Monthly Archives: October 2015

Dr. Traci Temmen’s October 15 Plastic Surgery Patient of the Month: Labiaplasty- Recovery

Postoperative Day 1-

Like usual, I saw October’s Patient of the Month on the day after her labiaplasty surgery. Because she had taken a little prescription pain medication, she was unable to drive herself, and thus her mother had driven her to her appointment. Patients who do not require preoperative anxiolytics (like Valium) or postoperative prescription pain medications (like Percocet) are able to drive themselves to and from their labiaplasty surgery.

Temmen Post

Upon arrival, the patient was quickly brought into an examination room at the Temmen Plastic Surgery. She said she did well overnight, was able to sleep relatively well, and had tried to elevate her legs and pelvis as instructed.

After Results

Pre On examination, the patient had a small amount of postoperative bleeding and swelling, which is all normal. Despite this, I could tell she was going to have a dramatic improvement in her level of comfort and appearance once she was completely healed. I emphasized with the patient to spend the weekend relaxing, wear the postoperative compression garment as instructed, and to use ice packs as necessary. Finally, I arranged to see her again in 3 days for her second postoperative appointment.

Postoperative Day 4-

I saw my October Patient of the Month, a labiaplasty patient, on postoperative day 4 for her second postoperative appointment. She said she was still having pain and taking some of the prescription pain medications in the evening when she was most sore. However, because she did not require pain medications during the day, she was able to drive herself to her appointment. She did admit to not wearing the compression garment all the time, as instructed. Otherwise, she said she was healing well and remained in good spirits.

A quick physical examation showed she still had some swelling and had developed a small amount of bruising on the posterior (or backside) labia minora. A small amount of bruising following a labiaplasty is not uncommon, particularly in those patients who do not have a lot of postoperative compression. Despite this, I was happy with how she was healing and arranged to see her again in one week. I gave her “doctor’s note” in case she wanted to take a day off class in the coming week and told her to call for anything.

Postoperative Week 2 ½-

My October Patient of the month, a labiaplasty patient, couldn’t make it to her regularly scheduled appointment, but she was kind enough to message and email me on her progress! She said, “I have zero complaints, everything is looking awesome. I had the smallest bit of swelling at the location of the lowest stitch area the other day after doing a lot of walking and none since. I really couldn’t be happier. I’ll reschedule as soon as possible!”

She was also able to send a 2 ½ week follow-up photo. As you can see, most of the swelling is decreased, she has no more bruising, and all of her external sutures are dissolved and/or fallen off. Assuming all continues to go well, I will allow her to discontinue vaginal precautions after her next follow-up appointment and gradually resume exercise.

Dr. Traci M. Temmen

Dr. Traci Temmen’s October 15 Plastic Surgery Patient of the Month: Labiaplasty- Day of Surgery

Day of October’s patient of the month had her labiaplasty surgery in Tampa scheduled for October 15. Her surgery was scheduled for later in the afternoon, and she arrived at approximately 11:30am. Upon her arrival, she was taken into a preoperative holding room where she changed into a surgical gown and I was again reviewed her medical history to ensure it was up-to-date. Because her surgery was going to be performed under local anesthesia, she did not require an IV to be placed, nor did she meet with our anesthesiologist. However, she did take a small dose valium I had prescribed at her preoperative appointment to help calm her nerves right before surgery.

Once the operating suite was ready, I escorted the patient to the operating room and helped her get comfortable on the operating room table. I then injected the local anesthesia into each side of her labia minora. Like most labiaplasty patients, this was the part she had been most dreading! However, after the initial “pinch” of the needle, I inject the anesthesia in such a way that most patients only feel one small injection on each side. After I finished injecting the anesthesia, the patient said “this was not nearly as bad as I had expected.” I then let the anesthetic take effect for approximately 15 minutes to ensure the patient is completely numb prior to the start of surgery. During this time, the operating room nurse cleaned and prepared the surgical site.

After the anesthetic had taken effect I came back to the operating room, did a “pinch test” to ensure the patient was absolutely numb (which she was!), and put on sterile gown and gloves. I then started the surgery on the right side. Because most labiaplasty patients are completely awake for their surgery, I want them to be completely calm and comfortable throughout the entire procedure. Some patients bring headphones and listen to music. Others watch videos on their cellphones during the surgery. This patient was comforted by my telling her exactly what I was going to do, before I did it, so she knew what to expect and was never surprised or startled during surgery. She was actually very curious about the surgery and seemed more interested rather than nervous once I got started.

The vaginal rejuvenation procedure took about 45 minutes and went extremely well. Immediately afterwards, I gave the patient a mirror so she could see her initial postoperative result. Even though she was swollen, she was still very happy with her appearance and couldn’t believe this was the “new” her! We then helped her into her postoperative garments and escorted her back to her husband and mother in the waiting room.

I reinforced to the patient to take it easy the rest of the afternoon, keep her legs and hips elevated as much as possible, and take pain medications as needed. I then arranged to see her the next day for her first postoperative appointment. She walked to her car with her family feeling happy and completely comfortable. If you are considering having a labiaplasty and would like to schedule a consultation, please contact us today.

