Clitoroplasty is a type of plastic surgery involving the

clitoris In amniotes, the clitoris ( or ; : clitorises or clitorides) is a female sex organ. In humans, it is the vulva's most erogenous zone, erogenous area and generally the primary anatomical source of female Human sexuality, sexual pleasure. Th ...

. It encompasses several procedures, including clitoral reduction, clitoral reconstruction, and the creation of a neoclitoris in male-to-female

gender-affirming surgery Gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is a surgical procedure, or series of procedures, that alters a person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their gender identity. The phrase is most often associated ...

. These surgeries aim to retain or restore sensation and function in the clitoris, often employing nerve-sparing techniques.

Clitoral reconstruction

Clitoral reconstruction is surgery to restore the function and structure of the clitoris. Examples of clitoral reconstruction include its use to mitigate

congenital malformation A birth defect is an abnormal condition that is present at childbirth, birth, regardless of its cause. Birth defects may result in disability, disabilities that may be physical disability, physical, intellectual disability, intellectual, or dev ...

or repair damage caused by

female genital mutilation Female genital mutilation (FGM) (also known as female genital cutting, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision) is the cutting or removal of some or all of the vulva for non-medical reasons. Prevalence of female ge ...

. Clitoral reconstruction after female genital mutilation involves surgery to expose the remaining deep structures of the clitoris. , there was little evidence for the therapeutic effectiveness of this procedure.

Clitoral reduction

Clitoral reduction is the surgical reduction in size of the clitoris, used to treat

clitoromegaly Clitoromegaly (or macroclitoris) is an abnormal enlargement of the clitoris that is mostly congenital; it is otherwise acquired through deliberately induced clitoral enlargement, a form of body modification, by use of anabolic steroids, in parti ...

. Unlike

clitoridectomy Clitoridectomy or clitorectomy is the surgical removal, reduction, or partial removal of the clitoris. It is rarely used as a therapeutic medical procedure, such as when cancer has developed in or spread to the clitoris. Commonly, non-medical rem ...

, the amputation of part of the clitoris, commonly considered a form of

, modern clitoral reduction surgery aims to preserve sensation and function through the use of nerve-sparing microsurgical techniques. It should be distinguished from

clitoral hood reduction Clitoral hood reduction, also termed clitoral hoodectomy, clitoral unhooding, clitoridotomy, or (partial) hoodectomy, is a plastic surgery procedure (a form of vulvoplasty) for reducing the size and the area of the clitoral hood in order to fu ...

, an operation on the

clitoral hood In female humans and other mammals, the clitoral hood (also called preputium clitoridis, clitoral prepuce, and clitoral foreskin) is a fold of skin that surrounds and protects the glans of the clitoris; it also covers the external clitoral shaft ...

in which the clitoris itself is not damaged.

Gender-affirming surgery

During male-to-female gender-affirming surgery, a neoclitoris is made from the tissue of the

glans penis In male human anatomy, the glans penis or penile glans, commonly referred to as the glans, (; from Latin ''glans'' meaning "acorn") is the bulbous structure at the Anatomical terms of location#Proximal and distal, distal end of the human penis ...

. In female-to-male gender-affirming surgery,

metoidioplasty Metoidioplasty, metaoidioplasty, or metaidoioplasty (informally called a meto or meta) is a female-to-male gender-affirming surgery. Testosterone replacement therapy gradually enlarges the clitoris to a mean maximum size of (as the clitoris ...

is an operation in which the clitoris is repositioned to create a neophallus.

References

{{Reflist

Clitoral reconstruction

Clitoral reduction

Gender-affirming surgery

References

See also