Probably about half of all of the questions I answer on Labiaplasty are about the recovery process, and among those, the VAST MAJORITY are following TRIM labiaplasty asking: "DOES THIS LOOK NORMAL?" The answer is usually "No".That is because the trim method has much more swelling than the wedge, does not address the clitoris, and it is an amputation type procedure that doesn't attend to the nuances of shape of the labia minora and clitoral hood. Below is a video from inside my operating room on the extended wedge labiaplasty with clitoral hood reduction. My patients have some swelling postop, but nothing NEAR as much as the trim patients, and because I'm only removing excess mucosa (leaving the deeper submucosa intact), the nerves are undisturbed, and the discomfort is much less. Find an expert who can do more than "trim" your labia minora. Be selective. I am biased towards plastic surgeons, because I am one, but they don't have to be. Just make sure if they are an Ob/Gyn that they have plenty of photos and positive reviews, and that they don't just do the "trim" method....
The reason I am posting this is so that fewer women are injured by surgeons who are unqualified and/or irresponsible. Yes, I have a conflict of interest in that I perform this procedure, but I would much rather see fewer injured women on RealSelf than increase my practice.
Edge Versus Wedge Approach (update)
There are two main procedure types that can address enlarged inner labia. My approach is a combination of both procedures: edge and wedge. When I first started performing labiaplasty surgery, I only performed the wedge approach. In some patients, however, particularly active women or those with thin labia, the wedge would open, leaving a small notch in the labia. In order to improve healing and recovery, I have adopted a combination Edge-Wedge approach to labiaplasty. A wedge is done in the upper clitoral hood tissue and an edge is done on the lower labia tissue. This leaves a balanced result to the labia, reducing the hood tissue and labia tissue evenly. The scars fade to invisible given the mucosal nature of the vagina (like the inside of the mouth) and a thin pink edge (as opposed to the rough "natural" edge of the labia) remains, which is more desirable for most women.
Last updated 08/08/17