Women continue to seek out a popular surgery to look different ‘down there.’ The rise of labiaplasty shows no sign of easing up. In 2019, surgeons across the United States performed more than 11,000 of the procedures to improve the appearance of the labia major, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgery. Women of all ages and backgrounds can’t seem to get enough of this procedure to enhance their female parts.
The Popularity of Labiaplasty
Women who had babies are seeking labiaplasty and so are women who have yet to give birth. It’s a very popular procedure with women at all stages of life, but they do have something in common: they don’t like the look of their lady parts and they want change. “I think the number of procedures is really exploding,” says board certified plastic surgeon Dr. Mark D. Epstein. He says that many women have suffered in silence for a long time, embarrassed by their female regions. Now, many women realize they aren’t alone. “It comes with the internet,” Epstein continues. “They get online and start googling and they find out they aren’t the only person with this problem.”
Women are also realizing there is a treatment available and are willing to give it a shot. “They are seeing that women are getting good results, so they are asking for the labiaplasty procedure.” Dr. Epstein performs many labiaplasty procedures to reduce the size of the labia. He isn’t surprised the operation continues to gain momentum because of the major shift in quality of life it provides. “These are major changes to a woman’s quality of life, in terms of self-esteem, sexual function, and physical comfort in wearing clothes and doing exercise.”
Changing the appearance often means a boost in not only comfort for many women, but confidence.
What is Normal?
Millennials are the fastest growing group of women seeking the labiaplasty procedure. This group often has the procedure to “feel normal,” but that’s difficult to define. Experts used a recent study to determine that there is no “normal” when it comes to the size of labia. Women have all different sizes and some are bothered by larger labia more than others. What women are seeking with a labiaplasty is to feel normal, and that’s also different for every woman. “I have women come to my office in a bathing suit or underwear and have to decide which side of the seam they have to place their parts on. A woman just shouldn’t have to think about that,” said Dr. Kristi Hustak, a board certified plastic surgeon from Houston.
There are a lot of reasons women may have enlarged labia including childbirth, genetics and aging. Women with the condition often describe feeling uncomfortable during exercise and feeling self-conscious with their romantic partners. With more women wearing yoga pants and tight-fitting garments, it makes it difficult to wear this kind of clothing. Hustak says for all these reasons women are seeking to feel normal and opting to remedy their situation. “It’s really empowering for these women to do a little one hour, lunchtime procedure where this issue they’ve worried about is fixed forever.” After the procedure, Hustak indicates there will no longer be the same amount of friction and irritation during exercise or intimacy. A board certified plastic surgeon can explain more about the mental, emotional and physical reasons to seek out a labiaplasty.