Labiaplasty is exploding in popularity, but consumers aren’t always thinking about the possible risks involved, says the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists—which is why they issued a warning to the public last week that these are not “accepted” or “routine” procedures.

“What we’re concerned about is that there is no safety or efficacy data for these procedures,” says Dr. Cheryl Iglesia, director of Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery at Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C. “There are no studies in peer-reviewed journals that show long-term outcomes.”

The number of overall cosmetic plastic surgeries has surged more than 400 percent in the past decade, and in the past few years labiaplasty has emerged as one of the most popular procedures. Although there are sound medical reasons for the procedure, it’s being requested more these days for solely cosmetic reasons, which has the OB/GYN organization worried enough to speak out about it.

Newsweek’s reasons for the uptick in labiaplasties seem anecdotal at best, although we’d like to think there’s no place advertising and body-image-manipulation can’t reach. The Chicago Tribune article is a bit more detailed, offering views from both sides of the medical community as well as from patients who have had the procedure.

We hope you can appreciate how many immature and ribald jokes we had to delete from this post before publishing it.

“Women urged to shun trendy plastic surgery” [Chicago Tribune]
“Be Careful Down There” [Newsweek]

(Photo: Getty)

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