Vaginoplasty done awake?

A vaginoplasty and or labiaplasty can be done under local sedation where the area is numbed beforehand. It is often recommended that patients choose anesthesia because they will feel the numbing solution being injected which will sting. Then they may or may not feel pulling/tugging/heat/pressure during the procedure. If you would like to be seen for consultation, feel free to reach out to my office. Smith Plastic Surgery 702-838-2455

I've been doing vaginoplasty procedures for over 25 years. About half of my patients were done awake, most of the rest were done asleep under intravenous sedation (twilight anesthesia) conducted by an anesthesiologist, and a few were done asleep under general anesthesia with intubation. The patients who chose to be awake were comfortable with the preoperative pelvic exam and did not find it uncomfortable. If they would have been uncomfortable with that exam, they would not have been able to tolerate a vaginoplasty done awake because it gets uncomfortable when retractors are placed to do the work. Every patient has a different pain tolerance. Intravenous sedation is a great option for women who don't want to feel anything during surgery, but who also don't want to be completely asleep. Hope this helps. IV sedation is also known as Monitored Anesthesia Care or MAC. It is very safe, very effective, and done routinely.