When Venesa Vaughn, 47, underwent a labiaplasty following years of insecurity about her vagina, she thought it would be the answer to her problems. However, Venesa, who lives in Australia, was horrified to discover that her surgeon had amputated all of her labia, leaving her with re-occuring UTIs and pain during sex.
The botched surgery left her pursuing legal action against her surgeon. She now wants to raise awareness about the dangers of labiaplasties. She says, “They should be banned. At the end of the day, labia is just skin and we need to normalise that our vaginas are perfect as they are.”
Venesa’s insecurities stemmed from childhood. She says, “I’ve always struggled with my self-esteem. My mum always commented on my weight and I constantly compared myself to others. I felt especially abnormal compared to adult movie stars who had neatly tucked-in vulvas.”
One former partner in particular dealt a blow to Venesa’s self-esteem. She recalls, “I remember laying in bed with him when he said how my vagina was the worst he’d ever seen. I was so humiliated and I felt awful about myself.”
The two broke up shortly after, but Venesa’s hang-ups followed her into her future relationships. She explains, “I got into a new relationship years later and he cheated on me, and I wondered if the
look of my vagina had anything to do with his infidelity.”
One day, Venesa, a mental health coach, decided to tackle her insecurities. She says, “I took to Google and I kept seeing ‘labiaplasty’ popping up and I learnt that this was surgery to reduce the size of the labia minora.”
She researched her options and saw quotes as high as £8,000. She says, “It was so much money, but I just wanted to be normal. One of my friends said it sounded dangerous, but I was determined to go ahead.”
Venesa kept coming across one particular surgeon who offered labiaplasties for just £2,700, so she got in touch. She says, “We spoke on the phone and he said he did labiaplasties three to four times a week, and that I’d be out the same day.”
When Venesa met with him, they discussed what she wanted. She says, “I explained that I just wanted it trimmed neatly, nothing too drastic, which he said was fine.”
She booked herself in and months later, in 2020, made her way back to the surgeon’s office in Sydney, which was an hour’s drive away. Venesa recalls, “When the nurse called me through, I followed her into a small room which contained just a surgical chair. I reiterated to the surgeon how much I wanted removed before he started operating.”
Venesa had a local anaesthetic and was awake for the three-hour long procedure. She says, “When the surgeon was done, he explained to me that I needed to ice my vulva three times a day to reduce the swelling, and he gave me Valium for the pain.”
Her friend took her home, but Venesa was in so much pain she could barely walk. Hoping the pain would subside, she took herself to bed.
For the first two weeks after the surgery, Venesa was in agony. She says, “I couldn’t fathom looking at my vulva as it was so swollen. I followed the aftercare instructions but nothing seemed to help.”
By the end of the third week, Venesa had a horrible feeling. She says, “I thought, ‘What if he’s taken too much off?’ When I finally had the courage to look, I couldn’t believe what I saw. The stitches looked like they were about to pop and my vulva was so puffy. I was horrified.”
She also couldn’t see any labia whatsoever – her surgeon had completely removed them. She says, “Panicked, I rang the surgeon but he just brushed me off. He said the puffiness was normal and that the saltwater baths would heal it. But I knew he’d taken too much off. My labia were gone.”
The surgeon asked Venesa to send him some photos and told her to come back in for her six-week check-up. She says,“I felt like I couldn’t tell anyone what I was going through as I was too traumatised. When I saw the surgeon, I broke down and explained my anxieties, but he didn’t care.”
She claims the doctor chopped off three more centimetres of labia than she had requested. “I told him
I wanted it to be trimmed, I didn’t want it all gone, I just didn’t want it sticking out. I trusted him,” she says.
Venesa launched legal action against him and received a six-figure out-of-court settlement. But she admits that no amount of money can fix the mental and physical pain she’s suffered. She says, “I’ve battled constant pain and suffered from recurring UTIs as there was no labia minoria to stop the germs getting in. Inserting a tampon hurt so much and sex became incredibly painful.”
Venesa eventually saw a specialist who confirmed her labia had been amputated. He also helped her improve her urinary tract to prevent UTIs.
Fearing she’d never find love or have sex again, Venesa met her husband, Ajay, who has been incredibly supportive. She says, “I knew I had to tell him what I’d been through. We’d had sex and he knew it was painful for me but he didn’t know why. He was sympathetic and understanding.”
As their relationship developed, the two knew they wanted kids. Venesa says, “I still want to have a baby but after what I’ve been through, the thought of childbirth is daunting. I don’t know if I can do it. But we’re trying IVF as I don’t have much time left.”
Now, Venesa feels it’s her duty to raise awareness about the dangers of labiaplasties.
She adds, “Since sharing my story on TikTok, other women have come forward and said theirs are botched, or that I’ve put them off all together. I wish I had never gone through with the surgery myself, but the only silver lining is that I’m preventing other women from going through the hell that I’ve been through.”
By Danielle Lett and Eleanor Ovens