According to Salon. com, "Laser Vaginal Rejuvenation began as a modification of a traditional gynecological vaginal surgery for stress urinary incontinence. The procedure, which has been a standard gynecological surgery for decades, involves the tightening of the vaginal muscles and support tissues, as well as the reduction of redundant vaginal mucosa (relaxed vaginal lining). By reconstructing the "optimum structural architecture" of the vagina -- namely, by reconstructing the outer third of the vagina: the orgasmic platform, internal and external vaginal diameter (introitus) and the perineal body -- Matlock claims that women not only are relieved of incontinence, but they also enjoy increased levels of sexual gratification."

The article starts it's focus on Jill, a Manhattan career women who had just given birth to two beautiful kids. She always wanted a different vagina, and felt after two children she had serious incontinence problems.

"My vagina had that 'flippy-floppy' feeling. I could barely feel anything. Sex was just not the same." Then a friend of hers saw an ad for Dr. David Matlock and his Laser Vaginal Rejuvenation clinic in Los Angeles. "My friend said, 'Hey Jill, you could do this!' It was meant as a joke. I found Matlock's number on the Net and was in his office within a week."

According to Salon.com, "Jill had two of Matlock's trademark surgeries: Laser Vaginal Rejuvenation (LVR) to tighten her vagina and "enhance sexual gratification" and Designer Laser Vaginoplasty (DLV) to "aesthetically modify" her labia."

Matlock realized that women were coming into his office frustrated that after giving birth they had serious incontinence problems. So, he decided to officially offer his services by putting an ad in the LA Weekly two years ago. The ad read:

"You Won't Believe How Good Sex Can Be!"

His phones have not stopped ringing...

According to the Los Angeles Times

"SINCE the dawn of its days as a medical specialty, plastic surgery has been marching inexorably down women's bodies, straightening, slimming, tucking as it goes, restoring the appearance of youth to features sagging with age and smoothing those marked by eccentricity.

Plastic surgery's southward expansion has now entered territory long thought sacred. Today, the vagina and its neighbors -- the labia majora, the labia minora, the clitoral hood -- are the latest bit of feminine real estate considered to be blighted by age or otherwise in need of renovation, beautification and rejuvenation"

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Sharon Mitchell, executive director of the Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation in Sherman Oaks and Woodland Hills, says few of today's adult film actresses are having the surgery because so many are already very young. But Mitchell, an adult film actress for 25 years before she earned a doctorate in human sexuality, says the adult film industry's emphasis on youth, as well as its growing audience among beauty-conscious women, is almost certainly driving the upsurge in the surgery.

"I hear it time and time again," says Dr. Gary Alter, a urologist-turned-plastic-surgeon who operates out of offices in Beverly Hills and New York City. "The woman says, 'I thought I was normal and I watch these movies with my boyfriends and now I feel like I must be a freak.' They feel they're the only ones in the world."

"You're basically taking a risk for no or very little benefit" with most of these surgeries, says Dr. Thomas G. Stovall, immediate past president of the Society of Gynecological Surgeons. Stovall warns that with labiaplasties and vaginal tightening, patients run the risk of developing infection and scar tissue, which can decrease sensation -- or worse, cause pain -- in the areas where incisions have been made.

According to the Los Angeles Times:

Feminists too have criticized the trend. Judy Norsigian, co-founder and author of the feminist health tract "Our Bodies, Ourselves," says women who have these surgeries are taking risks to adhere to standards of feminine beauty that are fleeting, unnatural and, ultimately, dictated by a society in which men are fixated on barely pubescent girls.

"We live in a country where people are always thinking up new things, new practices, new ways to make money," says Norsigian. "And if you can play upon an insecurity, you can get a lot of people to do a lot of things."

Want to know how much for a new Vagina? Try paying 7,000-8,000 dollars!

So, how do you feel so far? Happy?

Well, some people feel empowered by the surgery and feel it's just what the feminist movement needs!

"I consider myself a feminist, and I feel this is so empowering," says Katie Sokey, a 36-year-old South Pasadena resident on whom Matlock recently performed laser vaginal rejuvenation. "It was a way to take charge of my own sexuality" after giving birth naturally to three strapping babies.

So, why do women take the risk?

Women seeking plastic surgery in the genital area vary in their motivations, say those in the field. Many are prompted strictly by aesthetics: They are, says Alter, "women who are in tune with what they should look like."

Guess what? These women are coming out of pocket because insurance does not cover, "new vaginas"!

Want to see the surgery for yourself?

To see pictures of the before and after of the Laser Vaginal Rejuvenation, click here.

My thoughts...

I think that the media plays a big role in our acceptance of both our body and how we feel about ourselves as a whole. I wonder if people know that porn stars are usually young women and their vaginas are not that tight forever. Why would you want to reconstruct your vagina? I understand that pregnancy can take a toll, but that is a big decision. I wish that women would feel beautiful about themselves and not feel like everything on their body has to be changed due to what is happening in hollywood. What constitutes a pretty vagina? Is it the perfectly sculpted tight pink spot that has never been touched? We all get old soon or later and I would hate to see a 70 year old women going to Dr. Matlock to reconstruct her vagina, but hey, whatever makes you feel better, is fine with me.

What are your thoughts? I would love to have some feedback on this post!