HYMENOPLASTY

What is the hymen?
The hymen is a thin membrane that seals fa ç normally incomplete è you the entrance é e vagina.
It is visible in young women virgin e Cartant small l è lips.
Upon rupture of the hymen, bleeding is possible, but there is no system é matic. The rupture of the hymen can ê be li ed to sexual intercourse, but e also in certain sports or to the use of buffer hygiene ed picnics.

HYMENOPLASTY

Different types of hymen

The virgin hymen is a membrane that acts as a barrier to access to the vagina. It is intact before defloration, leaving just a small hole allowing blood to flow during menstruation. It can be flexible or rigid but never heals when broken.

This degree of rigidity determines the existence or not of bleeding when it is torn after intercourse.

Surgical technique of hymen operation

It is the operation which aims at the reconstruction of the hymen. The procedure is usually scheduled just after your period to prevent the scar from getting soaked with blood.

It is done under local anesthesia combined with tranquilizers or under general anesthesia. It lasts 30 minutes on average with an exit from the clinic the same day after a few hours of monitoring. The surgeon will reconstruct the hymen by doing a plastic surgery using the vaginal tissue. This new barrier to access to the vagina will be very solid once completely healed.

Hymen before and after: postoperative

The postoperative effects are generally not very painful, requiring only simple analgesics. Minimal bleeding lasting 2 to 3 days is usual. Protection will be slipped into the panty. It is advisable to wear loose clothing (loose skirt or pants) and to avoid intense efforts (sport, stairs, etc.) during the first month. The intimate toilet is carried out by twice-daily sitz baths with a usual antiseptic. A very soft hair dryer is preferred for drying the operated area.

Sexual intercourse is authorized after a minimum of 1 month or after complete healing. We recommend that you wait one to two months to resume sports.

Hymenoplasty and hymenorrhaphy: what are the differences.

As the hymen does not heal spontaneously, the fact of regaining your virginity will therefore require:

As the hymen does not heal spontaneously, the fact of regaining your virginity will therefore require:

- either a reconstruction of a new membrane by the vaginal wall

- either to sew up the hymen with a thread which will be absorbed after a few days: 7 to 10.

The result of hymenoplasty is lasting and that of hymenorrhaphy is transitory.

Laser hymenoplasty?

Commonly called laser, it is quite simply the surgical technique that we use on a daily basis.

What about the elastic or waterproof hymen

Some so-called elastic hymenal membranes are compliant and therefore do not rupture despite multiple sexual intercourse which will therefore not cause any bleeding.

IN WHICH CASES CAN A HYMENOPLASTY BE PERFORMED?

There are 2 scenarios:
• the hymenoplasty follows a sexual assault
• the hymenoplasty is performed for personal convenience, most often in a wish of marriage, for social or religious reasons. In this case, no decision supported is not possible by social security.

HYMENOPLASTY TECHNIQUE

The procedure begins by excising the poor quality scar tissue that covers the edges of the hymen, which slightly reduces the size of the hymen. The hymen is then analyzed. Depending on its dimensions, two repair techniques are possible:
• If the hymen is large enough, the hymenoplasty technique is simple: it consists of suturing the hymen from the remains of the hymen present. The edges of the hymen are sutured in 2 planes to help reconstruct a solid hymen.
• If the hymen is too small and the suture risks loosening due to too much tension, reconstruction techniques using shreds of vaginal mucosa are used.

RESULT OF HYMENOPLASTY?

• The result is immediate, with a closure of the hymen.
  • Reconstruction of the hymen is solid after 1 month.
  • The appearance is natural, with no visible scar from the fall of the threads between 2 and 3 weeks after the operation.
  • This intervention brings real psychological comfort to patients formerly victims of sexual assault, which it helps to repair.

IS THE HYMENOPLASTY SCAR VISIBLE?

No, the scar is hidden in the folds of the hymen and absolutely invisible.

HOW WILL THE FIRST SEXUAL ACT TAKE PLACE AFTER HYMENOPLASTY?

In the event of sexual intercourse, the rupture of the hymen occurs normally. Bleeding is possible but not systematic. The hymen is solid and creates a feeling of resistance to penetration.

PROCESS OF HYMENOPLASTY

BEFORE HYMENOPLASTY

• Medical visits: 2 surgical consultations spaced at least 15 days apart are compulsory before hymenoplasty for personal convenience.
  • Cooling-off period: 15 days between the 1st consultation and the hymenoplasty. • Allow a period of professional unavailability of 24 hours after the operation.
  • Recommendations: stop smoking 1 month before minimum, stop aspirin or anti-inflammatory drugs 10 days before hymen surgery to reduce the risk of bleeding.

HYMENOPLASTY INTERVENTION

• Anesthesia for hymen surgery: most often local
  • Duration of the operation: 30 to 45 minutes
  • Return home after hymenoplasty: the same day

FOLLOW-UP AND RESULT OF HYMENOPLASTY

• Hospitalization takes place on an outpatient basis.
  • Special care: personal hygiene morning and evening, and after each urination.
  • No thread is removed, they are absorbable and disappear spontaneously 10 to 15 days after the operation.
  • There is no dressing to do, but a simple toilet with tap water (shower) and soap. A panty liner is sufficient to cover the sutures.
  • Desocialization after hymen surgery: None
  • Resumption of physical activities after hymenoplasty: 1 month
  • Resumption of professional activities: 24 hours
  • Time for the final result: 1 month

PRICE

As a general rule, this intervention costs between 1000 and 1500 euros depending on whether the indication is restorative or convenient.

WHAT ARE THE RISKS OF HYMENOPLASTY?

Fortunately, complications from hymenoplasty are very rare. The patients are in the vast majority of cases very satisfied with the result obtained. However, complications are unpredictable, and can occur even when the surgeon has all the skills required to perform plastic, reconstructive and cosmetic surgery.

GENERAL COMPLICATIONS

• Hematomas that may lead to re-intervention.
  • Infection of the operating site is rare, and prevented by good hygiene and local care, especially after each urination.

COMPLICATIONS SPECIFIC TO HYMENOPLASTY

• Sensitivity disturbances in the operated area are possible, such as insensitivity or hypersensitivity. They may be associated with pressure pain in the scar area. These symptoms are most often transient within a few months, but they can persist for good.
  • Healing disorders may appear. More than large, hypertrophic or keloid scars, it is above all a more or less complete disunity of the sutures, which constitutes the major risk. In this case, a secondary re-intervention is possible, after complete healing of the disunity.