Helen S. Colen, MD

If you are looking for a highly professional, competent and experienced plastic surgeon, one who is distinct for naturally enhancing your look, Dr. Helen Colen is for you. Dr. Colen brings a sense of realism to the outcomes you would hope and imagine for yourself. As a plastic surgeon, she does not overpromise, and she absolutely delivers. Dr. Colen’s office staff is effective, warm and welcoming and the office setting is lovely and tasteful. I highly recommend Dr. Helen Colen without reservation!

As a 24 year old, I was very unhappy/ self-conscious about my labia for many years. I didn't like how I looked; I was embarrassed, which made intimacy difficult and unpleasant. I decided to look into labiaplasty, and I think Dr. Colen was the best decision I've ever made. I am much more comfortable in my skin and can now wear bikinis/underwear that I would never have been able to before! I'm much more comfortable in terms of intimacy as well. The results are perfect and I think this procedure was worth every single penny. I'm actually proud of how I look, which is such a wonderful feeling. No more shame!

Everyone always wants what they can't have. At 23 years old 4'9 93lbs my dreams were to have breasts. I didn't want anything too big, just something that would look natural and good. I was aiming for a full B / small C. From my first visit to Dr. Helen Colens office to my f/u visits was just absolutely great. The staff is amazing. Dr. Helen Colen turned my dream in to a reality. My surgery and recovery period could not have gone smoother. I highly recommend Dr.Helen Colon.

I've never been comfortable with my overly large inner labia. I went to Dr. Colen because she has an intimate 40-year history with vaginal reconstruction. I was not kept waiting for the consultation appointment at all and her office staff is consummately professional. During the consult Dr. Colen took an hour with me to describe the history of the procedure, her history with the procedure and then what she planned to do. I'm a pretty indecisive person but I booked the surgery right after the consult as I had no doubts she was the right surgeon for me.

The procedure was a little longer than expected due to my inner labia being asymmetrical, but Dr. Colen and her PA, Tara, just chatted casually with me the whole time, taking any nerves out of the equation. Afterwards, they were extremely available to me-- I actually work in the field and I have *never* seen a surgeon this concerned about and responsive to her patients. That extends to Tara, too-- just amazingly communicative and patient.

My results are awesome. I feel so good about the way my labia look. I am still healing but I can already wear certain underwear and bathing suits I never could before without pain and self-consciousness. It's so liberating and I only wish I'd done it sooner. I could have gotten so neurotic about this whole thing (just my nature) but I really felt like I was taken care of the whole time and they really cared about giving me an amazing result and making me comfortable. I can't recommend Dr. Colen/this procedure enough! I don't think I realized how much that extra skin was affecting me physically and mentally until it was gone, and good riddance!!

A month and a half ago I went to Dr. Helen Colen for a labiaplasty consultation. We spent over an hour discussing every small detail that is involved with the procedure. I was very pleased that she spent as much time as I needed to asked all my questions honestly and didn’t sugar coat anything like previous plastic surgeons I’ve visited prior to her. She made me feel very comfortable discussing the topic (which can be a bit taboo for some) and the discomfort that I’ve felt for a long time. She was very understanding, patient and supportive explaining that this procedure has become second nature to her since she’s been doing this for many years.

Two weeks later I came back for the procedure. I was a bit nervous because the thought of being under local kind of gave me the jitters. But once Dr. Colen delivered the local anesthetic I realized how silly I was to be afraid. I felt a pinch and the rest of the process was walk in the park. During the procedure Dr. Colen and Tara (Dr. Colens surgical assistant) were both very entertaining, I couldn’t believe how fast time flew by. For me it took about an hour but as I was told during the consult that it may vary from person to person.

After I was cleaned up, Tara walked me through how to tend to the area and what I may expect in the upcoming 48 hours. Tara was absolutely amazing, such a pleasure to talk to. She makes herself available to her patients at anytime for any questions you may have before or after your surgery.
Today, a month after my labiaplasty I cannot be more pleased. I experienced minimal discomfort during my post op. I saw beautiful result within the first two weeks after the swelling started to go down. There was a bit of discomfort sitting down for the first week and you wobble like a penguin. The pain was very minimal, I just took an extra strength Tylenol the first day, after I felt no pain. As of now, the majority of the swelling is gone and the results are outstanding. There is no scaring; you can barely tell I had any work done. I was told that in two months the results will be even better but in six months the results are going to be perfection. From what I see right now I can’t be more excited!

Dr. Colen is magnificent at her job. I can’t really put into words how amazing she and her whole staff are. They really are the dream team of plastic surgeons artists. I highly recommend her if you are planning to have any work done.

Have used this practice four times in the past 20 years for four breast augmentation surgeries. Being a patient for that amount of time i should have been shown more respect as a patient who continues to come back to the practice. They should informed me that I needed silicone if i was going larger because of my chest cavity. Had to revise them 6 months later. The fourth surgery could have been avoided if the doctor had paid closer attention to my needs and my care.

