By Helen Thomson
Three women have received a surgery intended to improve G-spot sensitivity and increase sexual satisfaction. The procedure tightens tissue in the vaginal wall around the so-called G spot, an area of the vagina reputed to produce intense orgasms when stimulated, although experts still argue over whether this really exists.
The surgery – dubbed a “G-spotplasty” – has been performed on three women who said they lost the ability to orgasm through vaginal stimulation alone following the birth of a child. It was performed by Adam Ostrzenski, a gynaecological surgeon in Florida, who in 2012 claimed to have identified the G spot as a well-defined sac within the front vaginal wall, a few centimetres from the opening of the vagina.
For each woman, Ostrzenski removed a small, diamond-shaped piece of tissue from the supposed location of the G spot. He then stitched the vaginal wall back together again, causing it to tighten. The procedures were carried out in 2013, using a local anaesthetic and a sedative, and the women’s experiences were then recorded in the years that followed.
Spot the problem
Following the procedure, all three women went on to say that they had regained the ability to reach vaginal orgasm – without stimulation of the clitoris – and now had intercourse more frequently.
However, there was no placebo in the study, and it is unclear if these women would have seen the same improvements over time without the surgery.
There is still considerable debate concerning the G spot, says Devan Stahl at Michigan State University. “There are researchers who think it absolutely does not exist, others who think that it may exist but not every woman has it, and still others who think that it is not a single ‘spot’ or anatomical structure, but rather a complex of varied anatomical structures.”
Since Ozstrzenski’s study in 2012, in which he described what he says is the G spot in a cadaver of an 83-year-old woman, several other studies have failed to produce conclusive evidence that it even exists.
Unrealistic ideals
The procedure isn’t the only G-spot amplification therapy available. Others include the “G-shot” – a collagen injection into the vagina, which is intended to improve sensation to the area.
“G-spot therapies have become a multimillion-dollar business, promising to increase sexual pleasure for women, with virtually no evidence that these therapies work outside of a placebo effect,” says Stahl.
She says that for women who are sexually frustrated, the G-spotplasty reinforces the message that they have a problem, and that the problem is their own body. “What is actually statistically normal – difficulty achieving orgasms through penetrative vaginal intercourse – is now considered pathological,” she says.
Stahl says women should be very sceptical of procedures targeting the G spot, which may put their health at risk in the pursuit of a highly contested ideal of female pleasure.
But Douglas McGeorge, consultant plastic surgeon and former president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, says many doctors carry out procedures to the vagina with minimal problems. “A lot of women get a pleasurable experience as a result of stimulating the area some people call the G spot. If they’re suddenly not achieving this same satisfaction and they feel it is a problem, then a small procedure like this might help them. And that has to be a good thing.”
Journal reference: Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, DOI: 10.1007/s00266-018-1137-7