Beauty is a relative concept, but discomfort and displeasure during sex are difficult to deal with. Can medical procedures help? ## Labiaplasty This is a change in the shape of the labia and the skin around the vulva. The procedure is performed on mature women with congenital abnormalities, anomalies in the development of the external genitalia, or damage after childbirth or trauma. __What is it for?__ This surgery is sometimes done for a purely aesthetic effect. ===More often, it helps to avoid discomfort when playing sports, having sex, and even when wearing tight clothes. __What are the risks?__ The surgery is not difficult, but the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology warns that up to seven percent of such surgeries lead to complications including inflammatory processes, scarring, and loss of sensitivity. ## Clitoral plastic surgery The procedure involves dissecting or removing the fold covering the head of the clitoris. After a small surgical incision, the clitoris is partially or completely shown from under the skin fold. __What is it for?__ The main purpose is to allow a woman to experience sexual pleasure. __What are the risks?__ After surgery, a period of rest is necessary so that the tissues heal completely and are no longer painful to the touch. This period typically lasts for one month, and complications can be avoided if all hygiene norms are observed. ## Vaginal wall plasty Surgery may be required for a woman when the walls of the vagina are lowered. In most cases, this occurs with the anterior wall, the bladder, and the urethra all involved at the same time. The most common cause of the problem is childbirth as well as an increase in intra-abdominal pressure. It can develop due to a neoplasm, prolonged constipation, intense physical labor, removal of the uterus, or the absence of reliable fixation of the vaginal wall. There are two types of surgery: - Colporraphy: in which "extra" tissue is removed - Colpoperineorafia: suturing of the posterior vaginal wall and plasty of the perineal muscles __What is it for?__ The surgery helps to fix urinary incontinence, painful sensations during sex, frequent and painful urination, problems with defecation, and the feeling of a foreign body in the vagina. __What are the risks?__ These surgeries are very serious and are carried out under general anesthesia. The surgery results in the woman only being able to give birth through cesarean section. The recovery period lasts for about a month, during which the patient is not allowed to have sex. ## Perineal scar correction Intervention is required after childbirth if perineal tears have occurred. As a rule, doctors foresee this situation in advance and make an episiotomy—an artificial dissection of tissues with a straight cut—but this is not always possible. __What is it for?__ Sometimes the suture, which is in the area of the entrance to the vagina, greatly narrows its diameter, and a woman experiences pain at the beginning of sexual intercourse—especially when lubrication is scarce. In some cases of severe ruptures, scars remain on the walls of the vagina and cervix, which can also cause serious suffering. __What are the risks?__ Doctors typically dissect scars with a scalpel, laser, or other special tools, all done under local anesthesia. Complications in the form of keloid scars are possible in exceptional cases, which are related to the peculiarities of the structure of tissues and their elasticity. ## Intimate filling This is a procedure during which the doctor performs injections into a woman's genitals in order to improve their appearance or function. Hyaluronic acid is used as a filler. __What is it for?__ The substance keeps the skin and mucous membranes of the labia toned. Intimate filling is usually done with age and postpartum changes, vaginal dryness, a wide vagina, asymmetry of the large labia, and reduced tone of the genital skin. __What are the risks?__ If the procedure is performed by an experienced specialist, the risks are minimal. Swelling and discomfort in the first days after injections are possible, but both are normal and gradually pass without any consequences.