Vaginal Rejuvenation: Labiaplasty & Fem Touch Laser

The vagina is coming out of the closet. With a handful of recent innovations, more and more women are becoming aware of and requesting vaginal rejuvenation. Childbirth, age, weight gain/loss and hormonal changes can all wreak havoc on the tissues of the vagina. This, in turn, can lead to discomfort when exercising, pain during intercourse, irritating dryness, and stress urinary incontinence.

Today, there are both surgical and non-surgical options for restoring a more youthful look and feel to the skin and tissues of the vagina. Dr. Tiffany McCormack of Reno, NV discusses her approach to this increasingly popular set of procedures, and why it can be such a great adjunct to the mommy makeover.

Vaginal Rejuvenation with a Labiaplasty

Now that vaginal rejuvenation has hit the mainstream, more and more women are speaking openly about their issues. These symptoms can run the gamut from dryness, to my pants fit funny, to “I jump up and down on the trampoline and a little pee comes out.” Vaginal rejuvenation is the overall term for any procedure that addresses the outer and/or inner skin and tissues of the vagina.

Many women are born with either inner or outer labia that are excessively long. Furthermore, childbirth can stretch these tissues past the point where they can return to normal. Not only can enlarged labia be seen as a “bulge” in pants, but the labia can often become seriously irritated and cause pain with exercise. A labiaplasty is a surgical procedure to reduce the size of the labia minora. An ideal candidate for a labiaplasty is someone with:

• enlarged or excessive labia minora
• labial tissue that has stretched with time and/or childbirth
• labia that are asymmetric

Labiaplasty Procedure & Recovery

A labiaplasty is performed as an outpatient procedure, typically under local anesthesia. While each labiaplasty surgery is customized to the individual patient, most only take 1-2 hours. Patients go home that same day and can expect some mild bruising and swelling. Any pain or discomfort is usually handled with just an over-the-counter pain medication.

In general, patients will be back to their regular routine in about 2-3 days, although they will need to refrain from exercise and intercourse for 4-6 weeks. However, this is a small price to pay for something that can really cure a lot of emotional pain and physical suffering.

Non-Surgical Vaginal Rejuvenation with Lumenis® Fem Touch™

While a labiaplasty addresses the external part of the vagina, many women also have issues with their internal tissues as well. Dr. McCormack has had great success treating her patients with the Lumenis® Fem Touch™ laser. It’s a CO2 laser that can address any number of common conditions, such as:

• itching
• painful intercourse
• dryness
• laxity
• urgency or stress urinary incontinence

The advantages of the Fem Touch™ is that the treatments are quick, sometimes only 5 minutes, and there is no downtime associated with the procedure. This means that patients can return to all normal activities immediately.

While it can take 2-3 treatments spaced out over the course of several weeks to get optimum results, “99.9% of my patients notice a very, very distinct change, even after the first treatment,” shares Dr. McCormack. “It’s really, really rewarding.”

Candidates for Vaginal Rejuvenation with Fem Touch™

Patients who schedule a vaginal rejuvenation consultation with Dr. McCormack have a wide array of symptoms and underlying causes. However, the need for vaginal rejuvenation is typically caused by:

• childbirth
• hormonal changes
• age

One of the best things about the Fem Touch™ laser is that it is able to provide relief for menopausal women who can not take estrogen. For example, breast reconstruction patients can use Fem Touch™ to treat dryness, thinning and atrophy to the tissues in the vagina with great success. “As an aside, it also seems to help decrease the number of the urinary tract infections by increasing the thickness and vascularity in that area,” explains Dr. McCormack.

Vaginal Rejuvenation & the Mommy Makeover

Dr. McCormack performs a lot of mommy makeovers. The term refers to a combination of procedures that address the specific areas of the body that are altered by childbirth: the breast, stomach, and now, the vagina.

McCormack likes that she’s now able to truly address all the “mommy” trouble spots. As a mom herself, this fits in with her philosophy of helping moms return to their pre-baby selves. “It’s great that women are talking more about this,” she shares. “I feel that this has been in the closet for a long time, so it’s really exciting to see all the new technology come out which just generates a lot of buzz.”

Thanks to this buzz, patients feel more comfortable openly asking questions about what she can do to help them feel better, look better, and perform better. And so far, the reviews are amazing. “Patient satisfaction is off the charts!”