Labioplasty of the labia majora involves changing the size and improving the shape of the labia majora (the vulva). Such a labioplasty operation is indicated in particular when the vaginal lips are too large: in fact, they can then inconvenience the patient, either for aesthetic reasons or for functional reasons.

This surgery can therefore be both cosmetic surgery and also repair surgery. However, it presents risks according to an American author expert in this field, there may sometimes not be “guaranteed female enjoyment preserved«.

Labioplasty of the labia majora of the vulva is a surgical procedure. It aims to change the size and improve the shape of the labia majora (the vulva) of the genitals in women: it can consist of either a reduction or an increase in their volume.

For doctor Vladimir Mitz, plastic surgeon, “labioplasties have become a frequently performed operation in recent times“. He adds that it seems complex to explain “why this demand, which began in the 70s, has reappeared with such frequency, especially among young women or teenage girls«.

While there is no set aesthetic “standard” in the scientific and medical literature for the size of the labia majora, in fact, their shape and size appear to be entirely personal preferences.

Generally, women would tend to prefer that the labia majora of their vulva have a slightly rounded shape, but also that they camouflage the labia minora when standing.

Doctor Yohann Derhy, plastic surgeon in Paris, said in 2015: “If there is always an aesthetic component in the demand of patients, a daily functional discomfort is most often associated with it, particularly in sports or during sexual intercourse.«

The average age of patients who have recourse to it is 32 years, indicates a study carried out by a plastic surgeon, Doctor Stéphane Smarrito.

• Young women resort to it, especially when they experience pain during their first sexual intercourse.
• Women in their forties, after several pregnancies, may experience more discomfort and discomfort.
• Women over the age of sixty sometimes wish to benefit from this operation that they did not know.

Aesthetic causes of labioplasty

Fact, “the shape and appearance of the labia majora and labia minora may vary over time“, Estimates a specialized website, cliniqueinnovation.com. And so, “cIn some women, the vulva may lose volume and acquire a deflated appearance. In other words, the skin envelope of the labia majora is normal, but it takes on a withered appearance since its content is insufficient.«.

There is also an opposite case, “some women are born with a disproportionately larger vulva compared to the genitals“. Having a hanging appearance, the labia majora cause some women discomfort, as well as a decrease in self-esteem associated with body perception.

Restorative laboplasty

In an article published by P. Foldes and his collaborators entitled Cosmetic surgery of the female reproductive system, the wide area concerned with surgery of the female genital organs is described, namely:

• a clitoral hood that is too covering, or mutilated, with the clitoris completely or partially excised;
• a protruding, fat, drooping, giant pubis;
• labia majora and labia minora showing abnormalities in shape, size and proportions;
• hymenoplasty for the restoration of virginity, whatever the reasons;
• vagina too full after childbirth or torn or even fistulous and unresponsive, with prolapse;
• amplification of the G point, which we now have vaguely localized histologically on the postero-superior wall.

There are two types of labioplasty of the labia majora: one which consists in increasing the vulva and one which, conversely, aims to shorten it. This surgery will last about an hour to an hour and a half.

Increase in the size of the labia majora

The surgery is performed under local anesthesia. The increase in the volume of the vulva requires a fat transplant. This fat is removed by liposuction. Very often, it comes from the inner thighs or the knees. Purified, this fat is then injected into the sagging parts of the vulva. This aims to restore aesthetic volume and contour to the vulva.

Sometimes this surgery is combined with liposuction of another part of the body such as the abdomen: in this case, the fat obtained is used for this operation to increase the volume of the labia majora.

Decrease in the size of the labia majora

Also in this case, the surgery is performed under local anesthesia. It consists of removing redundant tissue from the labia majora. The surgeon performing the operation will hide the incision in the internal part of the vulva. Then, this incision is closed by means of melting points: these will be absorbed by the patient’s body over a period of approximately two weeks. Scars will be virtually invisible once healing is complete.

The goal is to maintain the most natural appearance possible, while preserving local sensitivity.

Thus, doctor Vladimir Mitz considers: “Although the techniques of labioplasty have been known for a very long time, we are witnessing a renewal of technical ambitions, in connection with a search for a more aesthetic appearance and better function, with the fewest possible complications in the postoperative period.«

This operation presents risks: on the one hand, the scar tissue can sometimes be painful. In addition, like any surgery, labioplasty can present minor risks such as postoperative infection, as well as the possibility of bleeding. In addition, you should know that this operation seems to age badly, in some cases: in fact, the tissues can become fibrous and retractable, or even present a bloated appearance.

Ultimately, Gary Alter, an American author who specializes in intimate surgery, assured him in an article dated March 2016: “The preservation of the sensory nerves is in no way a guarantee of preserved feminine enjoyment, because it is multifactorial. On the other hand, painful scars linked to poor workmanship, technical errors with modifications of the peri-clitoral anatomy are sources of worrying pain and must be repaired.«