WTH Is Vaginal Rejuvenation?

A lot of women are getting work done—erm, down there. Even #RHONY entrepreneur Sonja Morgan talks freely about tightening up, and Shahs castmates MJ and GG joked about the phenomenon on a recent episode. The catch is, even the experts are a bit befuddled by this trend.

“This is a very strange phenomenon. It all started when the porn industry expanded and regular people stopped wearing pubic hair …now it’s a damned free for all!” says New York-based celebrity plastic surgeon Dr. Thomas Sterry. 

“Labiaplasty is the manipulation of the labia minor or majora in order to make them more cosmetically pleasing,” says Dr. Sterry. Vaginoplasty, however, is a larger operation designed to tighten the vagina. It is much more invasive and requires significantly more recovery time.

“I don’t do either operation. I have thought about it a few times because I have some very nice patients who have asked for Labiaplasty, but I just think a gynecologist should be the one doing this work. I have this nightmare that I’m sitting in the courtroom and the judge turns to me and asks, “So, Dr. Sterry…when did you finish your training in gynecology?  What credentials do you have to perform this surgery?” says Dr. Sterry.

That story may sound silly, and dramatic, but people can act in surprising ways. “Suppose a woman claims she can’t have an orgasm after a labiaplasty. There is no way that the operation should have that effect—well, unless the clitoris was removed. But, who is to say she is right or wrong?  How do we know?  Maybe she's just 'crazy!'  Did she have problems with intercourse before the procedure? I would find this scenario embarrassing, so I have not thrown my hat in the ring…even though the procedures themselves seem fun because they require a little finesse,” says Dr. Sterry.

An interesting study was done about six years ago. “Patients were shown a series of before and after photos and then asked if they thought one looked better than the other. There was a consistently high score given to the after photographs. Men were shown the same pictures and thought every one of them looked good!” Dr. Sterry.

For women not quite ready to go under the knife—especially in the nether regions—there are other options. “A new treatment called Thermiva uses radiofrequency energy to heat up the walls of the vagina, causing them to gradually tighten after several sessions. Basically, a radiofrequency probe is inserted into the vagina, causing the walls to heat up and the collagen to tighten. This can help women who've had loosening during childbirth,” says Anthony Youn, M.D., F.A.C.S. YOUN Plastic Surgery, PLLC in Troy, Michigan, author of The Age Fix.

Another option, says, Youn, is enhancement of the G Spot, otherwise known as the G Shot.  “In this procedure, a doctor injects a temporary filler, like Restylane, into the G Spot, causing it to become larger and reportedly enhancing the sexual experience. Although no large scale studies have proven this procedure actually works, that hasn't stopped many doctors from performing it and charging thousands of dollars to their patients,” says Youn.

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