesia used. After local anesthesia, the patient is mobile immediately after the procedure, after anesthesia or general anesthesia, about 6 hours after the procedure. After surgery, the patient may drink liquids and can begin to eat easily digestible foods. The patient is discharged home on the day or the day after surgery. Because the pain after surgery is very small, only common analgesics are to be used. After the surgery, it is possible to return to daily activities and to full activity after about 4-6 weeks.