The Exploration of the Women Experiences of Sexual Function after Female Genital Cosmetic Surgery: A Phenomenological Descriptive Study

Abstract

Female genital cosmetic surgery (FGCS) consists of a set of designed approaches to recover or reinforce the vulva, these cosmetic procedures are conducted to relive functionality problems such as vaginal looseness to sexual dissatisfaction, and the external genital tract is shaped cosmetically. Its results could be better judged through understanding the direct experience of women who underwent surgery, therefore, this study aimed to explain the experiences of women regarding FGCS through a phenomenological methods. In a study using phenomenological descriptive, and through purposive sampling, women who experienced FGCS were semisystematically deep interviewed. Then, the interviews were entered into the Word software and were analyzed by Colaizzi 7-step method. To assurance on the correctness of the data, the guba’s criteria were used. Data were analyzed using MAXQDA software version 10. The results showed that 15 women aged between 23-49 years old and with a mean age of 34 years old, mostly married and housewives as well as with diploma educational level participated in the study, three themes and eight subthemes were excluded from the analysis of participants’ interview. Participants presented their experiences on their sexual function after FGCS as sexual satisfaction, high-quality life, and willingness for surgery. The study showed that women’s experience with FGCS includes sexual satisfaction and higher quality of life. Therefore, the assessment of women to perform cosmetic surgery should be prioritized and the women should be supported to make a decision regarding such surgery.