Clitoral hood reduction is an outpatient procedure that takes about an hour. It can be performed under local anesthesia, conscious sedation, or general anesthesia, depending on whether itâs being performed as a standalone procedure or in combination with another procedure.Â
Reducing excess clitoral hood tissue can be addressed with several different incision patterns. Your surgeonâs technique will depend, in part, on your unique anatomy and goals. Some surgeons use an electrosurgical knife, while others use a laser, to seal the blood vessels as the tissue is removed, resulting in quicker healing and less scarring. Â
When done as a standalone procedure, clitoral hood reduction may be performed via simple skin excision:Â
- Incisions are made on either side of the hood, and excess skin is surgically removed.Â
- The sides are compared for symmetry and evened out.Â
- The remaining skin is sutured into place between the hood and the labia majora, the outer vaginal lips.
Another technique to achieve a clitoral hood lift is to remove excess length of skin where the clitoral hood meets the pubic area. âEssentially I do a double-inverted âVâ incision, or an upside down âVâ incision times two, and the hood is elevated upwards,â says Dr. John Miklos, a urogynecologist in Atlanta.Â
Special caution should be taken not to remove too much tissue, which can put tension on the clitoral hood and result in poor healing. Â
If your procedure is being performed with a wedge labiaplasty, a V-Y wedge technique can be used. During this procedure, the upper portion of the V-shaped wedge of tissue thatâs removed during a labiaplasty can be extended to encompass any redundant hood tissue into a single incision line.Â
If youâre having a trim labiaplasty, during which one continuous incision is made along the edge of the labia minora to remove excess tissue, the incision can be extended up to the clitoral hood.
Whatever technique is performed, most surgeons close the wound using dissolvable sutures that the body breaks down and absorbs over four to five weeks.