‘They do it for sexual satisfaction,’ says surgeon on rise in vaginal rejuvenation

Entertainer Zodwa Wabantu recently raised eyebrows after she posted a video of herself receiving vaginal rejuvenation, raising questions as to what exactly the procedure has done for her lady bits.

She said at the time: “No man should leave a woman. No man leaves Zodwa Wabantu.”

Though many at the time thought vaginal rejuvenation was just a Zodwa Wabantu thing, it turns out that the procedure has recently gained popularity, though breast augmentation, liposuction and tummy tucks still take the prize as the most sought-after cosmetic operations.

Dr Alexandra Grubnik, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon from Nip Tuck at the Netcare Milpark Hospital and Netcare Rosebank Hospital, said: “Globally, it’s the procedure that has increased the most. They do yearly statistics, all the societies, of how many procedures have been performed and obviously the most common ones are breast augmentation, liposuction and tummy tucks, but they also measure from year to year how much the increase was. The increase from year to year in genital rejuvenation has gone up over 30%, which is quite significant.”

Vaginal rejuvenation is different from breast augmentation, liposuction, and tummy tucks in that the effect after the former procedure can only be felt, while the other three can be felt and seen by people.

“Younger women do it for sexual satisfaction, they feel tighter. It also helps with a lot of older women who have stress incontinence. It’s when they feel they need to go right now and it helps because it tightens the tissues.”

There is invasive and non-invasive surgery for both the vaginoplasty (internal) and labioplasty – trimming the labia to make them shorter, and, to some, “nicer”.

Tightening the vagina surgically can be high risk because of the infections and contraction – everything shrinks and tightens. As a result, most women, such as Zodwa Wabantu, opt for the non-surgical procedure – radiofrequency tightening.

“It takes eight minutes and you can tighten the labia and the vaginal canal and it’s brilliant because patients feel the difference immediately after one session. So you have four sessions, which are spaced monthly, but patients feel the difference after one session,” said Dr Grubnik.

According to the doctor, labioplasty has nothing to do with the G-spot and clitoris, so the sensitivity of the lady parts are not affected at all.

“Making the labia smaller, whether surgically or non-surgically, will not affect the sensitivity. We can do it non-surgically with radiofrequency tightening. It’s becoming more and more popular and a lot of women want it,” said Dr Grubnik.

Though it is advisable to call your chosen cosmetic surgeon for full prices – especially where surgical procedures are concerned – the average price for a vaginal canal procedure is R4,400.

An introitus procedure (the opening that leads to the vaginal canal) will, on average, cost R1,100 while a labium majora procedure is around R1,100. A procedure on the perineum (the area between the anus and the vulva) will cost on average R1,100.

Having a special interest in breast surgery, breast reconstruction, body contouring and cosmetic surgery, Dr Grubnik completed her training at the University of the Witwatersrand with a Masters of Medicine in Plastic Surgery (MMed) and is a Fellow of the College of Plastic Surgeons of South Africa (FC Plast Surg SA).

She also holds full registration with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) and the General Medical Council (GMC) of the UK.

Also read: ‘I’ve had one man asking for a scrotum skin reduction’

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