How Bad Is Labiaplasty Revision Recovery?
This blog addresses patients’ concerns regarding labiaplasty revision recovery by detailing why an initial labiaplasty might have been painful (over-excision, poor suturing, etc.), before describing how the procedure and recovery period will go with an experienced labiaplasty revision surgeon like Dr. Gary Alter.
6 Min Read:
Table of Contents
- Bounce Back After a Botched Result
- Why Was My First Labiaplasty Painful?
- What Is Labiaplasty Revision Recovery Like?
- Learn More About Corrective Labiaplasty in Beverly Hills, CA
Bounce Back After a Botched Result
Recovery is always a high-priority concern for cosmetic surgery patients, and rightfully so, especially in the case of labiaplasty. For patients who have received undesirable results from their primary procedure, it might sound unappealing to undergo the procedure and recover again. Some patients are probably torn between wanting to restore the aesthetics and comfort of their labia with a secondary procedure and the idea of encountering more pain and discomfort after their first painful procedure.
But with labiaplasty revision expert Dr. Gary Alter, patients are treated to a compassionate and gentle experience along with a manageable recovery process.
Why Was My First Labiaplasty Painful?
When done correctly, labiaplasty should not be a painful surgery. But when you have a botched labiaplasty, your recovery and post-surgical experience are not typically the same as a successful one. Many patients can tell that their result is not correct, and may feel more discomfort than is normal. Overall, recovery after a botched labiaplasty can be difficult, usually for the following reasons:
- If your surgery resulted in open wounds or the wounds fell apart, then the raw areas are extremely painful. It can take weeks or months for the wounds to heal with pain during this time.
- The type of sutures used can cause significant irritation and pain during the healing process.
- Most commonly, the long-term pain after a botched labiaplasty is caused by excessive scarring. When an inexperienced surgeon improperly closes incisions or makes improper incisions, superficial and deep scarring can occur, which can be painful.
- Poor surgical technique can injure your tissues, which results in more irritation and swelling with resulting pain.
The Emotional Toll of a Botched Labiaplasty
Physical pain is only part of the difficulty of a botched labiaplasty. Many women experience emotional distress in equal measure. This is completely understandable: undergoing cosmetic surgery for any reason carries some emotional weight, but undergoing cosmetic surgery to correct such a private area as the labia minora can be doubly so. Pair that with the anxiety of a botched result, and it’s no wonder patients are reluctant to have a revision procedure, no matter how much they hate their botched result.
So what is there to do? First, no one can tell you what to do with your body, and if you are experiencing extreme distress over your botched result, it’s important to find support. But if you know you want to fix your botched result, there are steps you can take to find peace with it.
Choose an Expert Labiaplasty Revision Surgeon
The most important part of your revision journey is to choose the best possible surgeon for the job. You want to feel completely taken care of, safe, heard, and understood. Not only that, but you want to ensure that your surgeon is up to the task of a complex procedure such as labiaplasty revision. You’ll need to look for a true expert, such as Dr. Gary Alter.
Dr. Alter is something of a legend in the world of plastic surgery, having focused his expertise on aesthetic genital and plastic surgery. Dr. Alter is uniquely qualified to perform complex genital aesthetic, plastic, and reconstructive surgeries, like revision procedures, as he is board-certified in both urology and plastic surgery. This rare combination means he understands both the aesthetic and functional nuances of procedures like labiaplasty and labiaplasty revision.
In fact, Dr. Alter invented numerous surgical procedures and techniques to better serve patients seeking genital plastic surgery, including the central wedge labiaplasty technique. Dr. Alter has spent a large portion of his career reversing botched results from other surgeons and has invented and perfected some of the most complex procedures to provide beautiful labiaplasty revision results in even the most difficult cases.
Put Your Comfort First
Dr. Alter and his team have been providing hope, compassion, and beautiful labiaplasty revision results for over twenty years, and are adept at making sure patients are heard and cared for. Putting your trust in another surgeon after a botched result is very difficult. But when you choose an expert like Dr. Alter, much of that anxiety eases.
Dr. Alter also offers virtual consultations so patients can feel as comfortable as possible talking about their surgical experiences. His team is well-versed in providing the type of assurance and assistance that patients may need through this process as they move toward the labiaplasty result they deserve.
What Is Labiaplasty Revision Recovery Like?
It may be surprising, but labiaplasty revision recovery is not very painful at all, especially when performed by Dr. Alter. If you have a botched labiaplasty and had a painful recovery, then your impression of the process is definitely distorted. Because the repair is meticulously done without leaving open wounds, then the postoperative pain should be much less than your first operation.
In fact, Dr. Alter injects a long acting pain medicine into the surgical area at the end of the procedure, which usually eliminates almost all of the pain for 12-24 hours.
The differences between an initial labiaplasty and the revision are the careful surgery performed to correct your deformities, the personalized approach, and the years of experience using sophisticated techniques. However, the recovery process after different revisions is similar.
Labiaplasty revision is performed as an outpatient procedure, so you’ll be sent home the same day. Dr. Alter will supply you with specific recovery instructions such as the following:
- You’ll apply ice and antibiotic ointment for two days
- You can shower the first day after surgery
- After the first two days of icing and antibiotic ointment, you don’t have to do anything else
It’s pretty simple! After those first two days, your job is to rest and heal. You may feel a little discomfort, so prescription pain medications are given if needed.. Many patients only take over-the-counter pain medications. Cold compresses help to decrease swelling and discomfort for the first two days. . Dr. Alter also uses dissolvable sutures, so you don’t need to come back to have them removed. They should dissolve in three to six weeks.
The main restrictions are no exercise for one month and no sexual intercourse for six weeks. After this short time, you can finally see the results of Dr. Alter’s work and enjoy the look of your body with confidence!
Learn More About Corrective Labiaplasty in Beverly Hills, CA
Call Dr. Alter today at (310) 275-5566 for his Beverly Hills office, (212) 321-0749 for his New York office, or fill out the contact form to schedule a virtual consultation and learn more about the procedure.