A History of Labial Reduction (Labiaplasty)
It’s just been in the past decade that Labial Reduction labiaplasty has really exploded as a worldwide phenomenon. However, the procedure, in one form or another, has been around much longer than that.
To trace Labial Reduction ‘s history, we first must examine the history of plastic surgery itself.
A lot of people are under the misconception that we use the term "plastic" surgery because plastic means something that is artificial. In truth, the word comes from the word "plastikos," an ancient Greek word meaning to give form or to mold. And so, because the surgeon "molds" the person’s body part, he is performing "plastikos" surgery.
Plastic surgery can refer to either reconstructive surgery and aesthetic surgery. Labia Reconstructive or reduction refers to correcting some deformity in the structure, whereas in aesthetic surgery, the person is seeking to look better as a result of the procedure.
Mankind’s story is one of constantly trying to improve him or herself. Because of this, plastic surgery is an art which goes back centuries–as both men and women attempted to improve their physical looks or abilities through alterations of the body.
Historically, we can find written evidence of medical treatment for injuries to the face going back as far as 4,000 years in the past. As early as 800 B.C., we see evidence of physicians in India performing skin grafts as part of reconstructive surgery.
For hundreds of years, progress in plastic surgery moved at a snail’s pace. Only in the 19th and 20th centuries did the specialty begin to forge ahead scientifically and medically, especially in Europe and the United States.
The first well-known plastic surgeon in the United States was Dr. John Mettauer, who was born in the 18th century and practiced during the early 19th century. He is noted for performing the first cleft palate operation in the Americas.
The prevalence of war in the 1800s and 1900s was a driving force behind plastic surgery, as the conflicts led to tragic injuries that doctors sought to correct. World War I especially lifted plastic surgery to higher heights. All of which leads us to the rise of Labial Reduction surgery, or labiaplasty (also spelled labioplasty). The first such procedures involved amputating excessive labia. In those early years, when the techniques were more primitive, the Labial Reduction surgery, labiaplasties themselves caused cosmetic problems, such as an unnatural appearance, a vaginal opening which is too tight, pigment problems, irregularities, and other issues. This gave rise to the need for other operations, such as the wedge excision, which help correct problems of color / pigmentations and irregularities. This wedge excision, though, introduced its own problems: scar shortening, or "contracture," producing a notch along the labia minor’s free border, plus open wounds and breakdown. As a result, operations were developed to address these problems, including a modified wedge excision (known as a "Z-plasty"). In this new form of wedge excision, the woman’s redundant labia is zig-zagged so as to avoid an unnatural tightening and notching. Other methods involve just shortening the labia from the periphery in along the border of the labia. Thus not jeopardizing the blood supply and sensation of the labia. Still other methods involve removing the excess in the middle of the labia along its lenghth thus preserving the original border. Thus one must discuss with their doctor what the goal is and then the appropriate method can be chosen.
Today, Labial Reduction surgery is a finely-honed craft within the overall practice of cosmetic surgery. Still, as with all other areas, the future doubtless holds new innovations to make it safer and more effective.
