20 Days After Labiaplasty

I had just gotten out of the shower and was checking my messages when I had the thought: "Since I'm naked and holding my phone, I may as well take a photo of my twat". So, here it is, twenty days after the labiaplasty surgery:

It's settled down a fair bit, the right and left sides are looking a lot more even in thickness, which is good. One thing that bothers me slightly is how my left side labia is almost 'cut' in half - you can see how it folds away and the reappears about halfway down its length. When I feel it, it seems like the labia was almost cut down completely at that point. 

I'm still going to give it some time, and perhaps it just folds that way because of the position I sit in when I take these photos, but I really don't like the idea that my labia were "over trimmed". The only reason why I think my surgeon may have done that is because I asked her to cut all the brown parts out just before surgery. Maybe I will contact her and ask if that's what happened.

In other news, it looks like my private health insurance will pay for some of my surgery after all! They're at least going to pay for the hospital admission, minus the $250 excess. That means I'm expecting about $1200 back in a rebate. I won't go into the full details yet, because nothing has been finalised yet, but it means my upcoming cost breakdown post will be a bit delayed. I'm very relieved about being covered after all. Some miscommunication seems to have happened between my doctor's rooms and the hospital.


Another post I want to write soon is what I've learned from Reddit when I linked this blog in an AMA (Ask Me Anything) submission to /r/Sex and /r/TwoXChromosomes. Some of the comments there were pretty illuminating. I want to try one more AMA on the much widely read /r/IAMA board first though, so I'll hold off on that post til I gather more thoughts from the Reddit community.

But those posts will have to wait for now. I'll blog again later.

Follow-up appointment with my surgeon

Today I had the follow-up appointment with my plastic surgeon. The first thing she asked was if there was any trace of infection. Nope, none. How's the pain? Really haven't had any. After one week, the only time I took painkillers was for menstrual cramps. She was impressed. Apparently I have a high pain threshold. That's possibly true but I also think she just looked after my very well during surgery :)

My surgeon had a look at my vulva and was gushing about how good it looked. I was a little surprised about how pleased she was. Was she talking herself up or was it really that good? I brought up how I thought the right side looked a little swollen and rumpled (like I said in my last few posts). She agreed and pointed out that it's likely to go through dramatic changes over the next few weeks and that it's only around the six week mark that things will start to look more permanent. I had heard this previously, so I guess I better just wait.

I still have a few sutures in there which she thinks should fall out within a few days. Apparently I should be a bit more rough with a towel after showers - no need to just pat dry anymore. Apparently I can also start going back to more normal routine. I'm a little nervous about starting exercising again though. I may wait a few more weeks for that. Then again, I did just use a vibrator yesterday...maybe it is okay.

Here is today's photo, a vulva apparently worth gushing over:

You can see the last suture there on the bottom left of my labia. It's looking a little better compared to yesterday, but I still think it looked best just after the operation. I guess I'll take weekly photos from now on to compare changes.

I have another appointment to see her in about six weeks. I'm still very happy I had this procedure done. No pain, minimal bleeding and great management by my surgeon. I've even done crazy stuff like skydiving and playing with vibrators within a week of the surgery, with no negative effects.

I'll post again less frequently from now on, but feel free to ask any questions in the comments section.

So...uhhhh...everything still works :D

It's been a week since my surgery. Today I was horny as hell so I decided to play with one of my vibrator toys. I just wanted to report, that ...ahem.....everything is working as normal :)

I wasn't hugely worried about nerve damage to the clitoris but I have heard horror stories about others having bad outcomes after labiaplasty. It wasn't the best orgasm I've ever had but my vulva has been through a lot this last week. I probably pushed it too much. But I'm happy. It felt great and it's all normal. 

Here's today's photo (pre-vibrator fun):

Still a little swollen, but like I said in my last post, I'm not worried yet. I'll see how it settles over the next few weeks. Tomorrow I meet with my plastic surgeon for a follow-up appointment.

Five days later

I've been interstate on a trip - with no problems post surgery, with the exception of itching (which I was warned about). Sitting in the plane and car for several hours wasn't a problem (which is great, since my surgeon suggested that I would have problems with that) and I even did it without any icepack. 

I have been seeing a bit of white discharge over the weekend - I think this might be thrush. It's not bothering me yet though, so I'm going to continue with the antibiotics.

There really hasn't been much pain from this operation at all! The only time it hurts a little is when I pat my vulva dry after the shower or toilet, but that seems perfectly reasonable. So the only real downside of travelling so soon after surgery was that I wasn't able to swim at the beach on hot days! Oh, and I didn't have much alcohol either, given that I was taking antibiotics and anti-inflammatories. But that didn't stop me from enjoying the rest of my trip - I even went bungee jumping with no issues :)

Here is my vulva five days after the operation, post menstrual cycle and post bungee jumping!

To be honest, I think it's become more swollen and almost rumpled since the last photo I took. I know that the shape of it is meant to change pretty drastically over the first few weeks - and maybe jumping off a platform with a rope tied to my legs didn't help it. Hopefully it'll settle down soon.

