Demographic characteristics and self-reported motivations of women undergoing genital aesthetic surgery: A descriptive cohort of 927 patients in Turkey (2017–2024)
- 1Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Gelisim University, Turkey
Abstract
Objective: Genital aesthetic surgery, within the broader domain of female genital cosmetic surgery, has become increasingly visible in clinical practice. However, descriptive data on patient characteristics and self-reported motivations remain limited. This study describes the demographic profile, psychosocial context, motivations, and procedural patterns among women undergoing genital aesthetic surgery in Turkey.
Methods: This descriptive cohort included 927 consecutive women who underwent genital aesthetic surgery between 2017 and 2024. Data were collected during clinical evaluation using a structured questionnaire and medical records, including lifestyle factors, partner-related decision context, psychiatric history markers, motivations, procedure type, and post-treatment status. Analyses were purely descriptive, with continuous variables reported as mean ± SD and median.
Results: The mean age was 42.0 ± 12.4 years, and 62.4% were married. Educational attainment most commonly reflected an associate degree (45.5%). Current smoking was reported by 629 of 927 participants (67.9%), alcohol use by 32.4%, and a history of prior cosmetic surgery by 33.1%. A psychiatric diagnosis was documented in 10.0%, and psychiatric medication use in 11.4%. Partner involvement was frequent: 64.2% presented at their spouse’s request; decisions were self-driven in 53.0%, partner-driven in 32.6%, and joint in 14.5%. The most commonly endorsed motivations were personal aesthetic concern (63.0%) and relationship anxiety/relationship repair (38.0%). The most frequent procedures were perineoplasty + vaginoplasty (24.3%). Recorded post-treatment status was categorized as successful in 76.9%, with wound-healing problems (9.8%) and unrealistic expectations (6.0%) among the most common nonsuccess categories.
Conclusion: In this large descriptive cohort, genital aesthetic surgery was commonly pursued in mid-adulthood and often occurred within partner-related decision-making contexts, with motivations frequently spanning aesthetic, relational, and functional domains. These findings support the clinical importance of autonomy-sensitive counseling, expectation management, and structured psychosocial documentation in routine genital aesthetic surgery care.
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BibTeX
@article{konac2026demographic,
title = {{Demographic characteristics and self-reported motivations of women undergoing genital aesthetic surgery: A descriptive cohort of 927 patients in Turkey (2017–2024)}},
author = {Ayse Konac},
journal = {The Journal of International Medical Research},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1177/03000605261487263},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1177/03000605261487263},
note = {CC BY-NC 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Demographic characteristics and self-reported motivations of women undergoing genital aesthetic surgery: A descriptive cohort of 927 patients in Turkey (2017–2024)
AU - Ayse Konac
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/17
JO - The Journal of International Medical Research
DO - 10.1177/03000605261487263
UR - https://doi.org/10.1177/03000605261487263
AB - Objective: Genital aesthetic surgery, within the broader domain of female genital cosmetic surgery, has become increasingly visible in clinical practice. However, descriptive data on patient characteristics and self-reported motivations remain limited. This study describes the demographic profile, psychosocial context, motivations, and procedural patterns among women undergoing genital aesthetic surgery in Turkey. Methods: This descriptive cohort included 927 consecutive women who underwent genital aesthetic surgery between 2017 and 2024. Data were collected during clinical evaluation using a structured questionnaire and medical records, including lifestyle factors, partner-related decision context, psychiatric history markers, motivations, procedure type, and post-treatment status. Analyses were purely descriptive, with continuous variables reported as mean ± SD and median. Results: The mean age was 42.0 ± 12.4 years, and 62.4% were married. Educational attainment most commonly reflected an associate degree (45.5%). Current smoking was reported by 629 of 927 participants (67.9%), alcohol use by 32.4%, and a history of prior cosmetic surgery by 33.1%. A psychiatric diagnosis was documented in 10.0%, and psychiatric medication use in 11.4%. Partner involvement was frequent: 64.2% presented at their spouse’s request; decisions were self-driven in 53.0%, partner-driven in 32.6%, and joint in 14.5%. The most commonly endorsed motivations were personal aesthetic concern (63.0%) and relationship anxiety/relationship repair (38.0%). The most frequent procedures were perineoplasty + vaginoplasty (24.3%). Recorded post-treatment status was categorized as successful in 76.9%, with wound-healing problems (9.8%) and unrealistic expectations (6.0%) among the most common nonsuccess categories. Conclusion: In this large descriptive cohort, genital aesthetic surgery was commonly pursued in mid-adulthood and often occurred within partner-related decision-making contexts, with motivations frequently spanning aesthetic, relational, and functional domains. These findings support the clinical importance of autonomy-sensitive counseling, expectation management, and structured psychosocial documentation in routine genital aesthetic surgery care.
SN - 0300-0605
SN - 1473-2300
ER -