Labiaplasty Covered by Insurance - Medford, MA

Name: Labiaplasty Covered by Insurance - Medford, MA
Item: Dr. B
Author: Boob Envy

Boob Envy
Worth It
Cost: $30
Dr. B, Medford, MA

I have been complaining about my large labia since...

28 Oct 2016
2 months pre

I have been complaining about my large labia since the birth of my son 14 years ago. Doctor after doctor told me there was nothing I could do and that I just had to live with it. I couldn't understand how there could be nothing I could do about it but lost hope as no one would listen. I had seriously considered cutting them off myself on many occasions but was worried I wouldn't be able to do both sides and would be even more mangled than I already was. During my first pregnancy it grew to an enormous size even though many said that wasn't possible. I am also convinced that the vacuum they used along with the episiotomy led to what I have now.

It wasn't until a couple of years ago when I had breast augmentation that I found out there was indeed surgery to fix my vagina. I mentioned my concerns again, but to my new doctor and she recommended I seek out a urogynecologist to perform a labiaplasty. I had searched for many but it seemed the only ones I could find were not willing to perform a surgery that was for "cosmetic purposes". This isn't cosmetic! This is labia that get pulled in during sex causing pain, labia that gets pinched and caught in clothing, labia that can't wear lace underwear because it's excruciating and painful, labia that barely fits in a bathing suit, labia that is too wide for many underwear and so I have to be very careful with what I buy. Labia that is painful and uncomfortable riding a bike, exercising, or even sitting on things like bleachers. I have literally come home on more than one occasion to a swollen, purple, labia because the circulation has been cut off from clothing or certain activities. Having sex is like a parting of the seas and it seems no matter what I do, my long, enlarged labia get "sucked in" during sex and so are costantly being pulled on. This is not cosmetic. This is about quality of life.
I have been with the same man since I was a teenager, him and I are the only ones who see my vagina and I know he loves it and me just the way we are. It's not about that, it's about me and my life. Of course a more aesthetically pleasing vagina would be a nice bonus as well.
Anyhow, my obgyn sent me to another obgyn who also performs labiaplasty. I met with her on October 18th. She did an exam, took some measurements and gave me her opinion. She said she would do the trim method with a laser, and reduce the size of my labia majora as it has lost its fullness. She will do the labia majora by removing some excess skin on the outside of the labia majora. I'm concerned about this as I hsve only ever seen or heard of it being done on the insure between the labia minora and majora, which would then leave the scar between the two which would ultimately be barely visible if at all. Even though this is not for cosmetic reasons I still feel like they should try to make scarring minimal. She also said I only have "2 folds" on my clitoral hood and so that doesn't need to be addressed. I think when she cuts of the minora the hood is going to be weirdly bulging out everywhere as it is clearly too big.
I thought it would be best to have this done by a gynecologist as they would be more familiar with the delicate anatomy , but now I'm growing concerned that it's going to be butchered and I'll hate the way it looks although I won't be sitting on it anymore.
Honestly I'm a little nervous about expressing my concerns because she had my insurance company agree to cover the procedure so I'm worried if I argue about the aesthetics of it that she will think that's why I'm doing it and then I'll have trouble with insurance paying for it. She did take measurements etc and said I do fall in the "above nomad range" which to me is probably why I qualified for insurance.
Anyhow I'm scheduled for December 16th and I'm thrilled as I have been wanting this for 14 years, I just hope I get a say.
I have to take pictures but if you go on my profile under my questions there are pictures from me asking about labiaplasty.

