Labiaplasty is a surgery that aims to reduce the size of the labia minora or the flaps of the skin on either side of the vaginal opening. Most women get a labiaplasty because they are experiencing discomfort in the vaginal region or they do not like the appearance of their labia. Having labiaplasty may be scary and is a significant decision that needs careful consideration.

How much does the procedure cost?

A labiaplasty surgery cost can range from 3000 to 8000 USD. While it is a considerable margin to start saving up on for cosmetic surgery, the comfort and satisfaction of getting labiaplasty can prove to be worth it.

What certain factors can affect the price of labiaplasty surgery?

The specific cost of labiaplasty may usually depend on several factors:

Geographical Location

Geography plays an important role when it comes to determining the costs of the procedure. If you reside in a high-end city, then the surgery may end up at a higher price.

Plastic Surgeon

It is a possibility that a plastic surgeon with a reputation for success can quote for a higher price. A doctor with experience on labiaplasty may also be more expensive than others. If you are trying to cut medical costs, then you must be willing to risk the quality of the surgery. However, you should keep in mind that a high price does not reflect the plastic surgeon’s ability.

Sedation

You hold the choice of the anesthesia you will use during labiaplasty. Local anesthesia will provide a cheaper sedation fee compared to other sedation techniques.

Other Procedures

You may have multiple procedures on your vaginal region while getting a labiaplasty. Combining cosmetic procedures provide you with a lower net cost compared to getting them individually.

What will recovery from labiaplasty be like?

Some doctors combine edge and wedge procedures for labiaplasty to ensure that there are no raw nerve injuries in the vaginal region after the surgery. Still, you will need to take time off work to recover. It is essential for you to keep the vaginal area clean and free from infection. For a while, you also need to avoid wearing tight underwear and pants to prevent friction. It is also advisable to avoid any physical activities that involve the region for a month.

Will my partner find out if I get a labiaplasty?

You will likely be worried about the surgery scars following the cosmetic procedure. Most labiaplasty surgeries use extended wedge procedures to hide scars between the inner and outer labia. With the approach on the cosmetic procedure, the plastic surgeon will be able to remove the pigmented edge and make the labia natural looking.

What side effects can I expect after labiaplasty?

For the first two weeks after getting labiaplasty, you will experience soreness, swelling, and bruising on the vaginal region. You may also feel uncomfortable while peeing or sitting down. You must also be wary of getting an infection, bleeding, and tissue scarring.  A plastic surgeon will explain the complications of getting labiaplasty before the cosmetic procedure and will likely guide you toward a faster recovery.

Self-consciousness, intimacy, problems with exercising, and chafing may lead you into getting a labiaplasty. It is common for people to seek cosmetic procedures as a way to improve themselves. However, you need to know what to expect when you plan to undergo the operation. From determining the costs to finding your way to a speedy recovery, you will need knowledge and a guide for labiaplasty.

Premature whitening of the hair, depigmentation on various areas of the body including face, hands and feet, change in color of the retina all represent signs of vitiligo, a skin disorder that certainly does not discriminate, taking into account that it can affect all individuals across the globe, regardless of the age, language, religion, culture or gender. Everyone can recognize a person suffering from vitiligo due to the visible white patches on the skin, but most people do not actually know the causes leading to such an unforgiving skin disorder. These include heredity, meaning that sometimes it runs in the family, a virus, exposure to certain toxic chemicals, sunburn, which people can avoid easily, a stressful life event or an autoimmune disorder that forces the immune system, the body‘s natural defense, to destroy the melanocytes, skin cells that produce melanin, a skin-darkening pigment. Even though some people might have the tendency to stay away from those affected by vitiligo because it changes their physical appearance, the medical condition is harmless meaning that it is not contagious.

Experts recognize two main types, namely segmental and non-segmental. The first type is non-symmetrical and even though it spreads very quickly, it is not as erratic as non-segmental vitiligo, which results in skin patches on areas bearing too much sun exposure, such as mouth, nose, eyes, arms, knees and elbows. Those individuals who view it as a cosmetic issue are terribly mistaken because vitiligo represents a disease that requires medical treatment. Unfortunately, vitiligo does not have a cure, but specialists work towards decreasing its visibility. Thus, the most common vitiligo treatment options refer to phototherapy, whether with UVA light or UVB light, depigmenting and skin grafts, among others. Those who suffer from this medical condition choose make-up or tattooing as a solution to hide the skin blotches. The good news is that we can already start thinking about potential treatments developed in the future, such as a drug that sends stimuli forcing melanocytes to produce color, a drug that prevents vitiligo from spreading or a drug that reverses the change in or loss of color.

Until then however, those affected by the disease can explore the options available today, which involve medications, therapies and surgery. In what concerns medications, which have the purpose to restore skin tone as much as possible, we recognize creams, particularly corticosteroid cream, which is ideal in the early stage of the disease because they control inflammation and medications – calcineurin inhibitors –  that might provide satisfactory results for people with small white patches, which affects the immune system and have certain side-effects because researchers have identified a link between these medications and lymphoma. When it comes to therapies, doctors use a combination of psoralen and light therapy or photochemotherapy, which might prove to be more effective than the ones mentioned above, especially for widespread vitiligo. As for surgery, the methods available include blister or skin grafting and micropigmentation, which refers to implanting pigment into the patient’s skin. Grafting is a procedure that consists in applying small section of normal skin to areas without pigment.