This review is a long time coming. Every time I have tried to write one I have gotten too emotional, so I am going to keep this to the cold hard facts because if my experience can keep one woman from making the wrong decision then it's worth it. I had a labiaplasty and clitoral hood reduction from Dr. Helen Colen summer of 2011. I originally went in for just a labiaplasty but she sold the clitoral hood reduction to me saying it "increases every woman's pleasure." I was highly orgasmic, orgasmed in two to five minutes every time. So when I heard this, I thought why not increase my pleasure even more. Wrong. This surgery is for women who have difficulties reaching orgasm, not for women who are sensitive, and certainly not for women who are highly sensitive. I was in chronic pain for about two month after the surgery - it felt like a needle was constantly pressing into my clit (because it was exposed and I was so sensitive.) Then, it became desensitized. I have not been able to orgasm since, for three and a half years… and have very little sensation. My sex life is nonexistent. As if this weren't enough, my labiaplasty was botched. One is about twice as long as the other and I have bad scarring. You can see where all the stitches were and the edge has two indents. More bad luck, I was her last patient before she was rushing off to catch a plane to go on vacation. I got the feeling she was running late because I was rushed out of post-op in under ten minutes (should be in post-op for FAR longer than this) and they told me it was fine to sit in the car for a two hour long car ride right after my surgery. I was soon in excruciating pain and was bed ridden and on painkillers for two weeks. I became so swollen that the stitches in one completely ripped apart and then the labia actually split apart horizontally as well. A nightmare. Dr. Colen spent a long time talking to me and connecting with me and she has good bed side manner. I do not doubt that she is a good person. She did however actually say to her assistant while I was on the operating table after she finished, "I hope I took enough off, but we can always take more off" which I found to be unprofessional. Also, rushing me out of post-op was horrible. I don't know why she did not ask me specific questions about what I wanted aesthetically. I was a teenager and far too trusting and naive. After seeing me again she offered to do another surgery for free to correct the results but I would not let her touch me again. The trim technique is pretty archaic and I don't know why she does it this way. Ok, I got a little emotional but I can't help it. For those wondering, I am currently the patient of the top sexual medicine doctor in the US as well as consulting with a reconstructive surgeon. I still have not gotten my orgasm back but have regained some sensation. I realize that I am the exception to the rule but I think some things, such as rushing me out of post-op, not asking more questions about what I wanted as far as aesthetics, telling me that the clitoral hood reduction "increases every woman's pleasure," and telling me it was ok to sit in a long car ride directly after the surgery, are telling. Please make you decision wisely and take my experience into consideration. Most of all - CLITORAL HOOD REDUCTION is ONLY for women who have trouble orgasming, not for all women as I was told.

Updated on 3 Oct 2015:
I wanted to share this with those who are also suffering with loss of sensation. Of all the different things I have tried, Zestra, an all natural herb-infused oil which you can buy online or in pharmacies, is what increased my sensation. Not a dramatic increase, but it definitely made a difference. It creates a bit of a heated tingly feeling. I recommend it if you are struggling with this issue.

Updated on 10 Oct 2016:
I want to make clear to all that clitoral hood reduction surgery can have very negative results. If you have a LOT of access skin in that area, aren't very sensitive, and have trouble getting to your clit then maybe you are a candidate. Only then. It is not true that this surgery increases pleasure for everyone. It made mine totally go away. The hood is there for a reason - the clit is an incredibly sensitive little bundle of nerves and it needs to be covered for protection. If uncovered, it will be constantly stimulated and this will cause eventual desensitization. I have spent literally 1,000s of $$ in sex therapy and have no sex life because of this. What is the point of sex if I can't feel pleasure? I hope that those considering this surgery read this. It can happen to you too.

Unfortunately, I had a terrible experience with Dr. Helen Colen. Due to her inability to perform my upper body lift, brachioplasty and breast lift with augmentation in one shot, as she claimed she could, I ended up having 4 further surgeries and had to live with only one breast implant in my chest for 7 months. This cost me much money for a revision with a better surgeon, extra scars and the grief and stress was extremely difficult. She did not acknowledge her mistakes and would accuse me of overeacting and treated me with no sensitivity while I would come to her in tears and after having paid her $37,000. She later told me she had wanted to retire and she definately needs to. The time I had under her care was one of the most difficult experiences I have ever endured. There are far more capable surgeons out there.

I had a tummy tuck and ended up with dog ears who had to be taken off my another surgeon, because I had already went back to her because of the scar line....it had looked like someone used a serrated knife and my husband overheard her from the waiting room saying......this is like doing the whole tummy tuck over again " well of course, because you did it haphazardly to begin with. Secondly, she stitched my belly button on the outside so that it looks like sunshine rays of scars all around. I would never recommend her to anyone.