HYMENOPLASTY
Hymenoplasty, a medical procedure that has sparked controversy recently, is a sort of “re-virginization” that is mostly in countries in the Middle East and Latin America. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, concerned about how this procedure is being marketed, has voiced its concern and its questionable ethical repercussions. Although the group has not taken a stand, the concern is that in an effort to improve sex lives, surgeons will not be able to educate their patients thoroughly due to the lack of literature available.
Many people seek this procedure in an effort to appease religious, cultural and societal beliefs. Women may seek it out prior to their wedding to make their sexual lives non- descript and not the talk of the town. If the surgery goes as planned, the hymen tear will cause pain and blood loss. Religious folks and feminists feel that this is a form of deception and female genital mutilation- regardless of who is right or wrong, it is a procedure that holds no basis in the repair of a physical issue. It is not a procedure that is reviewed in residencies nor taught in teaching facilities, but yet is something that is gaining popularity daily.
The actual surgical process entails very little. The hymenoplasty will require a local anesthetic and no hospitalization; your doctor will use dissolvable stitches to reconnect the skin membrane that once partially covered the opening to the vagina. Recovery time is about six weeks; risks of infection and fever are very minimal. Subsequent intercourse will tear the membrane causing pain and bleeding. The surgery can cost as little as $1,800 and range all the way to $3000.
The name is derived from the Greek god of marriage, Hymen and has been a mark of virginity since the beginning of time. It is widely known and accepted that the hymen can be ruptured by nonsexual activity, such as dancing, horse back riding and athletics. At one time, a bride’s hymen being intact was the only way to determine her chastity and the paternity of any ensuing children.
In the past midwives were known to disguise a broken hymen by sewing it up, with a needle and thread, at times using the membrane material of sheep, goats and other animals.
Vaginal surgery has become all the rage, with women designing their vagina and surrounding areas to suit their needs, or the needs of their lovers. Surgeons are reporting that they do at least 200 surgeries a month, when in the last decade it was may 10 surgeries a year. It is cause for celebration for some, but most doctors are calling the hymenoplasty a “bogus” procedure, due in large part that it doesn’t make one a virgin again.
Hymen repair (hymen restoration surgery) is usually done at the request of someone who needs the surgery for ethnic, cultural, or religious reasons. Many surgeons will not perform hymenoplasty surgery in a woman who has already undergone childbirth.
The hymen is a ring-like skin membrane that sits in the lower third of the vagina. It marks the spot that vulvovaginal bulbs fuse with the ducts from above and then hollow out to form the vagina. Most often there is a 5 or 6 pointed star opening in the hymen after maturity. With first intercourse or by accident from falling or tampons, several areas tear in the hymen. Most often there is bleeding at the time of tearing.
Procedure:
The hymenoplasty procedure is done under local anesthesic. While tissue dissection to prevent small blood vessels from bleeding, the areas which were torn is torn are removed. This is so that they will grow back together when they are approximated with stitches. Then after they are denuded, the edges are brought back together to reform the star-shaped “ring” as it was prior to relations, accident etc. It is made small enough, so that when first sexual relations occur later on, it will “tear” again, there will be some pain, and there will be bleeding.
Resumption of normal activity is immediate.
Hymenoplasty Q&A
• Hymenoplasty
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I had sexual intercourse for about 4 times before and it was bleeding, now I want to do hymenoplasty surgery ! I just want to make sure if after the first intercourse it will be bleeding or not?
• I had the hymen surgery 4 years ago, and never had any sexual contact. I’m wondering if the hymen can last that long or not?
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I have done the hymen surgery years ago, and didn’t have any sexual contact since. My question is if the hymen can last forever? I don’t know how to check myself out to see if I still have or not.
• Does hymen surgery hurt?
(1 answer)
Does hymen surgery hurt at all? What can I expect if I have this done?
• It is very painful for me. What can I do?
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I was forced at a young age to have hymenoplasty against my will, 17 years later sex is very painful for me… I was forced to have this done 17 years ago, since then every time I have sex its very painful for a penis to go in me, it just doesnt go in and it wasnt like that prior. Is there a procedure I can do to reverse it? What can I do?
• How popular is hymenoplasty among Arab women?
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How popular is hymenoplasty among Arab women?
• Is hymenoplasty still possible?
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I’ve had intercourse more than 10 times. Am I eligible for hymenoplasty surgery? Is hymenoplasty still a possible procedure? If I get this procedure, will it tear if I play sports? After the procedure is it fully restored?
• Will there be any scar left on the vigina to indicate a Hymenoplasty is performed?
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After a Hymenoplasty has been performed can you tell from looking at the vagina? How long does it takes for the stiches to heal?
• Can a boy tell that a girl has underwent a Hymenoplasty?
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I want to get Hymenoplasty done ASAP. Is this a painful surgery and what are their side effects?
• What materials are used for hymenoplasty?
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Are they natural or synthetic? And how much does it cost approximately?
• Can my hymen be repaired?
(1 answer)
Hello, I am a 21 year old virgin who is not participated in any sexual active in my life. I found out during my first annual woman examination.The nurse practitioner my hymen was not there nor the remains of my hymen. Can my hymen still be repaired?
