“Would surgical removal of the hymen lessen vaginal tightness?”
I am aware that a vagina is not loosened with sex, but I have been sexually active for over a year now and my hymen is still in place. It is thick, and I almost always get it caught if I’m using a tampon. (Although I don’t use tampons often) I have been praised as being tighter, and even if it hurts a little more that’s something I’d like to maintain. It seems as though the hymen gives the illusion. But if it stays that tightness regardless of the hymen, I will want it removed.
Female | 21 years old
Complaint duration: 11 years
Conditions: PCOS
1 Answer
Hi.
First of all, I am proud of you for bringing this up and not just "living with it." There is absolutely no reason that you need to suffer with this problem. You probably have an imperforate hymen. The fact that you can still have sex does not mean that you do not have this problem. There are different degrees of imperforate hymen. It can vary from being so imperforate that it can block you from bleeding with your periods to a pretty mild case where having sex with someone with a large penis causes pain. You should see your local OB/GYN physician, preferably, someone that does "adolescent gynecology." I know that you are 21 years old, but, it is typically a surgery done on younger people. The surgery is not that bad and recovery is not a problem. Actually, my daughter had the procedure done and her recovery was not a problem and she is happy that she had the surgery done. (She was not able to use a tampon at all before and now she can. I obviously do not want to know if she can have sex without pain.) Lastly, speaking, as a male, most men would not want you to suffer in pain during intercourse. