Female Genital Surgery in the Press

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Female Genital Surgery in the News

Is Elective Vulvar Plastic Surgery Ever Warranted, and What Screening Should Be Conducted Preoperatively?
FDA Approves Silicone Gel-Filled Breast Implants After In-Depth Evaluation
Designer Sizing - The Truth Behind Vaginal Surgeries; Parenting Orange County Magazine; August 2006
African Women Test Anti-HIV Vaginal Gel; WeNews Article; February 2006
Designer Vaginas; REAL Magazine UK; September 2005
Over the top? Experts say cosmetic surgery on women's genitalia redefines the concept of 'extreme makeover'; NY Daily News Article; June 2005
Designer Vaginas; Channel 4 News United Kingdom; January 2005
The Most Private of Makeovers; NY Times Article; November 2004
More Women Seek Vaginal Plastic Surgery; WeNews Article; November 2004

Is Elective Vulvar Plastic Surgery Ever Warranted, and What Screening Should Be Conducted Preoperatively?
Conclusion. Vulvar plastic surgery may be warranted only after counseling if it is still the patient’s preference, provided that it is conducted in a safe manner and not solely for the purpose of performing surgery. Read entire article...

FDA Approves Silicone Gel-Filled Breast Implants After In-Depth Evaluation
After rigorous scientific review, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approved the marketing of silicone gel-filled breast implants made by two companies for breast reconstruction in women of all ages and breast augmentation in women ages 22 and older. The products are manufactured by Allergan Corp. (formerly Inamed Corp.), Irvine, Calif., and Mentor Corp., Santa Barbara, Calif. Read entire article...

PARENTING ORANGE COUNTY MAGAZINE - WOMEN'S FEATURE
DESIGNER SIZING - THE TRUTH BEHIND VAGINAL SURGERIES
by Joni Revenna - August 2006

Everyone I know complains about their body after they’ve had a baby,” says one-time model, Gina Bartelt, mother of three who lives in Tustin Ranch and looks 28, though she’s actually 10 years older. “I have girlfriends who’ve had consultations for breast lifts and tummy tucks and I have girlfriends who’ve actually gone through with it. The ones who’ve done it all say it was worth the pain and expense.” Read entire article...

African Women Test Anti-HIV Gel
Run Date: February 9, 2006
By Anna Koblanck - WeNews correspondent

A new generation of vaginal gels promises women more power over their sexual health and protection against HIV. As South African women now test one product, investigators and analysts defend efforts to ensure their informed consent.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (WOMENSENEWS)--On a dusty backstreet just off the highway north of South Africa's capital Pretoria lies a simple, low building in the shade of a few trees. The research that takes place within that nondescript clinic could revolutionize women's sex lives and empower women across the globe in the battle against HIV and AIDS.

The Setshaba Research Centre is one of three sites in South Africa where a microbicide gel named Carraguard is being tested in phase 3 clinical trials, the last phase of drug testing on humans before approval for marketing.

More than 5,000 women are trying out the vaginal gel to determine if it really protects against HIV; most of them are from poor, neighboring areas. Read entire article…

Designer Vaginas

(Excerpt from REAL Magazine, September 2005)

In this day and age when it's easier to suck your fat out than exercise it off, and women use their lunch breaks to top up on Botox, where will our quest for perfection end? Now virtually every inch of our bodies can be remodeled and improved—both inside and out—even our vaginas. REAL talks to women who had their nethers nipped and never looked back.

It might make you cringe thinking of a scalpel anywhere near your sensitive nether regions, but more and more women are opting for designer vaginas — one of the newest and fastest growing areas of plastic surgery. It may seem like the ultimate in vanity, but beauty aside, genital cosmetic surgery is often used to correct physical problems. In fact, it's not uncommon for women who have given birth to suffer from slackness in the pelvic floor and vaginal muscles. Some may even develop stress incontinence, which can be embarrassing and severely damage self-confidence. Taking the surgical route has not only boosted sexual pleasure, it has prevented further genital discomfort. Here's what you can expect when having the nip.

VAGINAL VARIATIONS

The two most commonly performed procedures are the labiaplasty, where the labia or "lips" of the genitals are reduced, and vaginoplasty, or vaginal rejuvenation, where the vagina is tightened. Often these two procedures are carried out together. The surgery can be performed with a scalpel, or with a laser.

As people come in all shapes and sizes, so do the female sexual organs. The vulva is the outside part of a woman's genitals, which includes the urethra and the vagina. Over these two openings lie two folds of tissue. The fleshy outer folds are called the labia majora and the more delicate inner folds are called the labia minora. The outer labia are usually larger, but with many women the inner lips protrude. Not only do some women find this looks unattractive, but it can cause pain and irritation as the sensitive skin rubs on clothing.

Labiaplasty trims the protruding flesh of the inner lips, giving the vagina a "neater" appearance.

