Month: May 2023

What is Labiaplasty, a plastic surgery procedure that alters the inner folds of skin that are part of the vulva called the labia minora and, less commonly, the hair-bearing outer layer called the labia majora. 
As with any type of surgery, labiaplasty isn’t without its risks — which can include bleeding, removing too much or too little tissue, infection, scarring and loss of sensitivity — particularly when it’s not performed by an experienced, board-certified plastic surgeon.

It’s something 36-year-old San Francisco resident knows firsthand. She was a teenager when she found photos of labia online — her first real introduction to seeing other vulvas. She realized that her labia minora hung down lower than the ones in a photo she saw. It was the first time that she thought maybe she wasn’t “normal” and started seeking out other photos to find images of vulvas that looked more like hers. Instead, she says, she found several images from medical textbooks in which the labia minora were barely visible.

She went to her mother’s ob-gyn, who reassured her that she was perfectly “normal.” But she didn’t believe it. She says she didn’t realize that having the inner lips of the vulva protrude past the outer lips is actually completely normal and quite common. Around 50% of women have labia minora longer than their labia majora.

When she was 18, she told her father, a plastic surgeon, that she was experiencing pain from her labia minora. He set her up with an ob-gyn surgeon at a hospital, who performed labiaplasty. However, she claims that her surgeon, who she says was not trained to do the procedure, “amputated” her labia minora, as well as performed a clitoral hood reduction, which removes excess skin surrounding the clitoris — all without her consent.

The surgery, she explains, severely impacted her sexual function, including her ability to orgasm — potential risks she was not informed of at the time. After what she went through, she became a full-time activist for better vulvar anatomy education and training standards for vulvar surgeries. “I don’t advocate for labiaplasty to be banned,” she says. “I advocate for informed consent and a reasonable standard of care.”

According to Lee, patients need to be informed of the risks of over-resection, which is the removal of too much tissue, which can be deforming. “Injuring the nerves to the clitoris is a complication that should not happen if performed by an experienced, American Board of Plastic Surgery board certified plastic surgeon,” he says. “This is because the nerves that go to the clitoris should not be injured during a routine labiaplasty.”

Like any surgery, “there’s still some risk,” says Lee, “and so patients have to really educate themselves and make sure this is right for them and that they will be going to somebody who knows what they’re doing.”

Why aren't the same people complaining about transgender surgery complaining about labiaplasty?

Republican-led states have been passing laws that restrict access to gender affirming care for transgender individuals, a discriminatory and unconstitutional move. This denial of care has serious negative consequences for the mental and physical health of these individuals, and it undermines their right to make informed decisions about their medical care.

It is worth noting that many medical procedures, including plastic surgery, come with risks that can result in serious negative consequences for patients. Breast implants, for example, have led to numerous cases of scarring and even death, yet Republican lawmakers did nothing to restrict their availability, perhaps because of a societal preference for larger breasts. Similarly, other forms of body alteration surgery, including implants for arms, butts, and even horns, are readily available to those who seek them out.

Despite this, it is only transgender individuals who are being prevented from accessing medically necessary gender affirming care. This is just another attempt by Republicans to erase the LGBTQ+ community from society and further marginalize an already vulnerable population. It is unacceptable for mostly male politicians to make decisions about the medical care of families, and it is essential that we promote greater acceptance, inclusion, and respect for all individuals, regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation.

It’s important to be critical of the motives behind laws and policies, especially when they target marginalized communities. We should always seek to understand the real impact of these measures and resist efforts to obfuscate or misrepresent their true intentions.

Thank you, sometimes the people passing the laws try to paint a different pictures, and hide the real truth of what they are trying to accomplish. They want you to believe it’s a cat, but really it’s a dog.