Labiaplasty is a very personal and private procedure, and one that is increasingly requested by women I see in my Bay Area Plastic Surgery practice.

Interested patients sometimes are Moms who are exploring a labiaplasty as part of their Mommy Makeover, or they can be single women, partnered women or other women who have noticed changes in this part of their anatomy over time.  Specifically, women often notice that their inner lips of the genital area (known as the “labia minora”) hangs lower than the outer lips (the “labia majora”) with time and age.

What is a Labiaplasty and how is it done?

Labiaplasty is done as a minor outpatient procedure that takes approximately two hours or less to perform.  While under general anesthesia, local anesthetic is injected into the area of surgery so that it is numb and comfortable when patients wake up.  Excess labia minora tissue is removed through incisions that are hidden in natural creases and folds in the external genitalia region.  Generally, the labia majora are left alone.  The results are a neatly trimmed result that allows the skin of the inner labias to be neatly tucked up inside the outer labias when a woman is sitting or standing.

Occasionally, excess skin in the front of the region around the clitoral hood (the “prepuce” region) is also trimmed, known as a clitoral hood reduction.  Trimming skin here does not change a woman’s erogenous sensation to the region nor does it change the ability for a woman to achieve orgasm.  Labiaplasty does NOT involve surgery on the internal genital anatomy such as the vagina.

Downtime varies from patient to patient, but strenuous exercise is not recommended for 4-6 weeks, and intercourse should be avoided for 6-8 weeks after surgery.  Results are permanent, and women are uniformly more comfortable physically, satisfied with the aesthetic results and happy afterward!

To learn more, visit the Labiaplasty section of our website and the Before/After photo gallery to see examples of surgical results.