Designer Vaginas

Once a taboo procedure, Labiaplasty surgery now reaches top ranking in search engines

LOS ANGELES – June 4, 2007 – There is a new household phrase sweeping the nation. Well, perhaps a new “coffee-house” word, as most women choose to whisper it across bistro tables to their most intimate friends while sipping on lattes, rather than in front of their children at home. The phrase is: Designer Vagina. Hmmm, you may think. Hot topic over coffee and biscotti, but oddly enough, this is THE surgery of interest these days. Web searches are increasing expeditiously as potential patients research this oh-so-sensitive procedure (in more ways than one).

In case you are unfamiliar with what this is, it involves the, well um, removal of loose or unwanted skin on the hoo-hoo. “Who-hoo? Uh-humm,,,who-WHAT!?” I heard someone ask while at dinner the other night, dropping her spoon in disbelief. I do believe she meant to ask, “hoo-hoo, Where?” Yuppers, I muttered to myself, down there. “Yes”, her girlfriend leaned in and whispered…”I had my labia improved and… well, …made IT neat and tidy”. And therein lies exactly what this phenomenon is…A neat and tidy hoo-hoo.

The days may pass at light-speed as we age, but we reluctantly allow that to happen to our appearance. Cosmetic surgery advances at light-speed each year, and continues to be a solid and booming industry. So, with all the cosmetic improvement we do for our faces and bodies, why not our most intimate parts? Some are skeptics, but if numbers are any suggestion, they prove that this new procedure is clearly on the rise. Besides, if you actually speak to any woman who had this surgery, she would tell you emphatically how she has no regrets.

Vanity Fair Magazine first broke this hush-hush story a few years back. But today, there are more and more articles written, and certainly more interest from the public. Even reality TV has touched upon this “taboo topic”. Dr. Grant Stevens and Dr. David Stoker, of Marina Plastic Surgery Associates in Marina del Rey, California, are two such plastic surgeons that are often sought out for this intimate surgery.

“What the female wants is to restore a youthful appearance in her genitals. Often we see patients that have suffered tears during childbirth, causing painful intercourse. They seek out the help of trained plastic surgeons who can excise and eliminate the unwanted and loose skin, and restore their appearance and integrity.” states Dr. Stevens. “There are also women who come to me with low-self-esteem because they feel they have unsightly elongated labia, and it adversely affects their well-being and causes them relationship concerns”, adds Stevens.

The goal here is to have a “neat and tidy package” just as all females once had in their youth. Sometimes the aging process alone can aggravate their condition, causing extra loose skin to hang outside of the ‘desirable region’. This surgery literally “lifts” what has fallen over the years.

This labia-plasty (or labia reduction) is not to be confused with a vaginal-tightening…which is an entirely separate procedure, typically performed by a licensed gynecologist. Labiaplasty focuses on trimming (excising) the extra skin from the labia so that it does not protrude, nor hang outside of the labia majora.

It is not surprising to know that research shows that our culture now budgets for future plastic surgery, just as you’d expect them to plan for retirement. “This is a quality of life issue, and people want to remain looking and feeling great, for as long as possible.” replies Stevens.

Since male performance and erectile dysfunction issues are punctuated everywhere, and Viagra commercials graze our TV screens like cows in a pasture, I, for one, think it is high-time we women do get our equal share. We women care about "our packages" too.

Society needs to recognize the value of both men AND women equally, as well as their valid concerns to such sensitive medical issues. I can understand all-the-rage over designer vaginas, and certainly get the idea of sharing this subject with your girlfriend over coffee…But, come on - Don’t ya think it would make for a better conversation over a night-cap instead?

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Dr. Grant Stevens is a California board-certified plastic surgeon and the Medical Director of Plastic Surgery Associates in Marina del Rey and Palos Verdes. He is an active member at Centinela Freeman Marina Hospital where he is the Past Chairman of the Department of Surgery and the Medical Director of The Breast Center, is on staff at St. John’s Medical Center and The Marina Outpatient Surgery Center, and was named one of America’s Best Physicians in “The Guide to Top Doctors.

For more information: www.MarinaPlasticSurgery.com

Phone: (310) 827-2653