Cosmetic Gynecology: Perceptions and Its Link to BDD in Women

Cosmetic gynecology is emerging to be one of the latest avenues toward achieving better sexual and cosmetic satisfaction among females in today's world.It may be inspired by a multifactorial need to change, based on certain body ideologies, and perceptions and for satisfactory physical intimacy among couples, irrespective of marriage.Body dysmorphic behavior and attitudes influenced by the content of social media and adult websites especially among adolescent females are increasing and there exists an unmet need for cosmetic surgeries of the female genital tract without any direct indication driven by underlying disease or pathology.Cosmetic surgeries are equally requested by older females as a result of pressure from their partners or their desire to enhance their self-regard after vaginal deliveries for pleasurable sexual practices.Knowledge about this has been gradually growing among physicians and patients and even though studies show a majority of the practicing physicians showing a positive attitude toward vaginal reconstruction surgeries, the association of such a demand for treatment with the normalized visual of female genital parts provided by user-generated information on the Internet may have undertones of psychological discontent with one's own body and the impactful urge to have the socially defined normal genital anatomy.Thus, this review was undertaken with the objective to understand the ideology behind the steady inclination towards cosmetic reconstruction surgeries among women, its acceptance and association with personal body perception in society and the notion of clinicians in the provision of such genital modification surgeries.Cosmetic gynecology is popularizing due to changing perceptions of the female genital image and the development of the latest technologies and surgical procedures to reconstruct according to the needs of the target population.It is broadly considered from adolescents to older women with increasing demand of meeting the visual satisfaction of ideal-looking female genitalia which is determined by a variety of factors such as discrimination, psychological disorders, and social or family pressures.Perceptions of clinicians have been constantly changing with an ultimate outlook to satisfy the unmet needs of the patients on one hand and understanding the fundamental cause for such surgical modifications.The motivation behind the increasing demand is an area for assessment and subsequent plan of action and is an integral part of the decisionmaking process for cosmetic surgeries for the female genital system.