Hymenoplasty - Why Is It Required?

Hymenoplasty is also known as hymen surgery. It is a surgical procedure where the hymen within the vagina is restored. The Hymen is a membrane covering the vaginal opening, which can be torn when a woman engages in coitus for the first time or it could be damaged due to other factors such as heavy lifting, exercise, cycling, swimming among many other activities. Hymenoplasty involves putting back the hymen’s torn edges to make it look like the hymen is intact.

Why do women want hymen reconstruction?

A woman would want a hymen reconstruction surgery for a number of reasons. They are:

1. Religious reasons: In certain cultures, a woman’s hymen is inspected to make sure she has not engaged in coitus in the past. Virginity is valued highly is such places and if the woman is not a virgin, she may have to face social or even legal ramifications.
2. In case of rape or sexual assault victims: In some cases, a rape victim may undergo this surgery to empower herself and feel mentally peaceful.
3. Hymen related injuries: Certain factors like heavy exercise or sexual intercourse can cause rupture of the hymen which may cause bleeding, infections or other complications. A woman may want to rectify this with the help of this surgery.

The procedure

The entire surgical process lasts for about 45-60 minutes. The surgery is carried out in an outpatient setting under general anesthesia. The torn skin membranes are rejoined using dissolvable stitches so that scaring is minimal.

This procedure can be carried out in three ways

1. Joining the torn edges with stitches.
2. An artificial membrane is placed in the area whose function is to behave as an artificial hymen. This hymen, however, does not have any blood supply, so a capsule that contains blood can be placed with it.
3. A flap is taken from the vaginal lining, which is used to create a functional hymen with proper blood supply.
4. You can return to your work in about 2-3 days after the surgery. However, the entire healing process takes around two months.

Risks

The procedure carries some risks that you should be aware of, they are –

1. Bleeding: Some bleeding is normal after the procedure, but any prolonged case of bleeding may indicate a complication.
2. Infection: Like all surgeries, you may have infections in the concerned area. The doctor may prescribe antibiotics to deal with these infections.
3. Narrowing of the vaginal opening: In some cases, the vaginal opening can become narrow after the procedure. This however, can be resolved without the need for any treatment as it may become wider on its own over time.