FAQ

There are no changes in sensation after labiaplasty. In over 300 labiaplasty surgeries, I don’t have a single patient who has numbness or trouble with orgasm after labiaplasty and clitoral hood reduction.

Hormones are responsible for large labia, particularly estrogen at the time of puberty. Pregnancy and childbirth can also cause enlargement and elongation of the labia minora. For men, breast development (gynecomastia) can be a source of stress: breasts are feminine traits and can be quite distressing. Similarly, enlargement of the genitalia in women, specifically the labia minora, can be perceived as a masculine trait. As such, large inner labia can be distressing to young women and is homologous to breast development in men (gynecomastia).

The vast majority of my patients have labiaplasty under local anesthesia only. That means they can drive themselves to and from the labiaplasty surgery. For patients who are nervous about being awake for the surgery, IV sedation with my anesthesiologist can be arranged and a driver/chaperone is required.

The labiaplasty recovery takes about 3 days, but there is swelling for a week after labiaplasty. At 3 weeks exercise can resume, and intercourse is allowed 6 weeks after labiaplasty surgery.

A labiaplasty hurts only when the local anesthesia is injected at the very very beginning, almost like the feeling of a tattoo but just for an instant. Once the first droplet of local anesthesia is infiltrated, the rest of the injections don’t hurt at all.

The edge labiaplasty is superior in every way to the wedge. The edge labiaplasty heals faster, has a smooth edge, and removes the darker pigments of the labia minora. For a deeper discussion of wedge labiaplasty, click HERE.

There are no visible scars after a labiaplasty. The mucosa of the labia minora heal much like the inside of the mouth: a smooth and slightly shiny surface will be barely visible and there is no scar, so no one will know you had a labiaplasty.

All of our surgery prices are published HERE on our pricing page.

3 to 6 weeks is safest. This allows the tissues to heal after Labiaplasty before having laser hair removal treatments. Waxing would be more injurious than laser hair removal. Of course the inner labia are far enough away from the laser energy, which would primarily be directed into the mons pubis and labia majora. This timeframe should allow safe laser hair removal done within about three weeks from Labiaplasty.

Most of the changes with the inner labia are the result of puberty although some can occur during pregnancy and with vaginal delivery. Hormones are the primary driver of labia minora growth, and so women and young girls as early as 10 to 13 years of age can start to see changes to the genitalia along with puberty (similar to the changes that occur to the genitalia in men). But again, the majority of the changes to the inner labia happen during puberty and therefore, there is no reason to necessarily wait until after pregnancy to have a Labiaplasty. It’s very unlikely that the tissues will grow back after this procedure, and so if the inner labia are a source of concern both cosmetically and functionally, Labiaplasty can be pursued.