Nipping It in the Bud

They’re taut, evenly balanced, artfully sculpted by a cosmetic surgeon’s scalpel, and only for the eyes of the most fortunate audiences —welcome to the world of the designer vagina.

- Renyi Lim

I suppose everything can become a trend now,” muses Dr Mohamad Nasir Zahari, the Medical Director of Beverly Wilshire Medical Centre, sitting in an office looking out onto Kuala Lumpur’s skyline. “It is very odd, because if you’re talking about rejuvenating your face, I can understand that. You’re exposing your face to the world — but your vagina?”

As complex as the reasons behind it may be, the popularity of female genital cosmetic surgery has risen enormously in recent years — a wave that Malaysia also seems to be part of. At the beginning of 2017, private healthcare search engine WhatClinic.com revealed that enquiries into laser vaginal rejuvenation, specifically, had soared by nearly 200 percent over the previous two years. A light-based, tightening laser treatment that presents an alternative to a full-blown vaginoplasty, it’s easy to understand why it appeals to women seeking a less invasive and slightly more cost-effective fix.

DELTA OF VENUS

“The demand for vaginal rejuvenation actually equates to the demand for penile enhancements!” remarks Dr. Karen Po, an aesthetic medical practitioner who performs Beverly Wilshire Medical Centre’s signature MonaLisa Touch procedure. “Self-esteem is the answer. Women in this modern era are more capable, and so we love ourselves more. We want to look and also feel good — it’s about addressing aesthetic and functional concerns.”