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Love it or loathe it, ‘cosmetic gynecology’ may be here to stay STORY AND PHOTO BY GEORGIA FISHER
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ever heard of cosmetic gynecology? Well, gird your loins. For the most part, this niche medical specialty—which some liken to mutilation—is exactly as it sounds: plastic surgery to improve the appearance of one’s vagina. It’s also fodder for a story that’ll reference genitals constantly, so here goes. Years ago, when a mentor encouraged her to learn about the practice, “I was like, ‘Eh, I really don’t know about that,’” said gynecologist Elizabeth Hutson. “I don’t want to do anything just to make money. I want to help my patients.” But because she’d always respected the doctor in question, she took one of his classes. “He was so meticulous,” Hutson said of gynecologist Red Alinsod, whose practice is in Laguna Beach. Just as stunning was feedback she began to get from her clients in Reno. “They’re among my happiest patients,” said Hutson, who seems to be the only local gynecologist offering cosmetic work alongside standard OB-GYN care. “They’ve had something that’s bothered them their whole lives,” she said, “or they’ve had babies, and things [haven’t been] the same. It’s really a cool thing.” Labiaplasty, which amounts to shortening or altering the inner and/ 16 | RN&R |
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or outer labia, is a common request. So’s vaginoplasty, which can involve tightening the area after childbirth. “People don’t know who to go to,” Hutson said. “They’re told by everyone that everything looks normal—it’s fine, it’s in the normal range—and that’s true, but it’s not functioning the way they want it to if they have long labia, or if their vagina is kind of lax. It’s pushing or pulling or rubbing, and it’s driving them crazy. So who am I to say it’s normal?” Practical benefits are part of the picture, in other words, which is why some of Hutson’s cosmetic work doubles as standard medical care. Plastic surgeons offer “vaginal rejuvenation,” too, including Reno doctor Phillip Dahan, who’s apparently been at it for 17 years. If that’s surprising, maybe it shouldn’t be. “People go to work and say, ‘Oh, I had a nose job,’” said Dahan’s assistant, Madison Wilson. “It’s watercooler talk. But ‘I had my labia done’ isn’t really the same thing.”
Eye of the beholder Female genital mutilation has made headlines for decades, generating nonprofits and new legislation, including in Nevada. According to the World Health Organization, FGM “includes procedures that intentionally alter or cause injury to the female
genital organs for non-medical reasons,” such as removal of the clitoris, and all but sealing the vaginal opening. It’s chilling, violent stuff steeped in old-world traditions, usually endured by girls younger than 15. The W.H.O.’s definition of mutilation is also broad enough to cover piercings, and could technically include cosmetic gynecology, depending on how it’s read. (The organization’s media office didn’t respond to a short-notice request for comment on this story.) Meanwhile, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has published a committee opinion on vaginal plastic surgery—and you can bet it’s not sunshine and rainbows. “We aren’t fans,” an ACOG spokeswoman said in an email as she forwarded the information. Understatement. “Over the past several years,” reads an official press release, “an increasing number of physicians have been offering various types of vaginal surgeries that are marketed to women as ways to enhance genital appearance and sexual gratification. Some of these procedures, such as ‘vaginal rejuvenation,’ appear to be modifications of traditional vaginal surgical procedures for genuine medical conditions.” Treatments for pelvic prolapse and chronic irritation are on the go-ahead list, as is the reversal of FGM and
drawing out the word. “That’s how I trained. How can you go against that sort of thing?” You can hear a little smile in her voice, though. She always seems to have one.
“female genital cutting.” But the list has its limits. “Many women don’t realize that the appearance of external genitals varies significantly from woman to woman,” added doctor and committee member Abbey Berenson. “As OB-GYNs, we know this to be the case from years of experience.” Terms like “designer vaginoplasty,” “revirginRina Netuschil, Dr. Elizabeth Hutson and Neece Boyden in the Gynecoligsts of Reno office. ation,” and “G-spot amplification,” are being bandied about, ACOG members complained in their Hutson’s office, for its part, is published opinion, and all without an unusually upbeat place. There’s medical necessity or much peeran absence of ego as she introduces reviewed study. her staff—a happy, joking bunch of
Snip, snip Hutson is well aware of the controversy. She said any genital-mutilation references are way off the mark, but that ACOG’s stance should be acknowledged. “That’s my college,” she said,
women who meditate together once a week, and barbecue out back when the weather’s nice. Art is everywhere, from fashion photography and modern décor in the lobby-to-ceiling decorations you’ll only see if you’re face-up on an exam table. Hutson shares the space with gynecologist Pamela Netuschil, her
