Page 10 - IAV Digital Magazine #429

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Vagina Surgery “Sought By Girls As Young As Nine”
abnormality.
"I find it very hard to believe there are 150 girls with a medical abnormality which means they needed an operation on their labia," she said.
She added there were uncomfortable parallels between this surgery and female genital muti- lation (FGM), which is illegal in the UK.
"The law says we shouldn't perform these operations on developing bodies for cultural reasons. Current Western cul- ture is to have very small lips, tucked inside. I see this as the same thing".
Dr Gail Busby, lead adolescent gynae- cologist at St Mary's Hospital, says it is important for girls and their parents to remember:
• In adolescence, the labia are still growing - with the inner lips growing first - so it is normal for them to appear prominent. Girls should not compare themselves to adult women
• By age 18, the outer lips will have grown. If girls can hold off seeking an operation until adult- hood, their genitals' appearance will have changed - removing the initial reason for wanting surgery
• Surgery will prob- ably lead to scarring and - as the labia are still developing - could lead to it
becoming asymmet- rical in adulthood
• Do not feel alone. Half the girls in your class will be in the same position, it is a normal part of devel- opment - it is just that no-one talks about it openly
• If parents wish to allay fears, take your daughter to a GP
• In some instances, if there are deeper concerns regarding body image, it may help to create some cop- ing strategies
The majority of labi- aplasties are done by private cosmetic surgeons on women over 18.
The industry has been criticized for normalizing the pro- cedure.
Plastic surgeon Miles Berry defend- ed the surgery, say- ing it could improve women's lives.
"It can change peo- ple fundamentally, the feelings they have about them- selves, their confi- dence and self- esteem.
"I have seen patients aged between 16 and 21 who have never had a boyfriend because they are so con- cerned about this."
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said the operation should not be performed until a girl had fin- ished developing, after the age of 18.
Girls as young as nine are seeking surgery on their gen- itals because they are distressed by its appearance, the Victoria Derbyshire show has been told.
Dr Naomi Crouch, a leading adolescent gynaecologist, said she was concerned GPs were referring rising numbers of young girls who wanted an opera- tion.
Labiaplasty, as the surgery is known, involves the lips of the vagina being shortened or reshaped.
The NHS says it should not be car- ried out on girls before they turn 18.
In 2015-16, more than 200 girls under
18 had labiaplasty on the NHS. More than 150 of the girls were under 15.
Some experts fear that pornography and images viewed through social media are leading young girls to have unreal- istic perceptions of how their genitals should look.
Dr Crouch, who chairs the British Society for Paediatric and Adolescent Gynaecology, said in her work for the NHS she was yet to see a girl who need- ed the operation.
"Girls will sometimes come out with com- ments like, 'I just hate it, I just want it removed,' and for a girl to feel that way about any part of
her body - especially a part that's intimate - is very upsetting."
Paquita de Zulueta, a GP for more than 30 years, said it was only in the past few years that girls had started coming to her with concerns over the appearance of their labia.
"I'm seeing young girls around 11, 12, 13 thinking there's something wrong with their vulva - that they're the wrong shape, the wrong size, and really expressing almost disgust.
"Their perception is that the inner lips should be invisible, almost like a Barbie, but the reality is that there is a huge vari- ation. It's very nor- mal for the lips to
protrude."
She blames the unrealistic images girls are being exposed to through pornography and social media.
"There isn't enough education and it should start really quite young, explain- ing that there is a range and that - just as we all look differ- ent in our faces - we all look different down there, and that's OK."
NHS England said it did not carry out the operation for cos- metic reasons, only for clinical condi- tions.
For the past few years clinical com- missioning groups have been able to refer only patients who are experienc- ing physical pain or emotional distress.
But Dr De Zulueta says some girls know they need to overstate their phys- ical symptoms to get the
surgery.
"There is awareness that they're more likely to get the operation if they say it's interfering with sex, with sport, they feel that will tick that box."
Dr Crouch believes labiaplasty should be given only to girls who have a medical
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