POSTED UNDER Labiaplasty REVIEWS
Extremely happy with my decision - such a major improvement
ORIGINAL POST
Finally got it done
Isobel22March 9, 2023
WORTH IT$4,250
Had hypertrophic labia since I was around 6yrs old , thought I was deformed & always hated it. Was severely self conscious of them , age 9 I found out labiaplasty was a thing that exists and was dead set from that point on to have this procedure done.
Fast forward to age 23 I'm finally in a position to afford it. I had a few Dr's in mind , went to various consultations but I knew I definitely wanted to see Dr Angelica Kavouni.
She was the first surgeon I ever found out about through Embarrassing bodies as a kid. Her being a woman also helped me feel more at ease , she performs hundreds of labiaplasties a year and definitely knew what she was doing. She was so kind and approachable , answered all my questions and explained what was possible as well as any risks.
The Surgery:
My surgery date was January 9th 2023 , absolutely elated & not as nervous as I thought I would be. Attending nurse was also lovely. Luckily they put a numbing cream on before the lidocaine injection so didn't feel a thing. Absolutely no pain during the procedure itself (just felt pressure and pulling)which took about an hour in total. Was then waddled to the recovery room for another hour before I was discharged. Was then given some paracetamol and surgical underwear. Once the numbing started to wear off the pain was more akin to a paper cut than writhing agony , not pleasant but completely manageable.
Was given a pad for any further bleeding , luckily I didn't really bleed much. The discomfort on my journey home was mainly the bloody pad drying then rubbing on the incisions ( took the train home , sat & walked a bit weirdly but made it back alive). By that evening the swelling started to set in , the paper cut sensation went and was replaced by a dull ache / tight pressure feeling. It looked worse than it felt.
The Recovery:
Week 1 - Didn't shower for 3 days post op just bc I didn't wanna wash away the blood clots as they actually aid healing and didn't want to introduce too much moisture to that area. Urination wasn't that bad , VERY GENTLY dabbed with toilet paper & used a hair dryer just to be sure it was kept dry. Iced it for a maximum of 20 mins per hour , definitely helped soothe the tight pressure feeling. I used a donut pillow or sat right back to not put pressure on my crotch. Also took 3 ibuprofen a day for pain ( wasn't any unless I touched it) and to help with swelling. I'd say swelling peaked around day 3-6 but was only a dull ache if you accidentally touched it. Slept with a pillow between my knees / under my butt.
Week 2 : Not too different to the first week , it slowly started to de-swell but it did still look like a raspberry. I started gently applying Sudocrem to the incisions with a cotton bud. I avoided touching the area as much as possible to not get bacteria / rub off a scab.
Week 3 : Gradually started to look more like a Vulva again , still very swollen but there was a marked difference in size. At one point there was a small tear / a scab came off which took longer to heal but had no further issues once it healed. At one stage I noticed a little black thing poking out ? Wasn't sure if it was an stitch breaking the surface , again it eventually healed and didn't cause any further issues.
Week 4 : Finally the last few scabs that took slightly longer to heal had fallen off. I stopped using Sudocrem and started applying Bio-oil to the now closed incisions. Really helped with the dry feeling to the labia and moving didn't feel like it would pull the skin. Still swollen and bumpy but really started to look normal again.
Week 5 : The swelling goes up and down still but by this point I could start to imagine what my final results would look like. Only issue I have is a crease on my clitoral hood but a huge improvement on what I had before.
Week 6-8: Not much difference visually , doesn't swell much just from being on my feet all day. Still have some tenderness on the incision lines but things are definitely still healing. At week 7 I started applying a silicone scar gel which massively improved the appearance/ residual swelling. I have started to gently massage this gel into the scars 1-2X per day.
