Labiaplasty offered in Cleveland, OH

Ideal candidates are adult women who are physically uncomfortable or self-conscious due to the size or appearance of their labia minora. Most healthy, nonsmoker, non diabetics can have this surgery.

If you want to reduce an enlarged labia, remove skin with pigmentation issues, or fix asymmetry, this procedure may be a good choice for you. 

The labia majora are larger pieces of tissue, also known as vaginal lips, that outline the vaginal opening. The labia minora are smaller pieces of tissue that sit within the labia majora. The labia minora surround the clitoral hood and are directly around the vaginal opening. There is no standard size for the labia majora and labia minora. This part of the body is unique, like a snowflake, with diverse characteristics that make every woman unique and beautiful. It’s perfectly normal to have asymmetry, textural differences, and color variations in labial tissue. It is not uncommon for a woman to experience changes in shape, color, and size of her labia as a result of pregnancy and childbirth. This is particularly true of the labia minora, the smaller lips. 

The labia naturally enlarge during sexual arousal, but usually return to normal size quickly. With age and hormonal changes, however, this may not happen. The length and size of the labia may remain long, causing irritation, tugging, and chafing, which can make life extremely uncomfortable for women in their day to day lives.

Women seek labiaplasty for a wide variety of personal reasons. Some of the benefits that can be achieved through labiaplasty include:

• Increased comfort in clothing. Labiaplasty can restore comfort when wearing bathing suits, workout clothing, leggings, and other tighter clothing.
• Increased confidence. As far as we’ve come with the body-confidence movement, women may still struggle to feel their best in intimate situations due to the appearance of their labia.
• Improved comfort. By reducing the size of the labia minora, labiaplasty can eliminate the pain of sexual intercourse, chafing, pinching, and accidental twisting. Increased sexual pleasure is a big part of this improvement in comfort.

Improved health and hygiene. More evenly-sized labia can make hygiene easier. There is less redundant tissue present after labiaplasty, so fewer areas in which infection-causing bacteria can hide and thrive.

This procedure is performed with meticulous care. After administering a local anesthetic that blocks nerve signals, the doctor may take one to two hours to carefully reshape and trim the labia. The outpatient procedure is usually performed in the office. Patients may receive a mild sedative to help them feel optimally comfortable. If a sedative is given, patients may need to arrange to have someone accompany them to their appointment. Anesthesia will be discussed during your consultation visit, so there are no surprises come surgery day.

No. The procedure involves incisions that are made in the natural folds or creases of the labia, resulting in scarring that is well hidden.

You can expect some downtime after your labiaplasty procedure. Side effects that occur afterwards are usually mild enough to manage easily with prescription and over-the-counter medication. Resting as much as needed is encouraged and needed for a few days, and you cannot have sexual intercourse until fully healed. While most patients can return to work in 7 to 10 days, it can take a full six weeks for the healing process to complete. Throughout the recovery period, it is important to keep the area clean and to avoid friction with clothing.

• During the first week after your Labiaplasty procedure, you may notice swelling and bruising. Prescription pain medication should be taken as directed to alleviate pain. Postoperative care instructions should be followed carefully to prevent unnecessary discomfort and infection. As the tissue heals, discomfort may transition to itching. 
• After this first week, swelling and pain should be significantly less. It is around this time that the dissolvable sutures will begin to disappear and normal activities feel comfortable and do-able. It remains important to avoid any activity that places pressure on the vaginal area, including sexual intercourse. Tugging or pressure on the area could result in a painful tear along incisions. 

At the six-week follow-up, patients are usually cleared to resume all normal activities without risk to their incisions or healing labia tissue. While patients may get back to their normal routine after six weeks, minor swelling may persist for up to six months.