HYMENOPLASTY

Hymenoplasty



Hymenoplasty

Introduction

Hymenoplasty, or repairing the hymen to “restore” virginity, is a common surgical operation in societies that attribute so much value to the hymen as the sign of virginity. In such contexts, girls who have lost their virginity via sexual intercourse, rape, or even an accident (e.g., in a medical physical examination) cannot marry, because virginity is of utmost importance to their future husbands. Carpenter (2005) mentions males, on the other hand, can easily hide their own premarital sexual activities. In these societies and cultures, typically females are considered to be of lower value than males. In some cultures, female circumcision or genital mutilation is done not only to prevent sexual relationships before marriage but also because it is forbidden for females to enjoy sex (Carpenter, 2005). This paper discusses hymenoplasty in a concise and comprehensive way.

Hymenoplasty: A Discussion

Premarital sex is socially and religiously unacceptable in some cultures, with grave consequences such as shame, rejection, divorce, or even death to "cleanse the shame". Hymenorrhaphy or hymenoplasty has emerged as a procedure which attempts to restore the ability of the hymen to bleed at intercourse on the wedding night, thus protecting women from violent reprisals.

A few articles have recently appeared in the English literature debating whether hymenoplasty is clinically indicated or ethically justified (Carpenter, 2005). If we review the English literature, we find only one article addressing the success of this operation in a group of 20 patients (Logmans, et al, 1998). The authors claim that all 20 were satisfied with the outcome and none had regrets. Long term follow up is available on only 10 patients (50%) and they report that the procedure provided a satisfactory outcome. This single article can hardly be convincing in an era of evidence-based medicine. There is the theoretical risk of infection which might disrupt the repair, thus defeating the purpose of the operation, and there is the potential risk of bleeding with intercourse, which might be traumatic to the couple. Well controlled studies to assess success and safety are extremely difficult to perform since the procedure is illegal and religiously condemned in most of the countries where hymenoplasty is performed, and neither the patients nor the physicians are willing to be involved in medicolegal or social conflicts. Most of the time, the medical records of such procedures are destroyed and follow up of these patients risks exposing the secret they are trying so desperately to ...