Vagina surgery 'sought by girls as young as 11'

'Girls say they hate their vaginas'. Photo / 123RF

Girls as young as 11 are seeking surgery on their vagina to make it look 'like a Barbie', a GP claims.

Young girls are expressing disgust at their genitalia, believing it to be the wrong shape or size, which Dr Paquita de Zuluet believes is driven by pornography and social media, reports the Daily Mail.

She even claims girls exaggerate the physical or emotional distress their vaginas are causing them in order to make themselves eligible for surgery.

The procedure is illegal to conduct on girls under 18 unless they have a medical reasons, such as their genitalia causing them emotional or physical distress.

Yet, a cosmetic surgeon defended the procedure in adults, arguing it can boost women's self-esteem and confidence.

In 2015-2016 more than 200 girls under 18 had the operation, known as a labiaplasty, on the NHS. More than 150 of the girls were under 15.

'Expressing almost disgust'
London-based GP Paquita de Zulueta said it was only in the past few years that girls started coming to her practice complaining about the appearance of their labia.

She said: 'I'm seeing young girls around 11, 12, 13 thinking there's something wrong with their vulva - that they're the wrong shape, the wrong size, and really expressing almost disgust.

'Their perception is that the inner lips should be invisible, almost like a Barbie, but the reality is that there is a huge variation. It's very normal for the lips to protrude' the BBC reported on the Victoria Derbyshire show.

Dr de Zulueta believes young girls are being exposed to unrealistic images of vaginas via pornography and social media.

Young girls should be educated from an early age that, like our faces, vagina's differ in appearance, she said.

Girls exaggerating their distress
NHS England only conducts labiaplasties for clinical reasons, such as if the girl is experiencing emotional or physical distress over the appearance of her vagina.
Yet, the majority of procedures are done privately on women aged 18 or over.

Dr de Zulueta even believes some girls exaggerate their distress, by stating their vagina interferes with their ability to do sport of have sex, in order to make themselves qualify for the procedure.

She also doubts whether the 150 young girls who had the procedure last year had a true genital abnormality and drew parallels between the operation and female genital mutiliation (FGM).

FGM is illegal in the UK and involves intentionally altering or injuring female genitalia for non-medical reasons. It is nearly always performed on children without their consent.
Yet cosmetic surgeon Miles Berry defended the surgery in older girls, saying it could improve women's confidence and self-esteem.

He said: 'I have seen patients aged between 16 and 21 who have never had a boyfriend because they are so concerned about this.'

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said the operation should not be performed until a girl had finished developing, after the age of 18.