Perineoplasty, FemiLift for 38 Y.o. After Traumatic Childbirth. Santa Monica, CA

I had a baby at 24 years old. I was induced and after a long labor, had an episiotomy. Everything healed great and I was able to enjoy sex and achieve orgasm easily after he was born. Fast forward 11 years and I was pregnant with my second child at 35. This delivery was not so smooth. The baby came so fast I barely made it to the hospital. I checked in at 4am and she was born at 4:12am. I pushed for just 7 minutes and tore terribly. 4th degree tears down the vaginal canal, looseness of the perineum, labia minora tore completely away from my body and previous episiotomy tissue was hanging out of my vagina. The doctor was reluctant to try to repair anything because I was so swollen. A year later, my HMO authorized a labiaplasty because I would tear repeatedly when working out or even sitting. They also agreed to cover the excision of the episiotomy tissue but would do nothing for the perineum or inner scar tissue because it's considered "cosmetic". The labiaplasty healed beautifully but the scarring inside made sex almost unbearable in certain positions. Also because the opening felt loose, I was never able to achieve orgasm from sex since she was born.

I found Real Self while researching breast lifts and liposuction. That's when I learned about vaginal rejuvenation. I didn't even know this was an option!!! I looked at several local docs but found Dr. Ghozland's reviews really promising. His office is about a 3 1/2 hour drive from my house, but after speaking to Jody and then Violetta I knew I made the right decision. They were extremely flexible with my schedule restrictions and the again the patient reviews and doctor's credentials were top notch.

I booked my consult and procedure for 4/1/16. After examining me, Dr. Ghozland determined that my vaginal structure and muscle tone was really good and that I didn't need full vaginoplasty. He was able to feel the dense scarring inside and suggested a perineoplasty to fix the loose, unsightly area and FemiLift to help with incontinence and to break up some of the scar tissue. I was worried about the temporary results of the laser versus full vaginoplasty but thought it was honorable that he doctor didn't want to perform surgery on me "just because" when I really don't need it.

I'll add some before pictures....

The procedure went well on Friday. Everything was explained to me in detail (what was going to happen, medication and aftercare instructions, etc.) and then I took a Valium. The FemiLift treatment was only mildly uncomfortable. Violetta is such a sweetheart and held my hand the whole time. Dr. G paid special attention to my bladder and scar tissue. Next up was the perineoplasty. The two local injections hurt sooo bad! After that I had to wait for the numbness to kick in. Once numb, I received several more injections...before and during. The laser felt a little hot and it was pretty crazy smelling my skin burning and seeing smoke. I only felt tugging and pulling as the muscles were pulled tight and stitched up. Dr. Ghozland kept me informed the entire time so I wasn't wondering what was going on. He is very easy to talk to and had a great sense of humor. Some of the time I had to keep myself from cracking up! Because he put me at ease, the whole thing was over before I knew it! The nurse cleaned me up and he gave me a few extra shots to ensure numbness for my long commute home.

I'm not going to lie, the incision hurts soooo bad! I've been trying to stay off my feet and keep the area iced as much as possible. I'm very nervous about returning to work tomorrow, but can't get anymore time off. I've been taking the colace as directed and already had a BM. The hardest part of all of this (besides the pain and bruising) is not being able to pick up my toddler or lift weights at the gym. That's going to be rough!!! Pics are from Day 1 post op.

Love how it looks already!