Dr. Traci Temmen

Dr. Traci Temmen’s October 15 Plastic Surgery Patient of the Month: Labiaplasty- Preoperative Appointment

doctor-photo2 My October 2015 patient of the month came in to the office, Temmen Plastic Surgery, for her preoperative labiaplasty surgery appointment approximately one and a half weeks prior to her surgery. Because her surgery would be performed under local anesthesia (i.e. without general anesthesia or the need of a breathing tube), she did not need the normal preoperative laboratory studies, and I was able to schedule her preoperative appointment closer to her day of surgery.

Like her initial visit, the patient again met with Kim, who then went over her surgical consents, pre- and postoperative instructions, and answered a couple last minute questions. The patient was then taken into an examination room where her “before” labiaplasty pictures were taken. I then met with the patient in the examination room, performed a complete physical examination, reviewed her medical history, went over her plan for surgery, and made sure she understood and pre- and postoperative labiaplasty instructions. The patient was so calm, relaxed, and I felt, truly ready for surgery. My goal is to make every patient feel comfortable, confident, and excited for their upcoming surgery. I want my patients to really be able to talk to me and tell me their concerns, fears, hopes, and goals for their plastic surgery procedure. This patient really made that part of my job easy!

Before leaving, the patient was given a bag containing all the information she would need to prepare for surgery including her postoperative paperwork and prescriptions for postoperative medications. We then confirmed her date and time for surgery and wished her well in the meantime.

Check my blog over the coming weeks for more information on this patients surgery, recovery, and to see week-by-week postoperative labiaplasty photos:

Consultation

Day of Surgery

Post Operative

Traci Temmen, M.D.

Dr. Traci Temmen’s October 15 Plastic Surgery Patient of the Month: Labiaplasty Consultation

doctor-photo2 October’s patient of the month is a 22-year-old student who had been bothered by her enlarged labia minora for years. She is an avid horse rider, and found that this activity, as well as other exercises, caused irritation and discomfort because of her protuberant labia. Her secondary concerns were aesthetic in nature, in that she did not like the way her external genitalia looked and she found it difficult to find clothes that she felt comfortable wearing. Her goals for the surgery were to reduce the size and length of her labia minora to the point where she didn’t experience discomfort with exercise or embarrassment when wearing tighter clothing. When she came to see me, my patient had already been to see another plastic surgeon, but did not feel fully comfortable with that surgeon or his approach. Thus, when she came to see me, this labiaplasty patient was looking for a technically skilled, experienced, plastic surgeon that would treat her respectfully, gently, and kindly with whom she could easily communicate.

During her initial consultation in late September, my patient met with Kim, one of our cosmetic surgery coordinators, who went over her medical history, medications, etc… and then showed her many before and after labiaplasty photos in the conference room at the Temmen Plastic Surgery. This gave my patient a chance to see a wide range of “normal” and “abnormal” external female genitalia, and to get an idea of what her postoperative result might look like. This patient had done a lot of research on labiaplasty surgeons in the Tampa area, the various surgeries performed to treat large labia, and the possible side effects. She basically knew everything she needed to know about labiaplasty surgery itself, and was just looking for a surgeon she felt comfortable with!

After meeting with Kim and viewing many labiaplasty before and after pictures, I met with the patient in the conference room, as well. There, I reviewed her medical and surgical history, explained my surgical technique, and described the expected postoperative period and recovery following labiaplasty surgery. This patient was extremely calm, clever, and well-spoken. She had very reasonable expectations for her labiaplasty surgery, was well-educated, and I felt very comfortable explaining to her my ideas and goals for her surgery

Next, the patient was taken into an examination room where I performed a quick and delicate physical examination. She explained how she did not like the way her labia minora hung past her labia majora (particularly noticeable when she was standing) and that to appear “normal” she had to “tuck” her labia minora inside the labia majora. I too noticed this, but because she has particularly small labia majora, I could not promise that I would be able to reduce the labia minora enough so that they would be completely covered by the labia majora at all times. She understood and was nonetheless happy to proceed with surgery.

Finally, Kim brought the patient back into the conference room where they discussed pricing and scheduling. The patient and her husband decided to book surgery for the latter part of September, paid the deposit to hold her date of surgery, and scheduled her preoperative labiaplasty appointment before leaving.

Stay tuned to learn about her preoperative appointment!

Traci Temmen, M.D.

Dr. Temmen Plastic Surgery Patient of the Month

doctor-photo2 To help my patients feel more comfortable with the idea of surgery and to know what to expect before, during, and after surgery, I’m going to start a new section of my blog devoted to featured patients of the month. In this blog, I will describe every aspect of the patient’s surgery, from their initial consultation, to their six week follow-up appointment, and beyond.

I plan to showcase a wide variety of my work including Brazilian butt lifts, breast augmentations, liposuction, tummy tucks, breast implants with lifts, mommy makeovers, face lifts and neck lifts, rhinoplasty, labiaplasty, and more. These plastic surgery patients will not be pre-screened by me, but rather I will report their progress as it happens. When possible, I will provide before and after photos as well as intraoperative pictures and videos.

I love my profession! I love being a plastic surgeon! And I can’t wait to share my passion with my existing and future patients! If you have questions as you read my blog, please feel free to call the office or message me through Facebook or Instagram.