Liposuction is often done in conjunction with other body contouring procedures such as a tummy tuck or arm and thigh lifts.  However, it can also be done on its own under local or general anaesthetics.  Liposuction is NOT a weight loss solution but rather a great adjunct to a restorative health plan including nutrition and exercise to improve overall well-being and appearance.

• Surgery Associated Risk. All surgical procedures and anaesthetics carry some risk. The risk is generally low but things like blood clots and allergic reactions can occur.
• Liposuction Associated Risk. Liposuction is generally regarded as a low risk procedure with liposuction but in extremely rare circumstances afat embolism can occur.  This is like a blood clot except that it involves a clot of fat that works its way into the system. The rare cases that have been documented involve patients with extremely large volumes of fat requiring liposuction.

Accordingly, Dr. Kim will NOT undertake large volume liposuction, we believe this is not safe practice.

• Excessive BleedingThis collection of blood in the wound is called a Haematoma and is the commonest complication and this can happen for many reasons including inherited bleeding disorders. If it happens it rarely causes major problems except the need to go back to the operating theatre to stop the offending vessel bleeding
• FluidCollection in the wound (Seroma).  While some fluid retention as fairly normal it is usually reabsorbed into the body. It only becomes an issue if it is excessive.
• Contour problems– Whilst liposuction is great at addressing local problems of fat that won’t go away there can be unevennessof surface contour afterwards. This can lead to dimpling of the skin and lumps that may need to treated either in surgical or non-surgical ways. There can be areas of change in the skin colour due to the break-down of blood but thankfully this is extremely rare.

Labioplasty and genital surgery in general is often a very emotive topic. Women who undergo this surgery and surgeons, both trained and untrained and ethical and unethical have all been criticised in the past in the media.  Genital surgery still remains a hot topic of discussion today particularly for woman.  

So what is Labioplasty all about?

Labioplasty is surgery designed to change the shape of labia, the inner and sometime outer lips of vulva.  

Our own Medicare system recognises the medical need for this by providing an item number for which you can use your private health insurance to have the cost of the hospital and operating theatre fee covered if it can be demonstrated that some aspect of the labia such as size is causing functional problems.  

A lot of women seek this surgery because of discomfort during exercise, during intimate contact and even just day to day living that interferes with their quality of life.  This is no one else’s business but yours and we will absolutely support your journey.

There is another dimension to Labioplasty in our modern society.  Through its easy availability on the internet ideas and “norms” from pornography have infiltrated into society and impacted the attitudes of men and women, both young and old.  Some women feel that their vagina should look certain way and even feel pressured to seek surgery to “correct” it to an ideal in their mind.

We encourage you to carefully consider the risks of the surgery before making the decision to undergo surgery.  We will ensure all your questions are answered and support you with the decisions you make.

Give yourself plenty of time to carefully consider all aspect of the surgery.  As difficult as it is to define, surgery for purely cosmetic reasons must be, undertaken only when you as the patient and we as surgeons are completely aligned in our thinking.

 Feel free to Ask Us.

• Infection– specific instructions will be given to you for postoperative period but risk of infection in Labioplasty is low.
• Bleeding and haematoma(collection of blood)- The risk of this is low in Labioplasty provided you’re otherwise healthy and on no blood thinning medication or diet. 
  There are a number of factors that predisposes one to increased risk of bleeding- blood thinner medications, fish oil, many food substance starting with “G“- garlic, ginkgo, ginseng.
• Change in sensation– Incisions are carefully designed to minimise the risk of this happening but any operation near labia carries this risk.
• Asymmetry– No 2 breasts, eyes and ears are the same and neither are the lips of your vagina. Perfect symmetry is an unrealistic goal but a matching pair is a realistic and deliverable goal.
• Poor scarring and wound healing– surgical plan is made in such a way to minimise this risk and the wound is repaired in layers. This risk although present is thankfully low.

Labioplasty can be done under either general anaesthetic or local anaesthetics, although we recommend you have a quick general anaesthetic in the accredited hospitals that Dr Kim operates in.

The operation takes about an hour and a half and you can head home on the same day. The swelling is expected to last for a couple of weeks and we advise you to have this time off work as it can be uncomfortable sitting down.

It is often helpful to sleep the first few nights after the surgery with a pillow under your bottom to keep the swelling to minimum and an ice compress for fifteen minutes every hour for the first day or two.   

After a few days moving about and getting on with your life becomes relatively normal but any activities putting undue pressure in the area such as bike riding,  intimate contact or intercourse should be avoided for six to eight weeks.

There are two main surgical procedures employed in doing Labioplasty. The traditional method which is to simply trim off the excess with a resulting scar that spans the length of the labia. 

The Newer “wedge” removal techniques involves positioning the scar in such a way that the scar is better hidden and sensation is preserved as much as possible.