More women opting for genital cosmetic surgery

Doctors have warned that too many women are opting to have genital cosmetic surgery, with the number of labial reductions performed on the NHS doubling over the last five years, it has emerged.

Writing in the British Medical Journal, doctors from the UCL Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Institute for Women's Health claimed that many women are being driven to undergo genitoplasty because of narrowing views of what is considered 'normal'.

Lih Mei Liao and Sarah Creighton wrote: "The increased demand for cosmetic genitoplasty may reflect a narrowing social definition of normal, or a confusion of what is normal and what is idealised."

They warned that the provision of genital cosmetic surgery "could narrow acceptable ranges further and increase the demand for surgery even more".

According to the doctors, 800 labial reductions are now carried out in NHS hospitals each year.

The rising popularity of cosmetic surgery and promotions by private clinics is thought to have helped to fuel demand for the procedures.

  
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