NHS Labiaplasty, advice from UK members please?

do u know the name of the actual gynae you saw? if u dont, ring the hospital - speak to appoitnments, they will tell u name of gynae, then ask to speak to her secretary

Hi lululu, ah thanks for the reply. I'm still waiting to hear from the plastic surgeon about an appointment. It's really affecting me and I know i couldn't possibly have an intimate relationship until I get this sorted. Well mine hang down about 4-5cm or 1.8inches, urgh. Really not fair to be made to feel as though it's all just in the name of vanity. I think I will consider selling my car for pennies If I can not have this done on the NHS. I'm in Scotland so i don't know how the funding will go. I'll update once I have seen the plastic surgeon.

hi firefly - lucky you being scottish as im pretty sure u will get funding - on the understanding its not cosmetic. u sound just like i was, but took me many many years to get it done! wish i had years ago but hey ho, not stopped me having boyfriends. getting married having 2 kids lol, my husb had no idea how i felt and i only told him once the date of the op was arranged! best of luck

lol nice surprise for him then hehe. I phoned this morning to see when the appointment would be and they hadn't processed it yet. I've read so many people taking upto 9 months to get this done, if they even get it that is. Iv'e decided to take the bull by the horns and have booked a private consultation for next thursday. Very expensive but I really cannot deal with having to fight doctors anymore. I have been quoted £2400 by a private clinic so I shall be penniless from now on if i go through with it. I'll keep posted of any updates. Good luck to other girls out there.

Hey! Sorry I didn't reply to you sooner. I haven't been checking this site for about a month. Putting it all to the back of my mind and trying to forget about is the only way I'm finding I can cope. I've been feeling really down lately (in fact I'm crying right now) and no-one seems to care so I thought I'd just check up this site and see how everyone else is doing. I have a follow up appointment on the 2nd of January and I'm really not looking forward to that. I really don't know what to say to her. I know when I see her, I'll be feeling really intimidated. I just can't believe what happened and desperately want it fixed. I'm trying to gather up some money because I'm pretty sure the gynaecologist is just gonna send me away, but although there are a few places here in Northern Ireland that do labiaplasty, I can't find any doctors that specialise in it. My parents don't seem to understand that this is something that is upsetting me and getting it fixed matters to me. If I was gonna be picky, I couls probably pick out a million things I don't like about myself but I can live with, and even like, some of my imperfections. My labia was the only thing that really affected me to the point where I wanted to resort to surgery to fix it. Before that, I had been completely against cosmetic surgery of any kind. I wasn't even expecting perfection. I just wanted to have a vulva that I felt I could live with and not feel totally ashamed of. Even by myself, I feel ashamed of how it looks now. I would do anything to just get this fixed.

dont be fobbed off by her, say to her im really really unhappy with the outcome, get her to explain exaxctly why she has done what she has done- if u are in pain still, make sure you tell her - DO NOT be intimidated by her - if she has botched the job it needs correcting, honestly the more fuss u make the more likely something will be done, particularly if she thinks a complaint may come from this, just because you are young and she is older do not be put off, makes me so angry grrr. damn shame your mum doesnt understand. if u were my girl i'd go with you - she may intimidate u, but she certainly wouldnt me!

why should NHS be paying for anyones breast or down below surgery.. this is ridiculous. saying you simply cannot afford it, should mean you can't have it. These are not life threatening issues needing ops. Then if people stopped feeling everything that was "upsetting" then is within their rights to have free opperation for, then people for actual heath conditions with severe health risks wouldn't have such a hard time through NSH waiting peiods etc. This post disgust me, poeple don't get it's not vanity, ofcorse it is, it is cosmetic surgery and i hope you get refused. Every single person has some issue about some thing more than a few doesn't mean they feel entitled or are disgusting enough to even ask or take concerns to their GP in the hope of getting NHS funded surgery. Then everyone in UK would be having more than one surgery. This is not possible. Who are you to think just cause you have issues with it it's a NHS concern. Millions of women pay themselves or go without these types of luxury surgeries.

