Most women considering genital aesthetic procedures desire to achieve a smooth, unwrinkled skin which does not look saggy when they stand with legs together.
It is possible to achieve this desired appearance by completely eliminating the flabbiness and wrinkles on the labia minora and labia majora, and by performing fat grafting to the labia majora. Fat transfer and augmentation of labia majora is also known as ‘vaginal fat injection’, ‘labial fat filling’ or ‘vulvar autologous fat transfer’.
Labial fat grafting operations performed in conjunction with labiaplasty operations are also involved in ‘Barbie vagina surgery', which is highly demanded by patients.
In women, the labia majora are the outer parts of the labia minora, which are bilaterally raised areas covered with hairs. In medical terminology, this area is known as “labium majus”. ‘Labia majora’ is the plural form of this term. The labia majora is also referred to as ‘outer lips’, ‘outer genital lips’, and ‘labia externa’. The labia majora are the anatomical extension of the upper mons pubis. Labial fat grafting is also known as ‘labia majora fat transfer’, 'labia majora fat grafting', or ‘labia majora augmentation procedure’.
Sagging, wrinkled or collapsed labia majora is a complaint that usually increases with age. However, sometimes these can also be seen at a young age due to poor collagen structure. Especially after obesity surgeries, which have become popular in recent years, excesses in the skin become unsightly in the labia majora. Labia majora hypertrophy is most often seen in the following cases:
In cases of severe labia majora hypertrophy and collapsed labia majora, surgical tightening and reduction operations can be performed with ‘majoraplasty'. This procedure also known as ‘surgical labia majora tightening’ is a permanent solution.
Labial filler applications are performed in patients who have mild labia majora hypertrophy and superficial collapses. These procedures, applied as ‘labial fat grafting’ and ‘hyaluronic acid filler injection to the labia majora’, are known as ‘labial augmentation’.
To summarize if there are excessive stretches due to excess skin tissue, these excess tissue is removed with a surgical procedure called ‘majoraplasty’.
However, if there are conditions such as collapses and mild wrinkles due to decreased fat and collagen in the tissue, the aesthetic appearance can be improved by using the fat grafting technique or applying hyaluronic acid fillers in the area.
There is a rapid increase in the demand for labial fat grafting. It can be performed because of medical and cosmetic reasons. The most common reasons include:
Labial fat grafting is a procedure performed under general or local anesthesia, and under sterile conditions in a hospital or clinical setting. Patients are discharged 5-6 hours after day-case hospitalization.
The process consists of 3 stages:
The abdominal area is the most preferred area for fat harvesting. However, it may not be easy to harvest abdominal fat in slim patients who do not have abdominal fat, or patients who have undergone abdominoplasty. In such cases, fat can also be harvested from the side of the abdomen, inner thigh, outer thigh and mons pubis areas.
The procedure performed to thin the mons pubis area is called ‘mons pubis correction’ or ‘mons pubis reduction'. After a thinning process, the fat harvested is injected into the desired areas.
In the 6th month after labial fat grafting, the fat tissue maintains 30-40% of its volume. In other words, two-thirds of the fat harvested melts within the first 6 months. The permanence of the remaining one-third can be up to 5 years. In some cases, this permanence period may be shorter or longer. In patients who lose weight fast, also the fat tissue injected into the labia majora melts after the procedure. Losses can be much more in smokers and those who do not eat regularly. Therefore, a little higher amount of fat is injected, taking this loss into consideration during the procedure. The procedure can be repeated at intervals of several years in patients who want. In labial augmentation procedure involving the use of fillers, the permanence period generally ranges from 6 to 8 months.
The surgical technique used by the surgeon is also very important in increasing permanence. The important issues in this regard include:
On the other hand, there are opinions that adding PRP to the fat can also increase the permanence.
The oxygen and blood flow should be kept at the maximum level to maintain the vitality of the fat tissue injected into any part of the body. In order to maintain these flows, it is recommended to eat a sufficient and well-balanced diet, avoid smoking and alcohol consumption, pay attention to water consumption, exercise regularly, and take certain food supplements. Even under these conditions, the vitality ratio of the fat is around 40% at the end of first 6 months. Special equipment is used for the labial fat grafting. Experience in this procedure is of great importance.
Post-treatment care is very important in labial fat grafting, for achieving rapid healing and increasing the permanence of the fat. Ice application in the early post-treatment period is recommended. It is recommended to take antibiotics and pain relievers at home. The bandage applied to the fat harvesting area with intent to prevent bleeding is removed after 48 hours.
The post-discharge recommendations include avoiding hot showers, not rubbing the genital area, and avoiding blows for a week; and not using thermal springs, hot baths, and hot pools, not wearing tight pants and avoiding horse riding and cycling for a month. There is also a one-month restriction on sexual intercourse and heavy sports.
It is also recommended to stop smoking because it adversely affect both collagen production and nutrition of the adipose tissue.
After fat grafting, complications related to both the fat harvesting area and the fat injection area may develop. The fat harvesting procedure should never be performed on extremely slim patients who do not have adequate amount of fat, and on those who have problems related to bleeding and coagulation.
Bleeding, hematoma, infection, and collapses in the form of local dimpling may occur in the fat harvesting area. Despite being rare, bleeding, tissue infection (cellulitis),fat embolism, fat necrosis, calcification, fat cyst, tissue irregularities or asymmetry can be observed in the fat injection area. This procedure is a specific procedure that should be performed by experienced physicians.
The fat grafting procedure performed on the genital area (pivot table).
In genital cosmetic surgery, combined procedures always give better results. Labiaplasty, vaginoplasty, perineoplasty, genital PRP procedures can be performed in conjunction with the augmentation of the labia majora, based on the needs of the patient and the condition of the tissue.
According to our own statistical studies, the patient’ satisfaction levels are quite high after labial fat grafting. Especially for patients considering "Barbie vagina surgery", it provides many benefits such as forming the cleft of venus, rejuvenating the labia majora and giving the area a plump and sexy appearance.
You can have genital fat grafting (fat transfer) in our clinics in Turkey. Our clinics have "health tourism authorization certificate" by the Turkish Republic of Ministry of Health. For more information about barbie vagina and genital fat transfer in Turkey, please text to our whatsapp nr: +90 530 763 34 00
In this section, you will find some of the hands-on aesthetic genital surgery (cosmetic gynecology) courses, trainings and meetings given by Assoc. Prof. Süleyman Eserdağ.
Assoc. Prof. Süleyman Eserdağ, MDCosmetic Gynecologist & Sexual Therapist
