The ultimate ‘facelift’
By Marge C. Enriquez
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 19:12:00 03/10/2008
Filed Under: Health, Lifestyle & Leisure
MANILA, Philippines—When gynecologist Bernabe “Abe” Marinduque introduced laser vaginal rejuvenation in the Philippines last year, his first patient’s case was classic: The lady was in her mid-30s, a businesswoman, married to an expat, had two children and wanted to improve her sex life.
“I’m choosy about patients. If a woman wants sexual satisfaction, but she can’t because of her loose vagina or the husband can’t ‘feel’ her anymore, then I accept her,” says Marinduque.
After he zapped her flaps down there, she came back to his office smiling. The husband even encouraged her to undergo the full works at the Beverly Hills 6750 clinic.
Vaginal rejuvenation is nothing new. With the use of state-of-the-art technology, it’s just been packaged in new terms such as cosmetic gynecology or designer laser vaginoplasty or what Beverly Hills 6750 calls “gynesthetics.”
“Laser vaginal rejuvenation is a modification of a standard gynecological technique called the anterior and posterior repair,” says Marinduque. “We know it as ‘flower arrangement.’ It’s a procedure that makes the outside of the vagina look pretty. It aims for that prepubescent look.”
Marinduque said that in the conventional technique, “We use a knife, and it becomes a pretty bloody affair. You have to be hospitalized and recuperate for three days from the surgery.” In contrast: “My surgery uses a laser which works like a knife and it’s an outpatient procedure. I don’t see anything wrong with using the scalpel. To me, it’s just more elegant to use the laser than the scalpel.”
The laser vaginoplasty presents two kinds of procedures. “Women complain that their labia minora, the inner lips of the vagina, are floppy like elephants’ ears,” Marinduque says. “This causes pain during sexual intercourse when they go inside with the penis.”
The surgeon says those who have very wide labia minora feel discomfort in wearing tight clothes, biking or riding. “In labioplasty, we trim the labia minora to make the vagina look like a little girl’s,” he explains. “In vaginoplasty, the vagina is tightened to make it look virginal. After birth, the muscles get stretched that they become too lax. We trim the tissues and tauten the fascia, the muscles that support the vagina.”
Form and function
Vaginal repair is nothing new here.
“Unfortunately, there are no statistics in the Philippines. It’s been done hush-hush,” Marinduque says. “Women don’t talk saying they went to the doctor for a ‘floral arrangement.’ Many obstetrician-gynecologists would repair the vagina after birth. But I see that as a problem. After birth the vagina is very tender. I believe the repair will not be as good as when the patient comes back after six weeks.”
Marinduque graduated from the University of the Philippines and has practiced in New York, California and Cincinnati. Although he says nothing could be more exhilarating than bringing life on earth, the emergency calls and odd hours in the delivery room wore him down, and he decided to focus on cosmetic gynecology.
“There is a shift. I think like a plastic surgeon. Now I look at both form and function.”
Vaginal rejuvenation evolved as a result of medicine trying to meet the needs of women who wanted more enjoyment.
“The Masters and Johnson research imparts that sexual gratification is directly related to the frictional forces during vaginal intercourse,” Marinduque says. “If the vagina is tight, there is more satisfaction from sexual intercourse. Some women complain of leakage of urine when they laugh or cough. It’s called incontinence sometimes due to a loose vagina. They are also candidates for the procedure.”
The profile of Marinduque’s patients ranges from 18 to 50 years of age. The younger ones have congenital hypertrophic labia minora. They are born with wide labia minora which bothers them.
Vaginal tightening is requested by the mature patients who are attuned to their sexuality and hence, have an active sex life.
Marinduque spurns women who are sexually inactive because vaginal tightening would be rendered useless.
Marinduque uses a diode laser which is also used for delicate surgery. It is very precise as it cuts through very fine layers of tissues and coagulates the blood vessels.
The procedure is bloodless and allows more rapid healing. Patients who undergo laser vaginal rejuvenation day can resume work in seven days.
In the standard procedure with the scalpel, it takes six weeks to recover and the patient has lots of restrictions—including sex.
But the doctor qualifies, “That is not to say women can’t have sexual relations. They can get stimulated elsewhere for as long as there is no penetration.”
G spot
For women who simply want to achieve “peak performance,” Marinduque also provides the G Shot, an injection of a protein collagen filler in the “Holy Grail.”
Women have the G spot, a very sensitive part on the anterior wall or front part of the vagina, which is about two inches from the entry,” the doctor says. “When it is aroused, women can get an orgasm.
“It’s the same as the clitoris, but it has to be stimulated gently otherwise it hurts. The G spot needs deep pressure to get excited. That’s the reason the thickness of the penis is more important than the length.
“When you have a thick penis, the likelihood of G spot to be stimulated is greater than with a thin, long one. I put filler on the G spot and enlarge it so that it is more accessible to the woman, to stimulation.”
He cites the study conducted by the Laser Vaginal Rejuvenation Institute in Los Angeles that 87 percent of women who took a shot at the G Shot experienced heightened sexual pleasure. “If men have Viagra, this is the answer to women who have problems with orgasm,” says Marinduque.
Marinduque has also turned down women who request a G Shot simply because they want an orgasm.
“Not having orgasm is a difficult problem,” he says. “No matter how much you put in the G spot, if you are not orgasmic in the first place, it will not help you. There’s a lot more to it than physical stimulation.”
Women’s sexuality is complex, Marinduque says. “With men, it’s just a penile erection. With women, it involves relationship status and emotions. For those who have no orgasm, I send them to a sexologist or psychologist because there’s something in their lives that causes the blockage.”
The laser vaginal rejuvenation fetches P70,000 to P125,000—inclusive of the operating room, surgeon, anesthesiologist and follow-up.
The G Shot ranges from P20,000 to P50,000. It only takes 15 minutes and is done under local anesthesia. There’s no down time.
Included in Beverly Hills 6750 gynesthetics is hymenoplasty or the restoration of the hymen.
From his experience in America, Marinduque says culture plays a role in driving women to the procedure. Hispanics want their hymen sewn back because they have new boyfriend.
“We can sew the hymen and so the woman has the requisite bleeding of a virgin on the first night,” They give it as a gift to their husband,” he says.
When Middle Eastern women come to study in America, along the way they lose their virginity. That is a violation of their laws with stiff penalties. To avoid punishment, they undergo this procedure. He also served many Chinese women who come from conservative families.
Says Marinduque, “These procedures are very empowering for women. Improved sexual life provides collateral benefits to your partner. When there is increased satisfaction from vaginal intercourse, the husband will think it’s because of him. This helps in the relationship. Those who have to go through hymenoplasty or repair of the hymen, are given another chance in a more meaningful relationship. They can start their lives all over again.”
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