‘Designer vagina’ surgery can improve women’s mental health, doctors claim – study shows controversial procedure safer than breast augmentation

By Liam On Sep 4, 2024

Labiaplasty, a controversial cosmetic surgery that shortens or reshapes the labia, is safe and can improve women’s mental health, experts say.

Demand for labiaplasty, which can cost upwards of £4,000 in the UK, is soaring, with US data showing the number of operations performed rose by 200 per cent between 2012 and 2017.

Experts have attributed the growing interest in the surgery, which reduces the size of the labia minora (the skin on either side of the vaginal opening), to increased exposure to certain anatomy depicted in pornography.

To meet the demand, techniques have been developed to perform the surgery, using lasers and scalpels. However, according to experts, these methods have not yet been evaluated for results and complications.

But now the largest study of women who have undergone the procedure, conducted by Hungarian researchers, shows that the procedure is not only safe, but also has a positive impact on women’s mental health.

Demand for labiaplasty, which can cost upwards of £4,000 in the UK, is booming, with US data showing the number of operations performed rose by 200 per cent between 2012 and 2017.

However, they warned that unnecessary labiaplasty should be avoided.

The study, conducted by experts from Semmelweis University in Budapest, examined data from 3,600 women who underwent labiaplasty and found that the procedure was generally very safe, with a complication rate of only 0.5 percent.

For comparison, some studies in the UK have shown that cosmetic surgeries such as breast enlargement have a complication rate of around five percent, although figures vary between studies.

When using a scalpel there is a greater risk of complications such as bleeding, swelling or hematomas (the medical term for a build-up of blood in the body).

However, the authors noted that the overall difference between the techniques, in terms of total complication rates, was not statistically significant.

What is a labiaplasty?

Labiaplasty is a surgery that reduces the size of the labia minora – the flaps of skin on either side of the vaginal opening.

This involves cutting away unwanted tissue with a scalpel or laser. The procedure takes about one to two hours.

Some women choose labiaplasty because they do not like the appearance of their labia.

However, the NHS advises that it is completely normal to have visible folds of skin around the opening of your vagina.

Because this does not cause any problems in most cases, labiaplasty is rarely available in the NHs.

Women considering labiaplasty are advised to talk to their family doctor first. They may recommend talking to a psychologist before undergoing the surgery.

In the UK, a labiaplasty costs around £2,000 to £4,000, although costs can vary depending on the extent of the procedure.

A labiaplasty is generally only performed in exceptional cases, for example to remove cancerous tissue in vulvar cancer.

An important finding was that 95 percent of women who underwent the surgery were satisfied with the results.

Mihály András Géczi, an expert in obstetrics and gynaecology at Semmelweis and first author of the study, said: ‘Our results show that labiaplasty is generally safe and leads to high patient satisfaction.’

Co-author Levente Sára, an expert in obstetrics and gynecology at Semmelweis, said the data also supported some aspects of the surgery that improved women’s mental health.

“Given the extent to which the procedure improves self-image and sex life, physicians may also make a decision on psychological grounds,” the researchers said.

However, the authors noted that the medical justification for labiaplasty remains controversial and this is made further difficult by differing opinions about what constitutes ‘normal’ labia and what is merely a natural abnormality.

“Women’s self-image is increasingly linked to their perception of their genitals, a trend that has a major impact on relationship dynamics and their psychological health,” the authors said.

What makes it even more complicated is that sometimes it is not the women themselves who request the surgery.

Mr Sara said: ‘Many women, especially young women, choose to have the procedure at the suggestion of their partner.’

With demand for labiaplasty expected to continue, he said it is critical that doctors ensure patients are undergoing the surgery for the right reasons.

However, the authors were encouraged that, aside from the ethical issues surrounding the surgery, the operation appears to have a good safety record.

The authors, who published their findings in the Aesthetic Surgery Journalalso analyzed data on radiofrequency labiaplasty, which uses thermal energy to contract the labia.

They found that recovery time was shorter, risk of complications was minimal, and patient satisfaction was high. However, they noted that the technique was still relatively new, meaning that data was limited and that this could change in the future.

Labiaplasty is available through the NHS, but only under strict conditions.

Examples include deformity of the labia due to a birth defect, repairing damage caused by childbirth, or removing cancerous tissue if a woman has vulvar cancer.