Overall I am extremely happy with my decision , it's such a major improvement from what I had before and highly recommend Dr Kavouni. I can now look in the mirror and not wince. Before my labia were such a major insecurity of mine but now I hardly ever think of them , they don't pull , rub or get pinched. Only minor issue I have is that crease on the hood but I will see at the 6 month mark if I want to pursue a revision or not. (Though I'm pretty sure it was there prior to surgery) 10/10
Fast forward to age 23 I'm finally in a position to afford it. I had a few Dr's in mind , went to various consultations but I knew I definitely wanted to see Dr Angelica Kavouni.
She was the first surgeon I ever found out about through Embarrassing bodies as a kid. Her being a woman also helped me feel more at ease , she performs hundreds of labiaplasties a year and definitely knew what she was doing. She was so kind and approachable , answered all my questions and explained what was possible as well as any risks.
The Surgery:
My surgery date was January 9th 2023 , absolutely elated & not as nervous as I thought I would be. Attending nurse was also lovely. Luckily they put a numbing cream on before the lidocaine injection so didn't feel a thing. Absolutely no pain during the procedure itself (just felt pressure and pulling)which took about an hour in total. Was then waddled to the recovery room for another hour before I was discharged. Was then given some paracetamol and surgical underwear. Once the numbing started to wear off the pain was more akin to a paper cut than writhing agony , not pleasant but completely manageable.
Was given a pad for any further bleeding , luckily I didn't really bleed much. The discomfort on my journey home was mainly the bloody pad drying then rubbing on the incisions ( took the train home , sat & walked a bit weirdly but made it back alive). By that evening the swelling started to set in , the paper cut sensation went and was replaced by a dull ache / tight pressure feeling. It looked worse than it felt.
The Recovery:
Week 1 - Didn't shower for 3 days post op just bc I didn't wanna wash away the blood clots as they actually aid healing and didn't want to introduce too much moisture to that area. Urination wasn't that bad , VERY GENTLY dabbed with toilet paper & used a hair dryer just to be sure it was kept dry. Iced it for a maximum of 20 mins per hour , definitely helped soothe the tight pressure feeling. I used a donut pillow or sat right back to not put pressure on my crotch. Also took 3 ibuprofen a day for pain ( wasn't any unless I touched it) and to help with swelling. I'd say swelling peaked around day 3-6 but was only a dull ache if you accidentally touched it. Slept with a pillow between my knees / under my butt.
Week 2 : Not too different to the first week , it slowly started to de-swell but it did still look like a raspberry. I started gently applying Sudocrem to the incisions with a cotton bud. I avoided touching the area as much as possible to not get bacteria / rub off a scab.
Week 3 : Gradually started to look more like a Vulva again , still very swollen but there was a marked difference in size. At one point there was a small tear / a scab came off which took longer to heal but had no further issues once it healed. At one stage I noticed a little black thing poking out ? Wasn't sure if it was an stitch breaking the surface , again it eventually healed and didn't cause any further issues.
Week 4 : Finally the last few scabs that took slightly longer to heal had fallen off. I stopped using Sudocrem and started applying Bio-oil to the now closed incisions. Really helped with the dry feeling to the labia and moving didn't feel like it would pull the skin. Still swollen and bumpy but really started to look normal again.
Week 5 : The swelling goes up and down still but by this point I could start to imagine what my final results would look like. Only issue I have is a crease on my clitoral hood but a huge improvement on what I had before.
Week 6-8: Not much difference visually , doesn't swell much just from being on my feet all day. Still have some tenderness on the incision lines but things are definitely still healing. At week 7 I started applying a silicone scar gel which massively improved the appearance/ residual swelling. I have started to gently massage this gel into the scars 1-2X per day.
Overall I am extremely happy with my decision , it's such a major improvement from what I had before and highly recommend Dr Kavouni. I can now look in the mirror and not wince. Before my labia were such a major insecurity of mine but now I hardly ever think of them , they don't pull , rub or get pinched. Only minor issue I have is that crease on the hood but I will see at the 6 month mark if I want to pursue a revision or not. (Though I'm pretty sure it was there prior to surgery) 10/10
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