Key facts: The outer lips (labia majora) can sag or lose volume with age, weight loss or menopause, or be large and bulky. Excess skin can be removed with an incision hidden in the natural fold; lost volume can be restored with your own fat or a hyaluronic acid filler. Recovery ranges from a few days (filler) to around six weeks before sport (surgery).
While labiaplasty treats the inner lips, the labia majora are the outer, hair-bearing lips. Two quite different concerns can affect them.
Loose or protruding outer lips: reduction
After major weight loss, with age or naturally, the outer lips can become loose, wrinkled or bulky and visible in tight clothing or swimwear. A labia majora reduction removes an elliptical strip of excess skin (and sometimes fat) along the inner side, so that the scar lies in the natural fold between the outer and inner lips.
Deflated outer lips: volume restoration
With menopause and weight loss, the outer lips can lose fat and look deflated. Volume can be restored with:
- Fat transfer — fat taken gently from the abdomen or thighs, purified and injected. Results are natural and long-lasting, but part of the transferred fat is naturally reabsorbed in the first months.
- Hyaluronic acid filler — a quick treatment without surgery; it lasts for a limited time and is gradually broken down by the body.
Recovery and risks
After filler, most women return to normal activities the next day. After reduction or fat transfer, expect swelling for one to two weeks and avoid sport and intercourse for four to six weeks. Risks include swelling, bruising, asymmetry, irregularities, scar problems and, with fillers, rare vascular complications — which is why injections are done by trained doctors.
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