Office Procedures in Cosmetic Gynaecology

Female genital cosmetic surgery is a set of multiple procedures focused on improving genital appearance, structure, and function. Sexual dysfunction affects a large proportion of the female population and appears to be associated with distorted genital anatomy although what women perceive as normal varies vastly depending on cultural and social beliefs. Cosmetic gynaecology office procedures are simple, quick, and effective solutions to improve sexual function as well as body image with minimal interventions and minimal side-effects. In this narrative review, we present these widely used minimally invasive aesthetic gynaecology interventions, focusing on their efficacy, and reported complications. Recommendations regarding heath professionals’ approach and ethical issues arising are also discussed.

Female Genital Cosmetic Surgery: Legitimate Refinement or Illegal Mutilation?

The aim of this article is to assess whether Female Genital Cosmetic Surgery (FGCS), which refers to procedures which change the structure and appearance of healthy female genitalia for non-medical reasons, violates the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003, in the light of CPS guidance issued in 2019 and literature regarding the motivations of women seeking FGCS and its effectiveness. The paper concludes that FGCS does, prima facie, constitute FGM and argues that the medical exception contained in the legislation should seldom be available – but based on CPS guidance, a criminal prosecution will rarely be in the public interest. The article ends by asserting that the distinction drawn in practice (if not in law) between the treatment of western and non-western women is problematic, not only because it is discriminatory, but because tolerating FGCS may serve to legitimise FGM and result in the circumvention of the FGM Act 2003.

Re-thinking the Zero Tolerance Approach to FGM/C: the Debate Around Female Genital Cosmetic Surgery

Purpose of Review To examine the ‘zero tolerance’ policy for female genital cutting (FGM/C) in the international health community in light of the growing popularity of FGCS (female genital cosmetic surgery) worldwide. Recent Findings ‘Traditional’ FGM/C performed in Egypt and Sudan and cosmetic labiaplasty performed in Europe, the Americas, and Antipodes by medically trained gynaecologists and plastic surgeons are based on similar aesthetic logics: labia minora that protrude beyond the labia majora are deemed ugly, masculine, and ‘abnormal’. Drawing on the burgeoning medical, social science, and humanities literature surrounding labiaplasty, the paper documents the narrowing of aesthetic standards governing ‘normal’ genital appearance and finds that, in addition to adult women, thousands of (mainly Caucasian) adolescents have undergone these operations whose long-term health consequences are unknown. Summary Western heteronormativity, gender binarism, ageism, and the colonial association of protruding labia minora with animality contribute to body image insecurities and fuel the labiaplasty phenomenon, despite the ethical challenge that the procedures are clearly defined by the WHO as type II (a–c) female genital mutilations.