NEED TO KNOW
- A woman has regrets after she underwent surgery for a “designer vagina”
- She is now left in “excruciating pain” after labiaplasty, a surgical procedure she said she’s wanted since she was 14 years old
- “I feel so angry at the surgeon, the system and myself for making this decision,” the woman said
A woman wanted “designer vagina” surgery for years. Now, after undergoing the procedure, she has major regrets.
The woman — whose name was “changed” to Riley Smith to keep her anonymous — told The Independent she had always been “insecure” about the size of her vaginal lips, and when she spoke about her concerns to her friends, they reaffirmed her “worst insecurities,” which prompted her to move forward with getting the surgery.
Smith told The Independent she was described as “the perfect candidate” for the type of procedure she was interested in, and she said medical professionals also told her it was a “super simple surgery.” Still, Smith claimed she was not made aware of any risks.
She eventually had labiaplasty — a surgical procedure that helps reduce the size of the labia minora, skin folds that surround the urethra and vagina, per the Cleveland Clinic — at age 22. Smith, The Independent reported, initially wanted to undergo the procedure when she was 14 years old.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Smith has subsequently dealt with numerous post-op complications after her labiaplasty. She told The Independent she feels “extremely drained and uncomfortable,” and she “can’t sit directly on” the surgical area “for long.”
The woman added that she finds sex is now “excruciatingly painful and mentally distressing,” and she keeps dealing with various issues after the tissue was removed, including irritation, dryness and recurring infections.
The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!
“I’m so sad. Penetration was never painful before. I feel so angry at the surgeon, the system and myself for making this decision,” Smith told The Independent.
“It makes me so angry how casually this procedure is promoted as increasing sexual confidence, improving hygiene and even making underwear more physically comfortable,” she added to the outlet.
Labiaplasty, as well as vaginoplasty — which the Cleveland Clinic describes as a procedure to repair the vagina from damage sustained due to medical conditions, injury or other factors — are some gynecological surgeries that have risen in popularity in recent years through social media, promoting a “designer vagina.”
According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, “Women opt for surgery for a variety of reasons, including pain from twisting and tugging of the labia when riding a bike or during intercourse, itching, irritation and self-consciousness.”
The risks associated with the procedure, the group highlights, include “bleeding, hematoma and infection,” as well as “the most common complication” — over-resection, which the National Institutes of Health (NIH) describes as “too much bone, cartilage or tissue [being] removed.”
Smith told The Independent that a doctor has since discussed reconstruction surgery with her. That procedure would apply the same techniques used for women who have suffered from female genital mutilation (FGM), which is described by the World Health Organization (WHO) as “procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.”
Read the full article here
