Aesthetic surgery of female external genitalia

Abstract

Aesthetic surgery of the external genitalia in women encompasses many procedures and may address the labia minora, clitoral hood, labia majora, mons pubis, or vaginal opening. During the initial evaluation, the surgeon should consider all aspects of the external genitalia to develop an appropriate surgical plan. It may be necessary to perform 2 or more procedures during the same surgical session to achieve the desired aesthetic result. In this continuing medical education (CME) article, we review the literature and summarize the available cosmetic techniques for female external genitalia. Resection of the labia minora has been described in several peer-reviewed reports. We also discuss the procedures and modifications to direct resection, wedge resection, and deepithelialization of the labia minora. Aesthetic surgery of the clitoral hood may involve straight-line resection, extended wedge resection, or inverted V hoodoplasty. The mons pubis may be treated with mons pubis pexy, wedge resection, or lipomodeling. The labia majora can be managed with direct resection or lipomodeling, and hymenoplasty may be performed to correct a wide vaginal opening.