Once lost, virginity can never be replaced — but modern medicine now offers women a near-perfect physical simulation of their lost innocence. Hymenoplasty, the surgical reconstruction of the hymen broken during a women’s first experience of intercourse, or, increasingly, during demanding exercise or as a result of a collision or fall by women who’ve never had sex, has prompted a growing number of young betrothed women in France to make a last-ditch attempt to avoid the humiliation, repudiation, and possibly violence that could result from husbands and families discovering from blood-free bridal sheets that their wedding night had not been their first sexual experience.
Hymenoplasty has generated renewed attention here in the wake of a court ruling last month in the northern city of Lille, which annulled a marriage on the basis of a husband’s complaint that his wife had falsely promised that she was a virgin — a confession he obtained after furiously waving the new couple’s spotless bedclothes before still-celebrating wedding guests. Though the decision made no mention of religion, the fact that the couple were Muslim sparked complaints that France’s strictly secular state is being undermined by traditional Arab cultural strictures. The court ruling also infuriated feminists, who saw its acceptance of prior sexual experience as grounds for annulment as tantamount to treating marriage as the equivalent of a commercial transaction in which the buyer had discovered a hidden flaw in his purchase. Many Muslim leaders were also outraged, insisting that Islam does not demand virginity as a precondition for marriage, and claimed that the ruling belied the judge’s archaic misunderstanding of the faith and its tenets.
Though an appeal by France’s Justice Ministry resulted in the Lille ruling being overturned, the storm it provoked has focused media attention on young Muslim women who turn to hymenoplasty to avoid the fate of the repudiated Lille bride. News reports have featured traumatized patients discussing the reaction they’d have faced on their wedding night or following virginity examinations frequently required prior to traditional marriages. Some admit they’ve paid as much as $5,250 to have their hymens reconstituted in private French clinics; others go to cities in Tunisia, Algeria, or Morocco, where the procedure is even more common, and costs as little as $300. Though the number of Muslim women in the United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, and France undergoing the procedure is unknown, there’s a consensus among doctors that hymenoplasty is increasingly common. Ironically, as some commentators note, the increase in the procedure reflects the growing emancipation of women from tradition-rooted communities, but also the ongoing male oppression signified by the obsession with female virginity.
“French Muslim women are increasingly defying the restrictions and repression men try to enforce, and leading full, modern lives — including sexually,” says Dounia Bouzar, whose recent book Allah, My Boss, and Me explores Islam in the French workplace. “The one time they feel obliged to make a concession to outdated attitudes is with the marital requirement of virginity — a purely macho tradition that has no basis in Islam, and is certainly nothing courts should be respecting. This surgery is unfortunate, though it is a way for women who have insisted on living their own lives to avoid punishment under a backward custom.”
Even then, there’s plenty of anguish and surrender involved. Doctor Stephane Saint-Leger, head of the Children and Women’s Ward at the Robert Ballanger Hospital in the ethnically diverse Paris suburb of Aulnay-sous-Bois, agrees the social and sexual differences between young Muslim and non-Muslim women in France are shrinking — including a trend of marrying later in life. That trend has generally reduced the likelihood of women of any faith marrying as virgins. But Saint-Leger says the pressure and intimidation evoked by the Muslim women who come to him for help as their traditional weddings loom frequently threaten their physical and psychological well-being. For that reason, he says, he often agrees to perform hymenoplasties, even though it’s the kind of indirectly coerced act he considers ethically objectionable.
“They represent young Muslim women surrendering to unnecessary medical intervention due to unacceptable pressure,” Saint-Leger says. “With this, its pressure from the traditional people. But elsewhere, women also surrender to unnecessary medical intervention to change their breasts, noses, lips, or entire face due to unacceptable pressure of the beautiful people.”
Though the overturning of the Lille verdict removes the risk non-virgin Muslim brides could find themselves dragged to court on fraud charges by infuriated husbands, the cultural pressures some face remain sufficiently great that many will continue turning to hymenoplasty to restore the semblance of chastity. Many times, however, the ruse may all be for naught: Saint-Leger notes notes that 30% to 40% of both original and reconstructed hymens fail to produce the virginity-confirming bleeding when ruptured by penetration, anyway.
majority of women value their virginity. In some cultures it is important for the women to remain virgins until married. During a women’s first intercourse, their hymen will tear causing bleeding and pain. This can also be caused by non-sexual activity including trauma to the pelvic region, tampon use, or any strenuous activity to the pelvic area.
Some women feel strongly about their virginity, and do not want their future husband to be ashamed because the hymen is no longer intact. Many women would like to restore their hymen, which would give them their virginity back so they will not feel ashamed when it comes time to marry. Hymen restoration is growing in the cosmetic field, and is helping women to feel whole again.
A majority of women value their virginity. In some cultures it is important for the women to remain virgins until married. During a women’s first intercourse, their hymen will tear causing bleeding and pain. This can also be caused by non-sexual activity including trauma to the pelvic region, tampon use, or any strenuous activity to the pelvic area.
Some women feel strongly about their virginity, and do not want their future husband to be ashamed because the hymen is no longer intact. Many women would like to restore their hymen, which would give them their virginity back so they will not feel ashamed when it comes time to marry. Hymen restoration is growing in the cosmetic field, and is helping women to feel whole again.
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Dr VikramJeet Singh Dhingra is an experienced plastic surgeon having done his super specialization from NHL Medical College Ahmedabad, one of the most prestigious plastic surgery training center in India.
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