Girls as young as nine are opting to have surgery on their private parts because of body insecurities that stem from social media and pornography, doctors have revealed. Naomi Crouch, a leading adolescent gynaecologist, told the BBC about the worrying trend and admitted that she is concerned GPs are referring young girls for unneeded labiaplasty - an operation where the lips of the vagina are shortened or reshaped. She also added that the rise is the fault of pornography and social media and that, in her opinion, labiaplasty should only be performed on girls who have a medical abnormality. In , more than girls under 18 had labiaplasty on the NHS, with more than of the girls aged under Inglefield added that he did not know how she dealt with the discomfort she would have endured for years. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies.
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Anna's story
A year-old woman in Scotland who told doctors she was suffering from shaking, incontinence and severe weight loss turned out to have a sex toy stuck inside her vagina that had been there for 10 years, according to an article published in the June edition of the Journal of Sexual Medicine. The woman -- who the article notes was of normal intelligence -- told doctors she used the five-inch toy in a drunken sexual encounter a decade ago and didn't remember whether she took it out or not , the Daily Mail reported. By the time surgeons found it, the toy's effects were potentially life-threatening.
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But this rite of passage procedure is all too familiar for many women living in the U. The practice of cutting encompasses all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons, according to the World Health Organization. In some countries, many of these girls will have their clitoris completely removed to deny them sexual pleasure.
Girls as young as nine are seeking surgery on their genitals because they are distressed by its appearance, the Victoria Derbyshire show has been told. Dr Naomi Crouch, a leading adolescent gynaecologist, said she was concerned GPs were referring rising numbers of young girls who wanted an operation. Labiaplasty, as the surgery is known, involves the lips of the vagina being shortened or reshaped.