woooo clearly you dont have this problem - how dare you make these comments and pass judgement on girls who are suffering with this. people like you who post on these sites who havent got a bloody clue what it is like to live with this problem, it is NOT for vanity purposes for godsake, no, it is not life threatening, but anyone considering it is suffering wtih daily pain - yes pain my dear, not just we want to look like porn stars! and i also feel the same re breast surgery - if you had 40 ggg size boobs causing u daily pain./back problems then again that is NOT cosmetic. the nhs is in the state is it in because of all the overcrowding oft his country which is down to the government not to let anyone from any country over here for free treatment

i'm 18 and live in hertfordshire. i have ALWAYS been uncomfortable with my labia minora, which hang down noticeably particularly on one side- unless i have a labiaplasty i just know that i will never in a million years have a boyfriend or any kind of sex life because i am so conscious of the appearance of my vulva, the thought of anyone even friends or a boyfriend seeing me naked makes my heart pound. i am, like many have mentioned above, constantly having to 'rearrange' myself and my labia chafe when i walk, cycle etc. i really don't know what to do- i'm quite embarassed even to address the issue with my mum, though i think talking to a GP would be in some ways easier... i was absolutely gutted when i read that labiaplasties are no longer funded by the NHS. i really feel as though my future happiness and confidence hinges upon this, and would like to know if there is anybody out there who has had a labiaplasty funded by the NHS over the past couple of years? and if so, how bad was your case? i feel that if there was a possibility that i could get the operation done on the NHS, i would find the confidence to talk to my mum and GP... please help! thank you xxxx

im hertfordshire too - one of the last to have it done in our area - september 2010 - from november 10 onwards funding was refused. i and all the other girls on this site - apart from the id**t shan who doesnt have any idea what this is like - know exactly what you are feeling. mine was both sides hanging down - but, unlike you it took me 20 years to get the op done! what i would say to anyone is this operation can go either way - so many stories of success, but also the scary ones where its gone wrong. u really have to do your research and decide if it is that bad to warrant surgery or can you live with it. one thing i can assure u is that no man will have a clue you feel the way you do, at your age boys wont have exactly seen lots of vaginas to compare - we arent supposed to look like porn stars! look on the vulva gallery on embarrasing bodies - as you will see there are so many diff looking ones and not many without any visible vulva, BUT, the reason i had it done was that i was sick to death of wearing panty liners cos the lining of my knickers constantly rubbed my labia (take note shan!), wearing jeans was a nightmare, forget riding a bike and i felt so self-consious in a bikini cos of the bulge effect it caused.

i have an 18 year old daughter and she tells me absolutly everything, i really hope you can pluck up the courage to speak to your mum. sadly there is no point seeing your gp as there is no way you will get funding (im a medical sec in hertfordshire by the way), private option is your only alternative which i think is around the 2 grand mark.

any questions/support please ask. x

Hi, it's me again. My post op appointment didn't go very well. I let that doctor walk all over me. I get very intimidated by doctors, especially her since she makes me feel stupid for questioning her actions. I spent most of the appointment in tears. When she examined me, she spent the entire time bragging and boasting about her "great work" to the nurse. Afterwards she drew a diagram of what my vulva supposedly looks like - it was a complete lie! She must think either I haven't looked or I'm stupid! If she really thinks her work was so great, why did she draw a false diagram depicting a vulva that in no way resembled mine? It is obvious she knows she's done wrong and is trying to cover it up.

She has even given false information to my GP about how much tissue was removed! She seemed ecstatically pleased with herself that the stitches hadn't come apart and that the labia turned out of similar sizes rather than one WAY bigger then the other. Despite being probably in her forties, she seemed like an new doctor who was excited at managing a surgery without serious complications. The actual incisions have healed fairly well but they were in the wrong places so too much has been removed in certain areas while not enough was removed in other areas.

Most of my current insecurities about my vulva are a direct result of what the surgeon did differently from what was discussed. It is absolutely apalling that she would discuss one thing with me but then, when I'm unconscious and totally helpless, betray my trust and do something completely different. Surely she knew before the op what she was going to do? Why didn't she tell me when she came to see me before the op? Or even when she spoke to me afterwards? Did she think I wouldn't notice? I feel totally violated.

