Vaginal Rejuvenation and Tightening

Trim large or uneven labia for pain management or cosmetic purposes

Vaginal rejuvenation and vaginal tightening include multiple non-surgical and surgical treatments to improve the appearance of the vagina, labia and to treat discomfort. Vaginal Rejuvenation includes vaginal tightening with non-surgical treatments, labiaplasty of the labia majora/minora, clitoral hood reduction, and fat grafting to the labia.

Labiaplasty as part of vaginal rejuvenation and vaginal tightening is a procedure which improves the size and shape of the labia majora and/or labia minora.

Vaginal tightening can be achieved with series of injections of a patient’s own growth factors.  Platelet-derived growth factor injections in the vaginal wall have been shown to lead to skin rejuvenation, collagen production and ultimately to improve female sexuality with high satisfaction rate. Some reports indicate that these injections can also improve vaginal dryness.

Vaginal rejuvenation can further be achieved with fat grafting injections to the labia majora to restore the youthful fullness of the labia majora. This is a preferred treatment for many women who have noticed that their labia majora has elongated, and has even become uncomfortable during exercise.

Labiaplasty is a procedure that reduces the size of the labia majora (outer lips) and/or labia minora (inner lips). This is a minimally invasive procedure that trims the skin on either side of the vaginal area — to improve the appearance, provide symmetry and reduce discomfort.

In select patients labiaplasty may also include reshaping of excess skin of the clitoral hood. As a female plastic surgeon Dr. Kitto understands that labiaplasty could be a very sensitive topic for her patients and she is focused on providing highly individualized and safe procedure.

Best Candidates

Women who want to improve the size and shape of their labia, or women who have noticed changes in their vulva and vagina over time.

Most patients who are interested in labiaplasty fall in one of two groups. The first group includes women in their 20s who have noticed excess tissue in their labia minora (inner lips) and/or labia majora (outer lips).

Due to their active lifestyle, they find the appearance of excess tissue to be distressful in tight-fit clothing. They may also have discomfort during certain activities such as cycling, spinning, or yoga. Additionally, they may feel embarrassed during intimacy.

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The second group of patients includes women in their 40s-50s who have noticed changes in their labia to occur over time. These changes are influenced by prior childbirth, changes in weight, or in hormone levels.

Overall these patients do not like the appearance of their labia tissue, are embarrassed in certain clothing, and have discomfort during sports or intimate contacts. However, Labiaplasty is advantageous in achieving smaller and more symmetric appearing labia.

Additionally, women in this group also notice that their labia majora (outer lips) have elongated and lost their youthful full shape.  Vaginal rejuvenation in this group of patients can be achieved by performing labia majora reduction which can be combined with fat grafting to the labia majora to restore its youthful shape and curvature.

Consultation

All new labiaplasty patients meet with Dr. Kitto for a 1-hour private consultation to discuss their primary concerns and their goals. The doctor will obtain a full medical history and perform a detailed physical exam to ensure that the procedure can be safely performed and meets the patient’s expectations.

Patients are also given to review pictures of Before and After to get a better sense of what the procedure involves. Then Dr. Kitto discusses the procedure in detail with them including the location of the incisions and the postoperative period.

Patients are then again seen 2 weeks prior to their surgery to review the upcoming procedure, the expected recovery and answer any last-minute questions.

The procedure

Most of the time people think that labiaplasty is painful but it is a highly individualized procedure and can be performed under general anesthesia or IV sedation with local anesthesia depending on the area to be treated such as labia minora reduction and/or labia majora reduction and/or clitoral hood reduction.

Labia minora reduction can be performed using a “trim excision” or “wedge excision” technique and it depends on the shape and size of the labia minora. Both techniques involve excising the excess tissue and creating a smaller more symmetric appearing labia.

The surgical incisions for each procedure differ slightly and leave imperceptible scars. Dr. Kitto uses only dissolvable sutures so there will be nothing to be removed.

Labia majora reduction involves removing a crescent shape of tissue from each labia majora. In certain patients who have undergone atrophy fat grafting may also be performed to achieve a more youthful appearance.

Dr. Kitto uses only dissolvable sutures so there will be nothing to remove. The incisions are placed in natural creases and surgical scars become imperceptible over time.

Clitoral hood reduction may also be performed in select patients who have noticed excess tissue or their clitoral hood.

The procedure involves excising a conservative amount of skin in the clitoral hood which can be combined with their labia minora and/or labia majora reduction. All sutures are dissolvable.

The surgical incisions are placed in with attention to detail and scars become imperceptible over time.

For fat grafting procedures to the labia majora, a small amount of the patient’s own fat is harvested from the patient’s abdomen or thighs. This fat is then purified, prepared and injected into the patient’s labia majora via very small incisions.

For vaginal tightening, a small sample of the patient’s own blood is collected via a blood draw. This sample is then separated and the platelet derived growth factors are isolated. This concentrate is then injected into the vaginal area.

Recovery process

After the procedure once the patient is comfortable they are sent home to rest the same day with pain medication, cool compresses and antibiotics if needed.

After vaginal wall injections and/or fat grafting to the labia majora, patients may expect to have mild swelling, bruising and a short period of discomfort.

Labiaplasty is considered a minor, minimally invasive procedure and the recovery time is fairly fast. Most patients experience only mild swelling, bruising and little to no discomfort.

These side effects are completely normal, and full recovery should take around two weeks. They are seen frequently in the office during their postoperative period to monitor their full recovery.