Dr. Bernard Stern is an obstetrician and gynecologist, and an expert (at) female genital cosmetic surgery. He has performed vaginal surgery for 34 years, and genital cosmetic surgery for five years.

His Florida practice is booming. Last year business nearly quadrupled from the year before—helped along by a number of UK women who flew across the Atlantic for his specialist care. This year the numbers look set to increase by another 50%. At the moment Dr. Stern carries out three or four surgeries every day. And that's without even advertising, Dr. Stern says.

" My only marketing is on the Internet," he explains."Women who are bothered by their genitals, either emotionally or physically, find me."

His workload is pretty evenly divided between labiaplasty and vaginoplasty procedures. One in three patients opt for both at the same time.

Surprisingly, the operations are fairly simple procedures. Most take about an hour, some are even performed under a local anesthetic, and most women are back to their regular routine within a week. Sex, however, is off the cards for at least six weeks.

Over the top?
Experts say cosmetic surgery on women's genitalia redefines the concept of 'extreme makeover'
By LIZ DOUP; New York Daily News; June 2005

So, it has come to this. In our world of extreme makeovers, face-lifts and fat suctioning are no longer enough.

The latest thing in cosmetic surgery is centering on something more intimate: women's genitals. The marketing pitch, delivered mainly via the Internet, tells women they can look younger, feel prettier and have better sex if they'll just fix the most private part of their body.

"They all want to be young and feel good about how they look and be more self-confident," says Dr. Bernard Stern, a board-certified Fort Lauderdale, Fla., ob-gyn who does the procedures. "Some say they're tired of not feeling anything."
The hope of a better sex life brought Jean Johnson, a 38-year-old mother of two, to Stern's office last June. "I wanted to feel more sensation," says Johnson,who had a vaginoplasty, in which the vaginal tissue is stitched tighter. "I wanted to feel more confident, like it was worth it for my husband and for me."

It was her idea, she says. But after consulting with Stern, she had another procedure done at the same time: a labiaplasty, in which the labia are reduced and reshaped. During the three-month healing Johnson had moments when she thought, "Oh, my gosh. I shouldn't have done it." But she reports that her sex life is better. Read entire article...

The Most Private of Makeovers
By MIREYA NAVARRO, THE NEW YORK TIMES
Published: November 28, 2004

THE 39-year-old yoga instructor was like a lot of women these days: she was unhappy with her body and thought that a little sculpturing by a plastic surgeon would help. But her goal was not the usual smoothing out of facial wrinkles or expanding her bust.

Instead she wanted to achieve her beauty ideal in the most private part of her anatomy — her genitals.
"I was very, very self-conscious about the way I looked," said the woman, who lives in Boston and spoke on the condition that her name not be used, to protect her privacy. "Now I feel free. I just feel normal."

As millions of women inject Botox, reshape noses, augment breasts, lift buttocks and suck away unwanted fat, a growing number are now exploring a new frontier, genital plastic surgery. They are tightening vaginal muscles, plumping up or shortening labia, liposuctioning the pubic area and even restoring the hymen, sometimes despite their doctors' skepticism about the need for such cosmetic measures. Read entire article…

More Women Seek Vaginal Plastic Surgery
Run Date: 11/14/04
By Sandy Kobrin, WeNews correspondent

Surgery to reshape the labia and other areas of the vagina is picking up fast, say plastic surgeons. While some women undergo the operations to improve comfort, many want to conform to ideals set by the porn industry.

LOS ANGELES (WOMENSENEWS)--She was 20 years old and had never contemplated plastic surgery. But one day at the gym, the pretty, smooth-faced receptionist in a Los Angeles doctor's office looked at her vagina and noticed that her inner vaginal labia stuck out past her outer labia. She was horrified.
"I looked in like, those magazines, and saw that inner labia shouldn't stick out like mine did," said Crystal, who requested her last name be withheld. "So I had a labiaplasty and now I love the way I look; nice and neat and new. My vagina looks perfect.

In a labiaplasty, the surgical reshaping of female external genital structures, larger or uneven inner vaginal lips are cut and shortened.

Dr. V. Leroy Young, chair of the emerging trends task force of the Arlington Heights, IL., American Society of Plastic Surgeons, believes labiaplasty and vaginal cosmetic surgery are the fastest growing emerging growth trend in cosmetic plastic surgery. Read entire article...

Designer Vaginas
By Jenny Bryan
Channel 4 News United Kingdom

Rose was quite happy with her body before she had her baby, and regular work-outs in the gym soon restored her enviable pre-pregnancy figure. But they couldn't help a much more personal problem which drained her self-confidence and threatened her sex life – slackness inside her vagina and drooping of the labial folds around the opening to her vagina.

'After the birth of my 10lb baby, I wasn't quite as tight as I was and I didn't feel as confident with my body. I understand that women come in different shapes and sizes but that's not how my body was made and I didn't feel comfortable with the change,' Rose explains. Read entire article…

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