Presurgery Pics

16 Dec 2016
Day of treatment

Day of Surgery

16 Dec 2016
Day of treatment

Today was the big day! My surgery was scheduled for 1:30 and I had to arrive by 12:30. We ended up getting there early so I got to go in a bit early. When I arrived they had me take a pregnancy test even though I had a tubal, talked to me about what would happen and then had to put numbing cream on the whole area. Once I put the cream on they had my husband come I and hang out with me until it was time for surgery. The 2 doctors performing the procedure came in and went through everything with me again and made sure all questions were answered. I peed again and the went into the special procedures room. They said even with the numbing cream that the local anesthesia injections would be painful but they were not at all. They also gave me a small amount of IV sedation but they said since I was calm I didn't need much. I had 2 doctors and 2 nurses there and they just talked with me the whole time. I could see what they were doing in the reflection of the doctors glasses and I thought that would gross me out since it was being done on me but it was actually pretty interesting. She offered me a mirror and there was a tiny little triangle on one of the labia minora still so I asked her to remove it and she did. I had the labia minora reduced as well as the labia majora. The majora was reduced near the vaginal opening and then stitched closed. The entire procedure was completed using a laser and so did not need to be stitched with the exception of the majora. I did not have the prepuce reduced at all today. She felt that it would go back into place once the weight of the labia was removed and didn't want to mess with that area for no reason. If I'm not happy with it in a couple of months she said she would do another procedure to reduce that. It would be a follow up and so she said it round be covered by insurance as well. It is definitely swollen but does not look as bad as I had expected so far. I'm also not really in any pain. According to them the medication should have worn off by about 3 but so far so good. There was some stinging and burning shortly after but it was more annoying and uncomfortable than it was painful. Even though it's ugly right now I know I will be much happier. I won't have to deal with the pain ad discomfort of all that extra labia and I am thrilled. It was also nice to have the darker pigments on the minor removed so I think I will lot only feel better physically but also mentally and emotionally as I was bothered by the feel and the look. Oh so far peeing has not been painful either. I am on vacation until January 3rd so I will try to update daily. Also please feel free to email me at Sugarbum24@hotmail.com if you would like or if I'm taking too long to respond on here.

1 Day post op

18 Dec 2016
2 days post

I still had no pain at all and was able to take a shower. I can move around normally but still trying to take it a bit easy as I have a tendency of overdoing things. It is definitely less swollen than it was the day of but still very swollen nonetheless. I asked her to basically remove the entire labia minora, a little bit of the majora and none of the hood for now. I didn't want to take more off of the hood or the majora than necessary and I can go back and have her remove more if I'm not happy with it once healed. While the hood is also very swollen still I imagine I will end up having her shave a bit off that eventually. I'm also trying to keep in mind what my natural anatomy is and not go too far with this. I think just what I had taken off will do wonders for my level of comfort. I have had very minimal bleeding, other than the fact that I got my period unfortunately, and zero pain. I'm thrilled about that alone as I was a little concerned about getting through Christmas if I was in a lot of pain. In the pictures it looks like there is a big slit in the hood but it's not, it's just swollen and folded over. Excuse the lack of shaving and the tampon. I don't want to shave until there is no bleeding at all.

2 Days post op

18 Dec 2016
2 days post

Not much to report today. Still no pain or discomfort and just a tiny little spot of blood here and there. Swelling has come down a lot but it's still significantly swollen as it's very hard to get through it all to put a tampon in. I can sit, walk, move, close my legs etc with no discomfort at all. I had no idea recovery would be so easy. Other than the fact that I can't have sex I feel totally normal. Like I didn't even have anything done.

Day 3 post op

19 Dec 2016
3 days post

No real update today. Still no pain. Some swelling had gone down and it's getting a little itchy but doing well. Excuse the hair, I don't want to shave until it's fully closed.

Day 4 post op

20 Dec 2016
4 days post

I went put and did a bunch of errands yesterday and felt fine. It was also the first time I had driven since my procedure and I felt completely normal. The walking around all day did end up making it slightly tender just around the opening (the only place I have stitches) but it was only slightly tender and only if it was pushed on. Just sitting around it still felt completely normal. The worst part so far is that it's starting to get itchy which is expected but annoying nonetheless. You can't exactly scratch it so there is nothing you can really do about it. The swelling has come down drastically and I'm thinking it probably looks like I will end up going back for the hoodectomy (opted not to do it the first time) and maybe to have more of the majora removed but we will see. I'm not looking for perfection and I can only work with the current anatomy of my body so if there won't be a big difference I will likely leave it. I won't decide on that for several months though. I've been happily married for 13 years so the only people that see my vagina are my husband and my doctor and neither of them care what it looks like.

