Vaginoplasty: Difference between revisions

A vaginoplasty is a medical procedure, typically where doctors create a vagina from skin and tissues from the penis and scrotum; however, there are many forms of vaginoplasties. The doctor creates a clitoris using the tissue from the head of the penis; the majority of [[transfeminine]] people who have vaginoplasty can still orgasm with the same intensity or greater intensity after recovering from the procedure.<ref name="HHB">{{Cite web |title=Sexual health and gender-affirming care |last1=Boskey |first1=Elizabeth |last2=Ganor |first2=Oren |work=Harvard Health Blog |date=7 January 2021 |access-date=27 January 2021 |url= https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/sexual-health-and-gender-affirming-care-2021010721688 |quote=Vaginoplasty restructures the head of the penis into a clitoris and creates a vaginal cavity. In one study of 119 vaginoplasty patients, 90% of transfeminine people who had the surgery reported that they were still able to have an orgasm, and 75% said their orgasms were either the same or more intense than before.}}</ref><ref name="Hess-etal">{{cite journal | last=Hess | first=J. | last2=Henkel | first2=A. | last3=Bohr | first3=J. | last4=Rehme | first4=C. | last5=Panic | first5=A. | last6=Panic | first6=L. | last7=Rossi Neto | first7=R. | last8=Hadaschik | first8=B. | last9=Hess | first9=Y. | title=Sexuality after Male-to-Female Gender Affirmation Surgery | journal=BioMed Research International | publisher=Hindawi Limited | volume=2018 | date=27 May 2018 | issn=2314-6133 | doi=10.1155/2018/9037979 | pages=1–7 |url=https://www.hindawi.com/journals/bmri/2018/9037979/}}</ref> Tissue from the foreskin is used to create the vaginal opening (introitus), and skin from the penis and scrotum is used to create inner and outer labia.<ref name="UofUtah">{{Cite web |title=Transfeminine Bottom Surgery |author= |work=University of Utah Health |date= |access-date=27 January 2021 |url= https://healthcare.utah.edu/transgender-health/gender-affirmation-surgery/vaginoplasty.php}}</ref>

Some time after the vaginoplasty surgery, the patient needs to start a regimen of dilating their vagina, and continue this for one year. Physical therapy for the patient's pelvic floor is also important post-surgery.<ref name="UofUtah" /><ref name="UofUtah-dilation">{{Cite web |title=Dilation Instructions |author= |work=University of Utah Health |date= |access-date=27 January 2021 |url= https://healthcare.utah.edu/transgender-health/docs/vaginoplasty-dilator-instructions.pdf}}</ref>

People who already have vaginas can also undergo a procedure called vaginoplasty, although in that case it is a wholly different procedure which, instead of creating a vagina, merely "tightens the vagina and surrounding muscles and soft tissues" in order to increase sexual satisfaction.<ref name="MCVS">{{Cite web |title=Vaginoplasty - Fit and Fabulous |author= |work=Manhattan Center for Vaginal Surgery |date= |access-date=22 February 2021 |url= https://manhattancenterforvaginalsurgery.com/vaginoplasty/}}</ref>