Vaginal Tightening Procedures

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Plastic Surgery, Universidad del Valle Plastic Surgery, Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia

Keywords

Vagina tighteningNon-surgical vagina tighteningNon-surgical vaginal rejuvenationLaser vaginal rejuvenationVaginal tightening assisted technologiesRadiofrequency vaginal tightening

Noninvasive, no recovery, but still sexual gratification enhancement

Why is our patient so interested in having these procedures done? We live in a highly competitive world, without much free time, and having a surgical procedure means downtime. Also, some women don’t want to go for surgery or don’t want their partners to know they are seeking for vaginal tightening. That’s why non-surgical vaginal rejuvenation procedures have become so popular.

Numbers shared by the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) from 2015 stated vaginal rejuvenation procedures growth; it became clear that from the total amount of surgical procedures that grew 3.5%, 1.8% of it was due to vaginal rejuvenation.

So nowadays, we clearly see the industry’s interest in finding ways to achieve vaginal tightening and other non-surgical technologies and devices for vaginal rejuvenation .

Anatomy

Vaginal walls are very thin, only 2–4 mm wide, but have clear histological layers: mucosa, lamina propria (loose connective tissue), fascia, vaginalis muscularis (smooth muscle), and adventitia (behind muscularis).

Since vaginal walls are so thin, it is interesting to see how some non-surgical technologies debate around better serving vaginal tightening, as they can go deeper into vaginal walls, but the question there would be: How far deep do we need to go into vaginal tissue?

Assessment

Ask your patient about the reason for her visit. Try to understand why she wants that procedure. Ideally, these questions should be asked before taking her to the exam room while she’s still wearing her regular clothing; this will give the patient more confidence to be open to speak with you as her doctor.

What Will the Patient Tell Me?

What she sees:

“My vagina looks too open.”
“Is it right to see the inside of my vagina?”
“Vagina mucosa is getting thinner and thinner.”
“My vagina is dryer.”
“My labia were trimmed way too much during labiaplasty, so I can see the inside of my vagina.”
“My labia were trimmed way too much during labiaplasty years ago, and now I’m experiencing dryness.”

How she feels:

“Some urine drops off when I jump or cough and I hate it!”
“After having kids, intimacy just doesn’t feel the same.”
“I love going to the gym, but I hate getting wet down there during weight lifting!”
“I love the gym, but I hate getting wet down there during Zumba/Aerobics, can you fix me?”
“I just wish I could go back to feeling the way I used to.”
“Sex is just not appealing to me anymore, so what’s the point of having sex if I won’t enjoy it?”
“Could you examine me to see if I’m a good candidate for vaginal tightening?”
“All I want is just an improvement down there.”
“I feel is time for a refreshment down there.”
“I want to surprise my partner.”

Her sexual life concerns related to her partner:

“I know I need some kind of tightening down there, but I don’t want any surgeries.”
“I am afraid of anesthesia.”
“I do not like the idea of having stiches inside my vagina.”
“I want to try and see if non-surgical options work for me, before trying anything more invasive.”
“I’m running out of excuses, I just do not want to have sex with my husband anymore!”
“I am afraid my husband will leave me and find another woman, I just do not want to have sex with him anymore, cause, neither of us enjoys sex like we used to!”
“I think my husband is less interested in me.”
“Our marriage is not doing well, so maybe if sex improves we may still have a chance!”
“We just don’t feel the same after our kids were born. Sex was very important for us, but now we’re less interested in it every day!”
“We have discussed the situation and are willing to try getting our sex life back, by trying some kind of vaginal tightening procedure!”

What her partner tells her:

“My husband says it doesn’t feel the same anymore after the kids. I want this fixed!”
“I know my vagina is not as tight as it used to, I confirmed it when he asked me to tighten more during the sex.”
“My husband suggested this surgery, he was the one who got me the appointment.”
“My husband told me that it may be a good idea to seek for vaginal tightening options.”
“Could you please fix my wife.”