Day 4 post op pics

20 Dec 2016
4 days post

Accidentally hit post without all the pics attached.

Day 5 post op

26 Dec 2016
10 days post

Sorry for the delay. It's been hectic with Christmas. No real changes on day 5. It's itchy as hell and one of my stitches near the opening is annoying me. I don't dissolve dissolvable stitches, ever! They just make their way out over the course of several months so one of them is pushing out and it's uncomfortable. Occasionally it hurts for a second of it gets caught or pulled.

Day 6 post op pictures

26 Dec 2016
10 days post

I was feeling great and the swelling had subsided significantly. I decided to throw on some skinny jeans and go Christmas shopping for the day. HUGE mistake! After a few hours I was in a lot of pain and it felt like it was getting pinched every time I moved. It was also stinging and started to bleed again. I came home after about 7 hours of shopping and it was miserable. Anything touching it hurt. I think it was the wearing of skinny jeans that did it because I had gone out shopping every day since day 2 post op and was fine, but I wore sweatpants or leggings before. Peeing stung like hell, the pad with the Aquafor stung like hell. Everything hurt and it was extremely swollen again. Back to sweatpants and leggings for me for now! I'll also continue to use the Aquafor as I had stopped as I didn't like the way it felt. It felt all goofy like you were sitting in an old pad and since I felt to good I decided to stop using it. I think that and the wearing of jeans was a bad idea. As yu can see from the pics it looks pretty awful after all that.

Day 10 post op

26 Dec 2016
10 days post

Feeling good again. Started using the Aquafor again and stayed away from skinny jeans. Swelling has started coming back down. It looks so much better in person than it does in the pics but after like 25 pics of trying to get it to look like it does in person I gave up. It's looking pretty good in person though and the hood had thinned out significantly although it doesn't look like it in the pics.
I also shaved for the first time since the procedure today. It went well but I was trying to be very cautious so I wouldn't accidentally cut it v

Day 14 post op

4 Jan 2017
19 days post

I had my 2 week check up today (12/30). She said I was healing very well and that I could resume all activity, including sex so long as I make sure it's well lubricated and that I'm comfortable. I have nt had any issues since the day I went out in skinny jeans so I was feeling great. Of course I went home and had sex that night. We never need to use lube as I produce enough on my own but we did anyways just to make sure. For some reason the opening felt really tight and it was uncomfortable. I was on top so I could control everything in case there was any pain. I was fine as long as I stayed forward and didn't move back at all but the really thin skin right at the opening let like it was tearing. She said she didn't do anything at the opening so I'm not sure why. I did it again 2 nights layer and it felt the same. The labia felt normal and didn't hurt at all so I have no idea what's going on with the opening but you can see in the pictures that it did become very swollen afterwards, especially at the opening. I'll give it a couple of weeks and if it doesn't get better I'll call the doctor back. I'll have to take some pics not from after sex so you can see what it actually looks like now. She said she didn't take any from the majora as she thought it would be fine without doing so. I thought the same thing at the time but now that most of the swelling has subsided the outer labia feel empty and too far down. She said if it bothers me I can go back and she will remove some of the outer labia. I will likely end up doing that but am going to wait a few months to decide. If I decide to have some of the majora reduced I will probably wait until next fall so I don't interrupt any beach time over the summer. I am already much happier wrh the result and at this point feel about 60% better about it. I'll try to update with current pics tonight as these ones are from 12/30 and right after sex.

Day 19 post op

5 Jan 2017
20 days post

These pictures are from yesterday. So far everything is good. I haven't attempted sex since my last update but I'm feeling great so I'm going to try again probably tomorrow night. I can also wear jeans and thongs with no problems. I went back to work on Tuesday and wasn't sure how that would go but everything was totally normal. There are a couple of areas that I will likely have reduced in the future but like I said before I will wait until fall to do it if I do so it doesn't hinder my beach time at all. I circled the areas I will likely have reduced in the future in one of the pictures. Those areas still feel "bulgy" especially in tight clothing and I feel like you can see the "empty" outer labia in tight clothes.