Labiaplasty Gone Wrong?

What Everyone Does Wrong From the Start.

Surgical Techniques Vary, Experience Varies, And Talent Varies—So, How Should You Begin, To Avoid Mistakes?

There’s a lot of information out there about labiaplasty and vaginoplasty.  There’s even more information available when you add perineoplasty, clitoral unhooding, rectocele and cystocele repairs, and FCGS procedures.  It’s not easy to sort through the medical verbiage, and even more difficult when selecting a surgeon for your procedure.  It’s easy to make a mistake and choose someone that might not yield a good result—when you could have had a great result.

You only have one set of labia.  If too much tissue is taken off (amputation), or if the wrong technique is applied, or if your surgeon hasn’t performed this delicate surgery ON A REGULAR BASIS, you could end up being very, very, very, sorry.

Each month, labiaplastysurgeon.com receives multiple inquiries from patients who had a labiaplasty or vaginoplasty performed by an un-named surgeon NOT on labiaplastysurgeon.com that yielded disastrous results including over-excision, incorrect asymmetric re-approximation (labial lips that don’t align correctly) and other problems.  What is consistent in these inquiries, is the sense of desperation in their comments, some of which are below.

“The surgeon I used was not from your website and they cut off my labia!  Now they tell me it’s normal to be this way!  I’m sure it’s not.  I was better off before.  I don’t what to do.  Can you help me?”

“ . . . my sutures came loose and I was bleeding all over.  I had to go to the hospital ER and they told me the surgeon didn’t know what they were doing when they did my procedure.  Now I have pain, and I’m losing sleep over this mess.  Can ANYONE fix this for me!”

“Doctors on some of these websites don’t tell very much at all.  I guess they don’t want to get sued, or something.  The guy I used did a terrible job and now I live with pain from the procedure.  I’m sorry I used a social referral site.”

Once tissue is removed (excised) it can’t be replaced if something isn’t done right.

Choosing the wrong surgeon, who isn’t properly qualified or trained by an expert, can take a bad situation . . . and make it the worst decision of your life—potentially destroying your current and future relationships.  Don’t play “Russian roulette” with your genitals.

The time to do your homework and research is upfront, not afterward.  Below is how most women go about finding a surgeon.

1) Most women begin by asking their gynecologist if their labia are normal.  They might have come to this point because they had a functional issue (pain, frequent infection, etc.).  Others may simply feel that they don’t feel good about themselves (asymmetry issue, labia too large, uneven, etc.). Needless to say, answers from your medical professional can be all over the board.  Some will tell you not to bother unless you have functional problems (the medical anatomical answer) and that they can “fix” that problem with a small surgery, if you wish.  If you tell them it’s not a functional problem, but that it bothers your self-esteem, many gynecologists might tell you, “Don’t worry about it . . . if it’s not broken, don’t fix it.”  Perhaps not exactly the answer(s) you were seeking—

Whether a functional issue (a medical issue that may be creating pain, for instance) or an aesthetic issue, (asymmetry, etc.) that bothers your self-esteem, both can represent huge problems.  And, both problems can be addressed, successfully, IF you make the correct choices along the way.

2) After making a decision to proceed, most women will usually search the Internet for the term labiaplasty.  At present, many of the very best labiaplasty surgeons are located in major metropolitan markets, such as big cities, not rural areas.  If you’re in a rural area, you might find yourself with a decision to either NOT travel, or TO travel.

The reason that most of the best labiaplasty surgeons are located in urban areas is because that’s where most of the labiaplasty and vaginoplasty cases are in demand, and performed.  They do many, many cases and hence are experienced and well trained.

The decision to travel to an experienced surgeon, like those on labiaplastysurgeon.com—or NOT travel and use a local person with not as much documented experience, is a critical one.  Again, you have only one set of labia, why would you chance losing them forever because of a few hours traveling and perhaps a bit more expense?  You’re only going to do this one time . . . make sure you get it right and not take chances on unknown local surgeons.  Use experienced surgeons in larger cities!

3) Most women seek surgeons who’ve performed lots of cases and have experience.  If the surgeon is newly trained by an expert you’re also in good hands because these surgeons have been trained by a top industry guru, who gives them detailed OR training and preceptorship as needed.

4) At this point, check board certifications, in aesthetics (plastic surgery), or gynecology (urogynocologists, gynecologists).

Some doctors claim to be double-board certified, and a few even triple-board certified.  Be careful about these claims.  It’s important to realize that ANY doctor can become board certified in a field of medical practice if they pass the exams.  Board certifications can include dentists, dermatologists, ENT’s, and others.  A surgeon who is trained in dental surgery, can even become board certified by some “association” group organizations.  You need a surgeon board certified in plastic surgery, or gynecology (some Urologists also qualify).

Make sure their claim to board certification is one directly relating to their medical college field of study and the can be done by going to the American Board of Medical Specialties:

http://www.certificationmatters.org/abms-member-boards/plastic-surgery.aspx

http://www.certificationmatters.org/abms-member-boards/obstetrics-and-gynecology.aspx

These medical pros have been trained in medical college in these fields, and then have met rigorous standards for additional education/training in plastic surgery and/or gynecology.  For example, it isn’t wise to have a board certified ENT (ear, nose, throat—otolaryngology) surgeon who was initially schooled in otolaryngology (who is schooled in doing work in the head region of the body) doing work on your pelvic area (labiaplasty, vaginoplasty, phalloplasty).  It’s not difficult to understand why by simply reading the ABMS web portal.  Make sure the surgeon you pick meets board certification at the ABMS web portal.

http://www.abms.org/board-certification

5) Just remember, DON’T rely on a nice web page alone—looks can be deceiving.  Go for qualifications, experience in years of doing a procedure, PROPER training, and number of cases performed.

6) DON’T neglect to ask how many procedures they’ve done in the last two months—a surgeon who has done less than four labiaplasty or vaginoplasty procedures per month is someone you may want to not consider as they’ve not done enough procedures on a regular basis.

7) DON’T forget to ask for patient referrals contact information so they may contact the former patients directly.  Here what these people have to say, without any outside pressure from potential surgeons’ staffs.

8) DON’T forget to read the section on how to ask the right questions.