What is Hymenoplasty? Procedures, Risks & Aftercare

Hymenoplasty, also known as hymenorrhaphy or hymen reconstruction or hymen repair, has gained significant attention across India due to societal and cultural perceptions around the virginity of women. There has been an increase of 20- 30% in this surgery every year in India. Most of the women seeking hymen recovery surgery are between the ages of 20 to 30 years. ⁽¹⁾

What is hymenoplasty?

Hymenoplasty is a surgery that is concerned with the recovery of the hymen –a sign of purity referred to by many cultures and societies. Actually, hymen is a thin membrane that covers the vaginal opening. It is made up of flexible tissues that stretch easily. The society’s obsession with virgin girls for marriage and the misconception about the relation between virginity and hymen is the main reason for females seeking this surgery.⁽⁶⁾

Procedure of hymenoplasty

Hymenoplasty is a minor surgery. The individual seeking virginity surgery is first given anesthesia. Then the torn hymen is stitched to make it intact, i.e., Hymen stitching. If there is not enough tissue of the hymen to stitch together, then hymen reconstruction is still possible by taking live tissue from the labia minora. It is done with a focus that during the first sexual intercourse after surgery, the hymen breakage will release blood.

This surgery takes from half to one hour to complete. The patient is discharged just after a few hours of surgery. There is no need for a hospital stay after this surgery.

It costs around 60,000 to 1 lakh for this surgery, depending upon the hospital where the surgery is done. ⁽⁶⁾

Post surgery

The individual after hymenoplasty has to take some precautions.

Dos

Take a rest for 4 to 6 weeks.
Keep the area clean.
Wear loose clothes to allow ventilation.
Take medicines on time as prescribed by the doctor.

Don’ts

Patients should refrain from lifting heavy weights.
Involving in rigorous physical activities after surgery.
She should also not be involved in sexual intercourse for a few weeks after the surgery. ⁽²⁾

Complications in hymenoplasty

Hymenoplasty is a minor surgery that is almost safe. However, like many other surgeries, the hymenoplasty can have some complications. Some of them are as follows:

Swelling may occur around the area that has undergone surgery.
Allergic reactions due to anesthesia.
Itchiness and pain in the area.
Blood clots may form.
There may be infections in the area.
One may experience vomiting or nausea after surgery.
In some cases, you may suffer a hematoma.

Why are women getting hymenoplasty?

It is important to note that hymenoplasty is different from female genital mutilation, as this surgery is done with the consent of the female. Females seeking hymenorrhaphy in recent years are on the increase due to personal, cultural, and social reasons. Virginity surgery is classified as a cosmetic surgery in medical terms.

Most women seek this surgery to restore their hymen out of fear of rejection by their partners, family, and society. Girls may face consequences from divorce to death for not having an intact hymen. The girl’s family faces humiliation and social boycott on being revealed that their daughter is not a virgin

It puts unnecessary pressure on women to go through the surgery to make their hymen intact and to prove their virginity.

Many Married women also go through this surgery to become a virgin again for their partners as a gift. ⁽⁵⁾

Virginity test

Many societies in India refer to the hymen as a sign of virginity. An intact hymen shows that a woman did not have any sexual intercourse in the past. When women have her first sexual intercourse, the blood stains on the sheet are considered to be a sign of purity (when the hymen is broken, the blood is released).

Patriarchal society considers the virginity of women a prerequisite for marriage. In many communities in India, the new brides have to go through the extremely discriminatory test of virginity. This practice is prevalent in different religions: Hindu, Christian, and Muslim; in social background, rural and even urban areas of the country. ⁽¹⁾

For instance, A guy in Bengaluru did the test on his wife without her knowledge since she had been experiencing post-marriage nausea. There is a khanjar bat community in Rajasthan and Maharashtra. After marriage rituals, the new brides are checked to see if their hymen is intact or not. If it is found that their hymen is broken, they have to go through physical torture, and their marriage is cancelled.

This mentality forces women to resort to the alternatives available to get back their intact hymen. These alternatives include fake hymens, pills that can be used to release blood on sheets that’s sign of virginity, vaginal rejuvenation: hymenoplasty. ^{(4), (5)}

Women’s virginity cannot be tested

The relationship of the hymen with virginity is a social and religious construct. Is there any medical evidence of it?

Breakage of the hymen can be due to many reasons apart from sexual activity, like cycling, riding, rigorous physical activity, dance, etc. It is not necessary that blood will be released after the breakage of the hymen. Most women don’t even know when their hymen breaks. Hence, it is clear that it does not show virginity. Moreover, apart from any medical test conducted by health professionals, a woman’s past sexual activity cannot be determined. ⁽⁶⁾

Ethical aspect

Intact hymen and its relation with virginity is the main reason behind hymenoplasty.

If women fail to prove their virginity, they are forced to pay fines, becoming victims of physical abuse. The societal pressure on women to be pure or a virgin for marriage led medical practitioners to capitalize on the gain by doing the surgery for hymen repair. Women also have the risk of infections, scars, and pain after the surgery. The fundamental right to the dignity of a woman is being violated when she is forced to submit to this examination without her will. ⁽⁷⁾

A note from kamarth

The overemphasis on the virginity of women and the intact hymen leads to the exploitation of women. One lady took her own life because she was unable to persuade her spouse that she had never been sexually active.

Policymakers should make laws and policies to protect the rights of individuals seeking hymenoplasty out of pressure from society by considering the ethical concerns around this. It is also crucial to create awareness and impart sex education among the people, and the efforts by all of us as members of society to make a better and healthy approach towards sex education and to eradicate this mentality around the virginity of women.

Some Additional Doubts

Question: What is hymen?
Answer: It is a thin membrane around the opening of vagina. It is a thin, elastic tissue that can stretch and tear.

Question: What is hymenoplasty?
Answer: Hymenoplasty is a surgery that is used to repair the hymen.

Question: How long is the recovery time?
Answer: Approximately six weeks are required to recover from surgery.

Question: What is the cost of Hymenoplasty?
Answer: It depends on the hospital facilities. In a private hospital, it may cost from 60000 to 1 lakh

Question: Is there a scar or sign of an operation?
Answer: After hymenoplasty, there are no visible scars of the operation. The hymen heals around 15 to 20 days after surgery once the stitches dissolve.

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