How safe is a vaginoplasty?

Vaginoplasty is quite safe when done by a cosmetic gynecologist or a urogynecologist who has had the appropriate training and experience. In the appropriate hands, vaginoplasty is very safe and effective. The technique can be carried out as an outpatient procedure in an office-based procedure room and can be done under local anesthesia and the patient is awake and comfortable

Thank you for your questionVaginoplasty literally means plastic surgery of the vagina. It is not a specific procedure (though originally it meant the creation of a new vagina) and every surgeon has a different idea of what technique(s) comprises a vaginoplasty. There is no consensus on which surgical procedure(s) is performed. The safety depends the type and degree of problems, on which procedures are performed and the quality of the surgeon(s) that perform them. For example: The vagina is like a six sided tube: entrance, apex, upper inside(bladder), lower inside(rectum) and two sides. Each of these needs to be evaluated and has different treatments. My best analogy for understanding what is going on the inside is the steel belted tire which which has a strong support structure (fascia steel belt) and a flexible stretchable surface which has grooves(mucosatread). When the steel belt tears, the tread balloons out increasing the surface area and smoothes out the grooves. This is what is called prolapsing or "an acquired sensation of smooth/wide vagina." There typically are several defects that can occur from childbirth and these can all be corrected best by a procedure called " site specific defect repair".. You need a surgeon who knows how to identify and correct each of the possible defects within the length of the vagina. Also, there can be defects on the entrance(orifice) and apex. These also must be evaluated and repaired. These procedures can be done safely by well trained surgeons but requires you to do your homework, looking at reviews and before and after photos and quality of the consult.