Labiaplasty Nightmare

Hey everyone,

So thankful for this thread and all of your stories as I've been contemplating labiaplasty for the last few years and it helped me to make my decision.

I finally went ahead with it yesterday and am so happy I did. I know there is no such thing as 'abnormal' but having long labia has been affecting my self-confidence for as long as I can remember and I knew the only way I'd ever be happy would be by having the operation.

It is very swollen and unnattractive at the moment as I expected but I can see that my inner labia no longer hangs down and I'm delighted! :) I'm also very surprised at how little pain I'm experiencing. The swelling makes walking and sitting uncomfortable and it is a bit sore, but in general I feel fine and am only taking paracetamol which is doing the job!

I just had a few worries and wondered if any of you could put my mind at ease? I had only the labia trimmed and not the clitoral hood and now I'm definitely thinking I should have had both. I don't know whether it's just the swelling but now my outer lips almost entirely cover the inner ones but my clitoral hood looks big and swollen and is protuding through the lips at the top. Does anyone know if this will go down or am I likely to always have my clitoral hood poking through? I've seen the phrase 'top heavy' used and I'm worried that as now my inner labia are small, yet the clit hood hasn't been trimmed, that's what it is going to look like and it'll look very unnatural. I hope that makes sense??

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks :)

Em x

I'm still really considering labiaplasty because even if I am in the 1-2% the pain that will eventually subside will be worth it. I hope.

You should think very carefully about it as labiaplasy can permanently affect your sex life.

Here is another link:-

https://www.steadyhealth.com/CONCERN_ABOUT_LABIAPLASTY__t126698.html

Hi i hear you loud and clear,i to have had the procedure its been a nightmare.iam sorry to hear of your pain however i have a worse situation i not only got butcherd,and in great pain he also remove part of my clit can not get off where before i was very sexual and orgasmic i also had fat graphs in my labia majora and i swear it hangs like a mans testicles.big time nightmare in my life.very distressed.

I had this surgery almost 6 months ago. Stitches came loose on one side. Awful recovery. Pain finally subsided at 4 months. Given ok to have waxing at 3 months, but waited until 5 month mark. After waxing light blood on side with complications. That was 3 weeks ago. Since then the whole nightmare again of pain, nerve vibrations, constant and the worse kind of stress to my body. 

Do not do this unless you are going to a GYN/urologist. They, plastic surgeon that has no training down there. Don't believe them when they say they have a GYN or urologists on staff/consult. I went to one such PS. Not only was it not true, she left me to fend for myself once the complication happened only 48 hours after surgery

Hello, it's been a very long time since I last wrote anything on this site and I've spent a few hours reading through the various emails. My heart aches when I read the sad stories that those of you who have suffered.  My heart burns with anger when I read the posts from others who find it appropriate to judge those who are in pain and distress and who were clearly misled by professionals who should know better and have a moral and professional responsibility to do better. Let's be clear: these women have done nothing wrong, except perhaps to trust someone unworthy of the honour.  They do NOT deserve to spend the rest of their lives suffering and living a half-life.  My heart flips with relief when I read about those who have had good luck and had a decent surgeon who hasn't mutilated them irrevocably.

It has taken over five years but I have finally won my clinical negligence case.  One reason I haven't posted before now is simply that this, and working full time, and managing my pain, have all been absolutely consuming.  Winning does not mean I am restored to who I was before all this and it won't take away the pain I foresee dogging me for the rest of my life.  I should also point out that winning does not mean I have oodles of money (especially in the UK this will not be the case)!  But it is a very important acknowledgement of the wrong that was done to me and that matters a great deal.  My experience has been difficult.  I would never tell anyone what to do, but I would caution anyone considering legal action that you will be subject to the most thorough scrutiny (including covert surveillance), your whole life and medical record will be picked over minutely, you will be subject to interview after interview and examination after examination.  You will spend hours reading reports written about yourself, from both sides of the coin.  You will be outraged by the lies told about you and you will feel powerless in the midst of the big legal machine.  You will agonise over your decision because the process of scrutiny and re-telling your story, equivalent to peeling off a scab on a healing wound, is so draining.  You will realise that taking this action is getting in the way of your life nearly as much as living with the pain of what has happened to you, in fact it is stopping you from trying to forge a future, because you keep having to go over the past all the time. And I say all this even though I won! 

Pain-wise, I still suffer daily.  Various parts of what remains of my vulva are sore all the time and the rest is sore to touch.  I still suffer from neuropathic pain on the left hand side, running all the way down to my ankle when it is at its worst.  I still can't use tampons so I am taking the pill continuously to limit menstruation.  I have put on two stone because of the pill, because I can't exercise properly and because I have turned to food for comfort in response to all the various stresses.  I still am not able to have a personal relationship because of my inability to have sex with anyone.  I will never be mother to a child.

I really hope those of you who are suffering find some relief somehow.  I am not one for giving advice, but I would suggest that therapy could be helpful if you find the right therapist.  Try to be kind to yourself and above all try not to blame yourself for what has happened.  A fundamental aspect of you has already been destroyed, without your permission; please try to limit the destruction to your physical self only.

With very best and heartfelt wishes.

Guest15 above - Is there a way to contact you? I don't believe E mails are permitted, but somehow? I very much would appreciate. Going through similar situation in US. Awful nightmare. Have been told legal process is upward battle due to fact this is elective surgery. I'm so glad you WON. Everyone who has been lied to or treated by a PS with no true women's health experience should WAKE UP and stop doing this procedure. 

