Some appointments at Southwest Plastic Surgery start with the door closing a little more deliberately than usual. The patient wants privacy before she even sits down, and the team gives it to her without making a thing of it. That is by design. Labiaplasty is one of the most private procedures Dr. Frank Agullo performs, and the practice is built to make it an ordinary, judgment-free conversation.
It also comes up far more often than patients assume. Dr. Agullo tells patients that almost everyone walks in nervous and walks out wondering why they waited so long to ask. The questions below are drawn from real consultations and anonymized.
Is It Cosmetic, or Can It Help With Discomfort?
Dr. Agullo tells patients it is frequently both, and both reasons are legitimate.
Excess labial tissue can cause discomfort with certain clothing and with activity, and some patients also deal with recurrent irritation. When it bothers a patient physically and she does not love the appearance, those are two valid reasons that do not have to be ranked against each other. No one at the practice asks a patient to justify which one matters more.
How Dr. Agullo Performs the Procedure
He trims the excess tissue so everything is smooth and deliberately leaves some behind, rather than chasing the smallest possible result.
There is one detail he makes sure every patient hears first. When the labia are trimmed, the clitoral hood can end up looking like it protrudes, because it is no longer in proportion with the tissue around it. To avoid that, Dr. Agullo usually recommends reducing the clitoral hood a little at the same time, so everything sits flush. For a patient who starts with very little tissue, a small amount may still show afterward, but far less than before.
What About Sensation?
This is the question patients ask most, and Dr. Agullo addresses it directly. He is removing tissue, and although small nerves are cut in the process, the nerve stays on the surface right where the cut is made, so loss of sensation is not something his patients report afterward. Patients keep the sensation they had. And because the clitoris ends up with a little less tissue around it, full sensation is often actually heightened.
Anesthesia and Recovery, at a Glance
The procedure can be done under IV sedation, similar to a colonoscopy. An IV is placed, the patient is brought into a deep sleep, the area is numbed with local anesthesia, and the procedure is performed. The patient does not feel or remember anything. General anesthesia is available on request but is not necessary. The procedure itself is quick, under forty-five minutes.
| Recovery Point | What to Expect |
|---|---|
| Pain | Most patients report little; some soreness |
| Comfort aid | Exparel numbs the area about three days |
| Spotting | A little, for a couple of days |
| Back to work | About five days, nothing strenuous, under fifteen pounds |
| Exercise | Four weeks |
| Intercourse | Four weeks while everything heals |
| Final result | Visible right away; settles by four to six weeks |
Will a Keloid Form There?
Patients worry about this, often because they keloid elsewhere on the body. Dr. Agullo reassures them that he has never seen a keloid form in this area. Keloids tend to appear on the ankles, shoulders, ears, and chest, where there is tension and movement. The genital area is different tissue, more mucosa and skin, and is not under tension, so it is simply not where keloids form.
How the Med Spa Supports Healing
Recovery from a private procedure is still recovery, and Southwest Plastic Surgery treats it that way. The Med Spa and laser services support skin quality and overall healing, and for patients combining labiaplasty with body work, post-surgical massage can ease swelling in those other areas. The team builds an aftercare plan around the whole patient, not just the surgical site.
On symmetry, early unevenness is usually just swelling, since one side tends to swell differently than the other. Like breasts, there are always slight natural differences, and Dr. Agullo makes them as even as he can. He does not finish a case until he is satisfied with it, and his revision policy means he does not charge for a touch-up itself, only the operating room and anesthesia time.
About Dr. Frank Agullo
Dr. Frank Agullo is the founder of Southwest Plastic Surgery in El Paso, Texas. He is double board-certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and the American Board of Surgery, a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, completed a plastic surgery fellowship at the Mayo Clinic, and has been named a Castle Connolly Top Doctor for thirteen consecutive years. With a private procedure like this, he tells patients, the two things that matter most are an honest conversation about what is realistic and a result that feels comfortable and natural.
For the surgeon’s candid editorial take, see Dr. Agullo’s essay on drworldwide.com, and for the full patient walkthrough, see the companion post on agulloplasticsurgery.com.
Ready to Talk?
If this is something you have quietly wondered about, you can ask privately at Southwest Plastic Surgery. Call (915) 590-7900, text 1-866-814-0038, or book online at swplasticsurgery.com. #StayBeautiful.
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