After I discovered what had actually been done to me I was completely distraught (and still am) and I hated my vulva. At first I hated it so much I wanted to harm it because it is now so ugly, but then I realised it wasn't my vulva's fault, it was that doctor's. I am not going to harm my vulva (or any other part of me). I love my vulva. I hate it's appearance but I still love it so I vow that I will get this fixed so I can have a nice looking vulva - it doesn't need to be perfect, just good enough that I can live with it because the way it is at the moment, I know I could never live with it. When I look at it, all I can see is the horrible mess that that doctor turned it into. I can't live my life showing my love for someone with her horrible handiwork. I know guys will be happy just to have access to it and if they love me, thay should love it but that's not the problem. I don't love the way it looks - I want it fixed for me, even if someone came up to me and said I had to spend the rest of my life as a nun, I'd still want it fixed.

As you already know, I didn't have any extreme pain during early recovery. The pain completely subsided over the first few weeks but then returned bad a few weeks ago and has persisted. At week nine, I am still unable to even wipe gently after going to the toilet - I'm still doing the water and dab lightly with toilet paper thing! The pain is centred around the small flap on the right labia which was created by the incision (stupidly) being made horizontally as opposed to vertically and too much skin being pulled together to join the small incision. The flap gets tugged on and that hurts. Despite the horizontal incision, this wasn't even a wedge! In a wedge, the surgeon cuts all the way through the labium and removes a pie shaped piece, but this doctor only cut a bit into the labium (not through it) and pulled the surrounding skin in around it. The other place were the pain is centred is where she cut WAY too close to the clitoris leaving those two small squares which are pretty much all that's left off my actual labia - my new labia are mostly the clitoral hood folds.

Because of this, my "labia" run from above my clitoris to the bottom of my vagina but do not run up to connect just below the clitoris as they once did. This is probably the thing I hate the most. It looks ugly and really fake. The two little pieces of actual labia that are left below the clitoris aren't even connected to the labia and are completely square! Not natural looking at all! Because of the way she did the procedure, my right labia is kind of in out in out - like a frill. I understand this is normal for some women but I wasn't like that before surgery so why should I be now? The only thing I dislike about the appearance which wasn't caused by the surgery is my clitoral hood folds which are much larger than my new labia and make it look very top heavy. I want this sorted too. The incisions needed for this won't need to come anywhere near as close to my clitoris as what the doctor has already done.

Since the pain came back, I have been to see the surgeon and a GP. Both showed no compassion for how I now feel about the appearance or even about the pain! It really frustrates me that all of the pain is a direct result of the doctor going against what was discussed and the only thing she suggested to help was to grow out my pubic hair. I have being shaving it off every so often for years (not because of porn - I was doing before I even knew what porn was) because it is what I find to be aesthetically pleasing but since I'm lazy I only shave it once or twice a month. I let it grow out since the surgery (shaving down there not long after surgery would be scary) so I know that the hair makes no difference to the pain levels. I actually shaved on the morning of the appointment so that I would be easier to examine but the doctor was quick to use this against me, stating it was the reason for my pain when I know for a fact it's not.

When I told her this, she then told me it was all in my head and I should get counselling for body dysmorphic disorder. I know I don't have this because I spent months asking myself all the reasons I wanted the surgery and how I thought it change my life and were there any other motives for the surgery but after all that, I knew it was the right option for me. Just because I care more about some aspects of my appearance than some other people doesn't mean that I have body dysmorphia. And I'm not becoming a surgery addict - once this is fixed I don't plan on having any more cosmetic surgeries in my life - unless I age really, really, really badly like looking 60 when I'm only 40 or something. I mean, I know my body isn't perfect - I have small boobs but I love them; and my nose is big but I think it looks distinctive; and I have low cheekbones and puppy fat but I think it's pretty cute. My vulva's the only thing I want to fix and what's so wrong about that?

I really hate the way the surgeon and even the GP too were so quick to brush off my concerns about the appearance and the pain as all in my head and in need of counselling. My GP has referred my mum for counselling and must think it runs in the family and the gynaecologist suggested (more forced upon me) counselling for body dysmorphia because I had a history of counselling (which I do not so I don't know where she got that idea from). I agreed to the counselling because it will give me a chance to prove that I don't have body dysmorphia and it'll be good to have an outlet for all the stress of dealing with this bad surgery and finding a way to fix it.

