By David Southwell For Daily Mail Australia
13:00 26 Jan 2024, updated 14:04 26 Jan 2024
A woman who underwent a ‘designer vagina’ surgery that went awry has been left with long-term medical issues, which have made intercourse painful and may impact her ability to have children. Venesa Vaughn, from Melbourne, shared her distressing experience, explaining that a failed marriage and hurtful remarks from a former partner had led her to believe she needed a labiaplasty. However, the operation was so botched that it has resulted in frequent urinary tract infections and severe pain during tampon insertion. The bungled labiaplasty, a cosmetic procedure altering the appearance of the vagina, led to the amputation of her entire labia minora and the removal of her clitoral hood. In 2020, Ms. Vaughn discovered her then-husband’s infidelity, which heightened her insecurities about her appearance. “In my mind, I thought there was something wrong with me physically,” she recalled. “I thought, ‘I don’t look right down there.'” She added, “The thing that stuck with me was ‘I don’t look right down there’… as an ex-boyfriend of mine over 20-odd years ago said it was the worst vagina he’d ever seen.” Ms. Vaughn, whose occupation is listed as a childhood trauma/mental health coach, revealed that she was not actively working when she decided to pursue labiaplasty, and the cost was a consideration. “All the surgeons I looked at were charging between $6,000 to $8,000. This particular doctor I’d found was charging $3,500-odd,” she said. “His website was like ‘labiaplasty specialist,’ he’s the best, he’s this, he’s that, and you know, he actually spoke to me on the phone, and I thought, ‘Wow, what great customer service.'” Ms. Vaughn recounted several red flags from the outset. She was told the operation would take place in a hospital, but it was conducted at the doctor’s clinic in a small room. She recalled people walking in and out during the procedure, emphasizing, “It was so unprofessional.” The surgeon assured her that the entire procedure would be performed with lasers and would not require any stitching. However, Ms. Vaughn was alarmed to see a fan positioned above the surgery bed. According to her, this was “so the smell of your (lasered) skin burning goes up into the fan.” She described being immobilized with her legs in the air as a nurse applied numbing cream. “I don’t feel pain but I feel tugging. He proceeds to cut the skin off and I can hear sizzling,” she detailed. Ms. Vaughn also recalled an incident when the doctor left the room for about half an hour, and when he resumed the surgery, she could feel the stitching despite being told there would be none. The excruciating pain left Ms. Vaughn in agony beyond words. She spent three weeks with ice packs between her legs and a week in bed during her recovery. “Three weeks passed by and I could see I no longer had labia tissue,” she said. “I now had a hole and the sides because he had taken everything off.” She described her first post-surgery sexual encounter as “horrific” and emphasized the immense effort it took to adjust to a semblance of a normal love life. Ms. Vaughn has since sued the surgeon and received a settlement. However, she is now hesitant to have children due to the trauma. Reflecting on her experience, Ms. Vaughn now believes that there was nothing wrong with her original vagina and hopes to convey this message to other women. “I’d like to take this opportunity to let all women know that your vulvas are fine the way they are,” she wrote. “If you’ve ever been cheated on or been told you’re not good enough, it’s only a reflection of how the other person is feeling.” Following her story, numerous women expressed gratitude for sharing her experience and related their own similar experiences.
