Posted October 02, 2018 05:12:22When a woman is cutting her own vagina open, the procedure is not a criminal act.
In an interview with Australia’s Channel Nine, Dr Lisa Burridge, a surgeon who treats women at the University of Queensland, said that the procedure was “very safe” and “very simple”.
“In the United States, it would probably be considered a crime, but it’s a very rare case in Australia,” Dr Burridge said.
“The vagina is actually quite flexible, so you don’t have to stretch it, so it’s just very flexible, and there’s not any trauma or damage to the vagina.”
The cut is done under general anaesthetic, which Dr Burrig says minimises the chances of bleeding.
“It’s also really very delicate, so I don’t think the cut would actually be dangerous if you have bleeding on the inside of the vagina,” she said.
Dr Burridge says the vagina is more likely to bleed if the cut is performed with a scalpel, scissors or a small knife.
“A scalpel is a very small blade and you use a lot of pressure and it’s very delicate,” she explained.
“You can have very minor injuries to the cervix and sometimes there’s a tear in the cervicle, so that’s why it’s important to avoid this sort of injury.”
Dr Burrig’s advice for women who have had their vaginas cut open is that it is very important to tell the surgeon that the cut will be permanent.
“If you tell the doctor that it’s going to be permanent, the doctor will be able to take care of it for you, so if you’re worried about it being painful or you don´t feel like you’re going to have any pain afterwards, then don’t do it,” she added.
The Australian Medical Association says cutting a woman’s vagina is considered to be a medical emergency, but Dr Burrid says it is a common surgical procedure.
“I think it’s actually quite common and we know about the risk of bleeding on cut sites, and so it doesn’t mean that cutting the vagina should never be done,” Dr Burdridge said in the interview.
Dr Burdrose also says that the decision to cut a woman´s vagina is often made without considering whether the patient might have other health issues.
“There are a lot more people who have a vagina cut than there are people who are diagnosed with other conditions like cysts, which are common, and then the surgery is often done without the patient having any concern for what they might have,” she told Channel Nine.
“When you talk to patients, they’re not really sure what they want to do and it doesn´t seem like they’re really doing a good job of explaining to the surgeon.”
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