Designer vagina surgery has skyrocketed due to tight leggings, says plastic surgeon

A top plastic surgeon has claimed that tight leggings and activewear are to blame for the steep rise in designer vagina surgeries around the world.

Labiaplasty, sometimes referred to as a 'designer vagina', is a cosmetic procedure that uses a scalpel or laser to reduce the size of the labia minora; the flaps on either side of the vaginal opening.

It is a procedure that has apparently skyrocketed in popularity in recent years.

Read More:

• Women have three types of orgasms including an 'avalanche', finds study
• New Study Reveals Moaning Isn’t A Part Of The Female Orgasm
• Woman With ‘Two Vaginas’ Says She Uses One For Work And One For Personal Sex

In the US, there were 36 per cent more labiaplasties performed in the US in 2021 than in 2020, according to The Aesthetic Society. The UK's Plastic Surgery Group reports that there has been an almost 70 per cent increase in requests for the procedure in recent years. 

Juvenis Clinic chief surgeon Dr John Skevofilax has performed roughly 50 of them in 2021 alone, and reckons tight and uncomfortable clothing for women is to blame.

"Exercise clothing is a little bit tighter and it's form fitting so it does put pressure on the area," he told the MailOnline.

"They experience pain, discomfort in general, chafing, a lot of women actually will feel so uncomfortable that they avoid trying to wear this type of clothing."

The top surgeon added: "It's all really interlinked, choosing a pair of leggings which causes discomfort and which in turn draws attention to the labia and the need for surgery."

Westend61 GmbH / Alamy

According to Dr Skevofilax, the overwhelming majority of women seeking a 'designer vagina' is to remedy pain and discomfort while wearing clothes, instead of for aesthetic reasons.

Designer vaginas have been thought to be a purely aesthetic procedure in the past, fuelled by unrealistic body images that bombard women in general life in pornography.

However, it seems that this previous school of thought was inaccurate as Dr Skevofilax claims he has 'never had a patient say 'I want my vagina to look like such and such a porn star'.

He also said the connotations with pornography are 'dangerous and misleading' as it pushes shame on women seeking pain relief in daily life.

"Women should be able to wear whatever they want to wear,'' he said, as per the MailOnline.

"If they choose tight clothing, for instance yoga pants because they are following a specific fashion trend or just because it's simply more fitting for this type of exercise, they should be able to do so without anxiety."