Chicago – Issuing a strong warning to women, a prominent physicians’ group has stated that there is no evidence cosmetic genital surgery is safe or effective.
The statement by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says it is “deceptive to give the impression” that these procedures, which by some accounts are among the hottest new trends in plastic surgery, are “accepted and routine surgical practices.”
“Vaginal rejuvenation,” “designer vaginoplasty,” “revirgination” and “G-spot amplification” are being marketed to women on late-night TV, in magazines and on the Internet. Doctors offering the procedures say they can enhance women’s sexual pleasure and alleviate uncomfortable symptoms, and many of their patients agree.
But critics say these women are exposing extraordinarily sensitive body parts to interventions with questionable benefits and unknown risks.
“Absence of data supporting the safety and efficacy of these procedures makes their recommendation untenable,” the medical group’s Committee on Gynecologic Practice concluded in a statement published in the September issue of its magazine.
Other experts express concern that practitioners are offering surgical fixes to problems better addressed by boosting their self-esteem.
“If someone doesn’t like the way they look or their heart is broken, surgery isn’t going to fix that,” said Linda Brubaker, professor of obstetrics, gynecology and urology at Loyola University Medical Center. “Those problems are above the belly button.”
Among the treatments doctors are offering, only labiaplasty, which involves trimming and reshaping part of the external genitalia, is well-documented in scientific literature.
In contrast, many doctors don’t even accept the existence of the purported pleasure center known as the G-spot, much less approve of injections meant to enhance it.
As for “revirgination,” Melvin Gerbie, chief of gynecology at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, said that any doctor performing it there would be in trouble. Also known as hymenoplasty, the procedure involves reattaching the tissue torn when a woman first has sex. Sometimes, reputable physicians will perform it for women who have been abused or women from cultures who risk a violent reaction from a partner.
Neither vaginal rejuvenation nor designer vaginoplasty have been adequately described or evaluated, according to critics. Practitioners say they tighten women’s internal genitalia by making incisions and stitching muscles more firmly together.
The risk, of course, is that patients could suffer harm from the surgeries, including bleeding, scarring and altered sensation, while gaining little or no benefit.
Advocates contend complications are rare.
“Is there overwhelming data and evidence? No. But we’re gathering it now, and that’s why we’ve gotten involved in this – to bring legitimacy to the field,” said Robert Moore, a board-certified gynecologist who co-directs the Laser Vaginal Rejuvenation Institute of Atlanta.
The American Society of Plastic Surgery says its members performed just over 1,000 vaginal rejuvenations last year, a 30 percent rise. That number doesn’t include procedures done by other doctors.
Dr. Rigo Mendoza of Chicagoland Plastic Surgery says he performs as many as 70 cosmetic genital operations a year. His specialties are labiaplasties and clitoral hood reductions, a procedure that removes excess skin. More than 80 percent of his patients have persistent symptoms such as irritation or chafing when they exercise or wear tight clothing, he said.
“I’m definitely a very Midwestern person, and I can tell you it wasn’t easy for me to decide to do this,” said a 36-year-old mother of three. But her large labia were a source of distress, and after a labiaplasty in October, she said she feels more confident.
Mendoza said he charges $4,000 to $5,000 for the procedure, which isn’t covered by insurance. Cosmetic vaginal surgeries can cost $7,500 or more, other doctors said.
In Atlanta, nurse Nina Barge, 41, is frank about changes in her body after childbirth. “Sex wasn’t as pleasurable for my husband or for me,” she said.
She had vaginal surgery two years ago, and although the recovery was difficult, she said the procedure “helped me immensely. I feel everything, and I feel normal again.”