The blood you can see there isn't menstrual blood - it's from the sutures. I had just had a shower when I took this photo, and cleaning it was a little painful. One suture also fell out, which may be why it's bleeding. I'm not too concerned about the blood - more about the look and feel of it. 

The edges of my labia seem harder to touch - I guess it's a mix of sutures and scar tissue - but I assume it'll get softer again over time. 

I'll be seeing my plastic surgeon again later this week. I'll be taking a few more photos until then.

The morning after

I slept fairly comfortably overnight. I went to bed with an icepack in my panties. In the morning, there were only a few drops of blood on it and almost no discomfort. Later in the day, I noticed that there was a lot more blood, but because I was feeling a lot of cramps, I'm pretty sure it's my period and not any problems from the surgery. I took painkillers for the first time since the surgery, but only for the cramps! I've also been taking the anti-swelling and antibiotics as preventative measures.

I've done a fair bit of walking today. I had some minor errands to run. There weren't any problems while I walked around, although the icepacks were rubbing against my legs sometimes. The post-op instructions said that I should have icepacks on for 20 minutes, then off for twenty minutes, but I've pretty much just worn them until they've melted and then replaced them.

Here is a photo of my vulva the day after the operation. You can see a bit more blood in this photo but I'm sure most of it is menstrual. It looks a little bit more swollen than yesterday but I'm still very happy with the overall look. Usually when I look down there, the long, brown ends of my labia were the first thing I noticed. Today, I found myself looking further to find them, as if I just hadn't reached far enough! But nope, they're gone! Bye bye, long and uncomfortable labia!

Home from Labiaplasty Surgery

I'm home from hospital now. The labiaplasty was apparently successful. I am feeling fine - very minimal discomfort but I'm using ice packs right now as a preventative measure for the swelling that is meant to occur.

The morning started early with a 7am admission to hospital. I had been fasting since midnight for the general anaesthetic that I was going to receive. The admission went smoothly and I paid $1565 for the theatre fee and a day bed. After a while, I changed and was rolled into the operating theatre. The plastic surgeon asked if I had any last minute requests. I confirmed I wanted to have my labia shorter than the outer labia, to have them as similar in length as possible and then I asked to have all the brown parts removed. So at the last minute, I did end up having some aesthetic requests after all. 

I asked about my period and the surgeon told me that she would remove the tampon during surgery and replace it with a wrapped up icepack.

The last time I saw on the clock was 9:05am. When I woke up in the recovery room, it was 10am, so the surgery took less than an hour. In recovery, they insisted I eat some sugary soft drinks and an icy pole, which I was happy to have. I was in recovery for about 2 hours - not because I really needed to be, but because the nurse on duty wanted me to have an escort to the taxi rank. After waiting for a long time for an orderly though, she relented and I left on my own. I caught a taxi and was home by midday. I was still a little groggy from the general anaesthetic so I changed the icepack and went to bed where I slept until about 4pm. 

I'm still feeling quite comfortable - a local anaesthetic was used as well as the general. I'm not sure when it will wear off. I've already used the toilet which resulted in some slight stinging but nothing major. I patted my vulva dry with toilet paper and then washed quickly in the shower. There was a little bit of blood on the paper that wrapped around the icepack. I can't tell if it's menstrual blood or blood from the sutures, but either way, it's only a few small drops, so I'm not worried.I have been given a number of medications (which were additional expenses out of pocket) to take. These include an antibiotic, which I think is more of a preventative measure than anything. The surgeon mentioned that if I suffered thrush frequently, I shouldn't take the antibiotics, but fortunately it's not a common problem for me. I was also given anti-swelling medication and two painkillers - regular paracetemol and much stronger oxytocin. I haven't needed to take any painkillers yet and I doubt I'll need the oxytocin at all.

I've taken a photo of my vulva now that it's been about 8 hours since the operation. It's looking significantly smaller and I can't see any of the old brown patches, which I'm very happy about. I'm told that the shape will change over the next few weeks as swelling and scarring settles - although the area is meant to scar very well. I'm planning to take daily photos for a few more days and then maybe one a week to see how it settles over time.

Overall, I have to say I'm feeling pretty happy about it all :)

No insurance, but still going ahead.

Well, the nurse called and didn't have the best news. Looks like my health insurance was too basic to cover labiaplasty. Apparently it will pay for some of the private hospital stay and anaesthetic costs, which the nurse estimated would be around $300. This means that the labiaplasty surgery will leave me out of pocket by about $5000, after the Medicare and private health insurance rebates. I guess I'll just have to dip into my savings.

On the plus side, the nurse said that having my period isn't a problem. I'll need to wear a tampon. After surgery, patients typically wear pads to catch any light bleeding from the sutures anyway.

Well, it's going ahead. Tomorrow I will hand in my admission forms to the private hospital and on Wednesday I will go in for an early morning labiaplasty! Wish me luck.