So sorry to hear you are suffering. I don't want to broadcast personal information like email address here. The legal process is very difficult, but elective or not shouldn't make a difference. It may differ in the US, but you elected to have surgery, not to be butchered. Surgeons have to stay within clinical guidelines and work to standards. No surgery should leave you in a worse position - and if there IS that risk it should be made absolutely clear to you. Btw, I used a OB/GYN, thinking this should offer me protection against error - don't assume it is only a PS who might make mistakes. I think there is a general lack of understanding across the clinical field about this area of surgery, not only confined to 'cosmetic surgery'. I also think it is not our place to judge those who elect to have surgery, as I would never presume to do that. I just want people to be very clear that there are very real risks and one of them is the fact that you may be dealing with a surgeon who is not entirely honest with you. There is no way of knowing 100% in advance but very careful enquiry should be made. Personally, I think the risks are too high, but that is not a judgement on those who go ahead.

I am sooo glad to have come across this thread. As I was sitting here doing some research on particular cosmetic procedures I am  looking into, I have definitely crossed labiaplasty off the list. I can only imagine the true extent of your pain and I wish all of you suffering to try and stay positive and persevere. I myself have a large labia and am so conscience of it, but realize now that this is just one of those things about myself I must learn to love. I'm sorry for your pain. 

I had labiaplasty done when I was 22 (now 27) by Dr. Gary Alter, one of the doctors from that show Dr. 90210. I consulted with other doctors but I felt for such a delicate surgery, you need to get the best care possible to minimize risks. Dr. Alter does the surgery where he cuts out triangular wedges in the labia, then stitches them up. He also routinely will take a little off the sides near the clitoral hood if needed (I did). One doctor I saw before him told me that technique was wrong, and that cutting straight down the labia was better. How is it better to have a scar running all the way down??

Long story short, I had Dr. Alter do it (for quite a bit of money=( ) but in the end you get what you pay for. It was definitely worth it and I don't think about them anymore like I used to. Mild discomfort for a few days, no visible scarring at all. I tried to find it; I don't see it! If I ever have kids I'm gonna ask for a C-Section to avoid stretching the labia. I was in such discomfort from age 12-22 that I don't wanna risk that happening again! It sounds vain but I cried in frustration quite a bit because it was so annoying "down there." Gynecologists just brushed me off telling me to wear looser clothing. They don't understand the mental impact it has on you when you can feel your labia brushing up against your clothes every time you take a step. Ughhhh

I'm sure there's great docs out there for labiaplasty. Just do your research!! It can be risky!

I have had labiaplasty through a surgeon in Brisbane, AUS. He was great and I have never regretting having it done. It has boosted my confidence majorly. I had no after pain, and nil complications. Of course there is going to be a lot of bad stuff published about this surgery... not many people who have had this done and enjoy the results go on to chats like this.I definitely think communication is the key! 

Like the poster above, I also had a great experience with labiaplasty. I had it done a little more than a year ago. I talked to my gynecologist about it first and she was against it and advised me to just accept my labia as they are.

Honestly I didn't have too much problem with how they looked, I was always kind of "meh" about that. My main problem was that they felt incredibly uncomfortable, because they were pretty long. Excercise, wearing tight clothing, even just walking etc. caused me much discomfort because almost everything irritated my labia.

So even after consulting my gyneo, I decided to go through with it. I found a very nice and experienced plastic surgeon to do my surgery. She had done many labiaplasties before and also correction surgeries for "messed up" labiaplasties. We talked everything through, agreed on how I would like my labia to look after they're healed and set a date for the surgery.

The surgery went smoothly, no problems. I was in a lot of pain during the first few weeks of healing, but there was no complications, infections or anything. And after a while the pain also passed and every they they would be less swollen. I was able to "comfortably" have sex maybe 5 weeks post surgery.

As for now, they are healed completely and no longer cause me any kind of discomfort, which is an amazing feeling. I haven't regretted going through with this surgery at all.

Hi ladies, i was wondering if you are having pain during sex or when masturbating (basically when you are errect).. i feel a little awkward to ask but oh well :) it's been almost 8 weeks since my first surgery .. went through hell.. a lot of complications and a long recovery, well, longer than initially planned, also follow-up surgeries. long story short, it sucked. now that im feeling better. im not in pain anymore, when i touch it it still feels uncomf. though and the scars are still very hard (stitches opened early with me too btw).. So yeah, now i thought that i'd be safe after almost 2 months to get sexually active agan, as they tellyou its 4 weeks that you should wait, now as soon as we get started i feel that the perineum (area between vagina and anus) gets really really tight and painful and it almost feels as if im being stabbed. im like numbed and almost cant move anymore because of the pain. after all the complications, popped sutures, blood clots, infections, an asymmetric result etc. the last thing i need is my future sex life being completely destroyed. does anyone have similar problem or ideas? 

All the best from Germany!

I'm fifteen and I hate hate hate how I look down their my labia minora is really really really long and thick and I'm unbelievably self conscious about it I'm desperate to have the surgery done but I've decided to wait till I'm a little older, I have no idea what to do could my vula change without the surgery or?..

Just be proud of what you got hunny a lot of guys like labia that are long as they like to suck them during oral sex. :-)