Labiaplasty scarring normal? (Photo)

As the inventor and innovator of the wedge technique in 1994, I reconstruct many women who have had labia reductions by other surgeons, both wedge and trimming techniques​. You had a trimming labiaplasty which resulted in asymmetry, excess clitoral hood, and scalloping. However, no attempt to revise your labia should be done until you are at least five months after your past procedure as your appearance will improve, and the swelling will be less. You need to control your anxiety and wait. The reconstruction is much more difficult than a primary labiaplasty and should be done by a plastic surgeon with extensive experience in labia reconstruction. I published the first and most extensive paper on labia reconstruction in the prestigious journal "Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery" about ten years ago. You will need various reconstructive techniques to give you a good appearance. You can have a much better appearance by a very skilled reconstructive labiaplasty surgery. Approximately 40% of the surgeries I perform are revisions of other surgeons' labiaplasties.

Your clitoral hood is bulky and protuberant and looks bigger after a labiaplasty. The type of hood reduction depends on the patient's anatomy and desires. I routinely remove the sides of the clitoral hood with a labia minora reduction if there is excess tissue. If the skin overlies the head or glans of the clitoris, that can be reduced. If the patient has a very large, protuberant, wide clitoral hood like you, I invented a procedure called a clitoropexy with a clitoral hood reduction. With this procedure, I lift up the clitoral hood skin, move the clitoris closer to the pubic bone, thin the tissues under the clitoral hood skin, and then remove a large amount of excess skin. This results in a dramatic decrease in the length, thickness, and protuberance of the clitoral hood, so that the hood is now within the labia majora when the woman stands. I have performed this procedure over 300 times with outstanding results. I have not published this technique so no one does it like me.

You only get one good chance to reconstruct you, so be patient and ask a lot of questions.

Gary J. Alter, M.D.

Beverly Hills, CA - Manhattan, NY

Hi, the edges seem jagged. An ablative laser may be able to correct it, but does feel like a burn afterwards for about 3-7 days. As others have mentioned, when clitoral hood is t properly reduced or minimally reduced, it will appear larger especially when too much labia minora has been removed. A surgical revision may be the best way to reduce the hood. I hope that helps.

Hello, the wound healing on the edges of the labia has been jagged. These parts can be removed, but then there is a risk of the labia shrinking too much. If the clitoris seems larger than normal, you may benefit from filling the labia majora (this is all I can interpret from what I can see from the picture without examining it).

Hello.The edges of your labia can be "resurfaced" or LASERed away which is still a procedure that requires healing. It appears they did not address the excess skin of your clitoral hood and sometimes once excess labial skin is removed the clitoral hood appears more prominent. If desired, a clitoral hood reduction at the same time as resurfacing of labia edges would give you a more sleek, less top heavy look. I hope this helps.Take care,~Dr. Poucher

It seems you had a linear labiaplasty without clitoral hood reduction. The scarring you are concerned about is irregularity of the incision line of Labiaplasty probably due to the type of suture used to close the incision. It could be better but if does not bother you much, do not go for another surgery. If you elect surgery, the labias has to be reduced a little further to get rid of all irregularities then closed again. Radiofrequency may smoothen the skin a little but I doubt it will help much.The clitoral hood will appear bigger because it was proportional to your original labia size. Your labias were reduced but not the clitoral hood so it will appear bigger on top of the smaller labias. That is why we do Clitoral hood reduction with most labiaplasties.

Hi there,
Sorry to hear you are unhappy with your results. The reason your clitoris seems bigger is because they removed the excess labial skin and did not remove the excess skin of your lateral clitoris.
I would advise a revision to remove the excess clitoral skin as well as having the edges of the labia revised so they are smoother.
All the best

Thanks for your post and accompanying photos. The irregular edges to your labia are a result of the technique used. Your hood which is large, wrinkly and droopy could have been reduced at the time of your labiaplasty.
You will need revision labiaplasty and clitoral hood reduction. Go to the link below to see hundreds of before and after photos where you will find many examples of revision labiaplasty. From that link you can schedule a virtual consultation via phone or zoom, at which time we can discuss in depth your anatomy, expectations and concerns. Women from all over the world travel to my Center for their Intimate Makeover.
Best of luck,

Thank you for sharing your question and I am sorry that your outcomes have not been what you anticipated. Unfortunately with your labiaplasty you were left with irregular skin ages that can only be improved with a revision surgery. As a result of your smaller labia this also led to greater prominence of your clitoral hood region and a reduction here would provide a better overall proportion. Hope this helps.

...I can see why you are dissatisfied. Your surgeon was not experienced : (s)he used the wrong suturing techniques and material, resulting in severe rippling of your labia. Then (s)he had no idea how to handle your clitoral hood, which was left large and reticulated.

The "fix" would be to skim off the rippled areas of your labia, and to perform an "airbrushing" of your central hood via radiofrequency of laser. This would be a moderately complex but not terribly invasive procedure, although the recovery from "airbrushing" is a bit brutal. NO-- any "non-invasive" treatments will only deplete your pocketbook. Your first revision will be the ONLY time you have to get it right.

Whom to see? In the UK, I would recommend Mr. Alex Bader, Harley St., London. In Germany, I'd recommend Dr. Stefan Gress in Munchen. In Poland, I would recommend either Dr. Dawid Serafin or Dr. Rafal Kuzlik. In the U.S., good would be Dr. Marco Pelosi in New Jersey, Dr. Red Alinsod in Dallas, Dr. Oscar Aguirre in Denver, or Dr. Otto Placik in Chicago, and of course myself in Sacramento, CA.

Of course, there are other well trained surgeons. The IMPORTANT thing is to see only an experienced surgeon for your revision. You may have tried to "do it on the cheap" with your original surgery, and look where that has gotten you. It will cost you as much or more for a good revision as for a primary procedure, with outcome not as aesthetic as if you'd gone to an expert in the first place

Good Luck!
Michael P Goodman, MD, FACOG, IF, AAACS
Sacramento, CA, USA