Australasian Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons President, Dr Mark Magnusson says women endure a lot of change in their bodies over their lifetime. From the developments that take place during puberty to those changes experienced by women who have children, and then the roller-coaster that can be menopause, wreaking havoc on their emotions and their system’s ability to regulate itself.
If these changes have led to a loss of functionality, women don’t need to suffer in silence as these days there are a range of solutions that can help improve your ‘downstairs’ region.
Giving birth is a wondrous event and it’s amazing what a woman’s body is capable of but for some women, it can result in pelvic organ prolapse, anal sphincter tearing, or levator avulsion (tearing of the pelvic floor muscle).
With ageing, oestrogen production decreases and this, in turn, causes changes in the genital tract with the decreased vaginal elasticity and thinning of the vaginal walls. Decreased oestrogen also causes the vagina to lose its elasticity, blood flow and secretions leading to discomfort and pain during sexual activity.
It’s no wonder when women come out the other side of all of this they may want to explore options to improve the functionality of their vagina due to a decrease in bladder control or satisfaction levels when it comes to sexual activity.
Nowadays there is hope, and it can come through a variety of new procedures and tools on the market, and a Specialist Plastic Surgeon is best suited to guide you as part of a comprehensive rejuvenation of the genitalia in a multidisciplinary way.
Specialist Plastic Surgeons are increasingly meeting the requests of patients with both surgical and non-surgical vaginal rejuvenation with their technical skills and aesthetic intuition. The growth in the number of labiaplasties being performed in recent years is a testament to this growing field within aesthetic plastic surgery.
Labiaplasty would be the commonest procedure performed by Specialist Plastic Surgeons ‘down there’ however some will have non-surgical devices like laser (mona lisa touch) and radiofrequency (thermiVA). The surgery addresses elongated and protuberant labia minora, the commonest concern with appearance but elongated labia have physical symptoms: get caught during sex, irritated in tight clothes and while exercising especially activities such as bike riding, horses and gym. The area can also become ulcerated and even bleed if the case is severe.
But these procedures can be as much about functionality as they are about aesthetics. For many women post-vaginal delivery or post-menopause can cause issues with incontinence, loss of muscle tone and even pro-lapse all which can be aided by the services of a Specialist Plastic Surgeon.
Whilst this isn’t traditionally a subject area girlfriends broach during a coffee catch up, there is an increased awareness of this problem with the growing trend for women to keep their downstairs area more trimmed, therefore leaving the whole area more exposed.
Many State Governments have moved to protect women in this area by introducing image classification regulations about visible labia and vaginas. However with images often being photo-shopped to remove labia minora, porn being more accessible online, sexualised ads and music videos as well as women having Dr Google at their fingertips, they are often making an unrealistic comparison to themselves.
It’s been well documented that the right procedure offered by a comprehensively trained Specialist Plastic Surgeon can improve functionality, have a positive impact on self-esteem and increase satisfaction during intimacy.
