Dr Naomi Crouch, a leading adolescent gynaecologist, said she was concerned at the number of young girls under 18 seeking genital surgery. Chief Medical Officer says we may never get rid of coronavirus. Chilean women march in Santiago on International Women's Day. Kristen Stewart spotted out for lunch with a friend in Los Feliz.
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Several adolescent gynecologists told the BBC that young girls under the age of 15 were increasingly seeking out the operation, which shortens and reforms the labia minor surrounding the vagina—most often because they are distressed by the size or shape of their vulvas. In , labiaplasty was the second-fastest growing cosmetic procedure in the US after breast enlargement, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. That figure has been relatively steady over the past decade at least, and some of those surgeries relate to injury, recurrent disease, or infection, according to the NHS. It is also used as part of the reconstructive process for victims of female genital mutilation. Cosmetic surgeons appear to be feeding the stereotype. The uptick in adolescents seeking labiaplasty and breast surgery led the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists to issue updated guidelines for doctors this year. It suggested doctors council patients carefully, reassure them when everything is normal, and screen for body dysmorphic disorder, an anxiety disorder that causes people to have a distorted view of how their body appears. Evidence on the longterm effects of the procedure is limited, and many studies are funded by the cosmetic surgery industry. Meanwhile, representations of normal vulvas are rare.
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A worrying trend has appeared with pre-teens seeking medical advice and surgery over the shape and size of the private parts, doctors have revealed. Health professionals believe adult content, such as pornography, is influencing young girls and is having a negative effect on them. Paquita de Zulueta, a GP with more than 30 years experience, said she had only seen demand grow in young girls in recent years. In a bid to try and stem the flow of unnecessary surgery, she believes it should only be performed on women and girls who have a medical need. Naomi Crouch, a gynaecology specialist, echoed Dr Zulueta, blaming pornographic content for leading to insecurities. She said: "Girls will sometimes come out with comments 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. But she raised fears thats GPs may be unnecessarily referring girls for surgery on their vaginas, known as a labiaplasty. It is rare for young girls to need this operation for medial reasons, and Dr Crouch said she was yet to come across a case. But some defended the surgery, with plastic surgeon Miles Berry saying: "It can change people fundamentally, the feelings they have about themselves, their confidence and self-esteem.
Please refresh the page and retry. She said: "Girls will sometimes come out with comments 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. S he said she is yet to see a young girl who needs the operation. Paquita de Zulueta, a GP for more than 30 years, told the BBC that it is only in the past few years young women have been coming to her with concerns about the shape of their privates. She said: "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. Unbelievable that any doctor would perform this surgery on a young girl! What a shame that young girls feel this way about their bodies.