My next step is to make an appointment with a different GP (tried already but no appointment available with any doctor - ridiculous!) and get a second opinion on this. My dad is going to come along so that I'm not intimidated and so I am taken seriously. (Love him for that - volunteering to be part of a very awkward discussion to help me get this sorted). So is seeing a GP the right step to take? What should I be asking him/her? Do you think the NHS will do an operation to fix things or will I have to look elsewhere? I'll probably have to travel because I'm not letting that doctor operate on me again. I have lost all confidence in her as a medical professional.

Sorry for the big rant - just looking for some advice.

Oh it's such a shame that it hasn't turned out the way you wanted. I think the big difference is that to them they will see an overall improvement but to you it is everything. I think you could go back and discuss with your GP but I''m doubtful as to wether they will do a revision as they will say the discomfort caused by the excess tissue has been removed sufficiently. Has anyone other than doctors seen your labia? You could try posting pics on forums to see what other labiaplasty patients think and see if you can get some reassurance/feedback . As for the pain you are still experiencing I am not sure. I have read a few people who are still in pain 6 months later which is awful.
As for not feeling enough tissue was removed, in some cases removing too much can cause even greater discomfort as the inner lips are supposed to be moist and the outer dry so if you remove to much inner it leaves the outer ones wet which can cause irritation. If you receive no help from the doctors, going private for a revision with a very experienced plastic surgeon may be the answer.
Makes me nervous as I'm booked in for this in a weeks time eek.

firefly try not to be put off by poor princess experience. she has been v unlucky, but learn from what she has said ie make 100% sure the surgeon does exactly what you ask - like in my case she took it all off aprt from an inch downwards from the cliteros - so im just left wtih 2 scar lines - not exactly a trim!, but, regardless its changed my life for the better and pain wise only needed 2 paracetamols, but, we are all different.

princess - what a cow that surgeon sounds, damn shame u couldnt take your dad in with you there. u can defo get a 2nd opinion, which will mean going via a different trust (hospitals are under various 'trusts') to ensure u dont get her again. good luck x

Hi Firefly. No, no-one but me and the doctors (and nurses) have seen my labia. I never showed it to my mum or dad and I don't intend to. I am not going to post pictures on the internet (thanks for the suggestion though) but I believe the only people who should ever see down there are my boyfriend/husband (when I get one) and doctors. It's not something I would share with strangers on the web. I think it's important to save it for someone you love. As for the part where not enough was removed, I don't think removing it will cause too much discomfort. It's just the bit at the bottom of the left labia. Instead or starting at the top and tapering off toward the bottom (which is what the surgeon drew in the diagram) the incision starts a few millimetres from the clitoris and goes diagonally OUTWARDS away from the vulva. It is because of this that the bit at the bottom still sticks out and rubs on my clothing. If she had of stuck to what was discussed, both labia would have been fine. The worst part is that she doesn't have any medical reason for doing the op that way. All she said was "It's to do with how much tissue was removed" which is entirely nonsensical. She was very keen to brush over that topic and not say much on the issue. The real reason was either she felt like trying somthing new (thanks dr for making me your guinea pig) or she had no idea what she was doing because she suffered anmesia after our first appointment. Or maybe she thought "oh, you don't like how it looks - I'll make it look really bad because I hate vain people". Going private is going to cost a lot of money (apparently over here it's about £3800) but if I have no other option, I will pay it. My mum's not exactly thrilled about me spending the money for my future on this but I don't think I can move past this and have a happy future unless this gets fixed. The worrying thing is there are a few places in NI that offer labiaplasty but there don't seem to be any surgeons trained to do it! I don't want to get messed up even worse. Don't worry - just make sure the doctor knows exactly what you want and make sure everything is written down and you get a copy of it. My surgeon didn't write things down and I thought nothing of it at the time but now there is no proof of what she was supposed to do so she can deny everything! Hi emzone. My dad wanted to be there but he was working, and it's difficult to fit appointments in when he can be there because he lives so far away. Thank you for your support.

Wooooowww Princess...your experiemce makes me very nervous. I hope you get it sorted some way or another! 

Just a quick update from me if anybody wants to know. I had my first gynae appt in December and i was told it was in the realms of 'nor,ality' like i say, it hangs about 4cm or so. Anywho, the gynae i saw wasn't the gynae originally assigned to my appt, she was her assistant or something.

 

So i now have to get a second opinion from a male gynae on VALENTINES day!! Haha, hopefully then he will approve me for the surgery, hoping before summer so i can be comfy in a bikini!!! Hope you're all good x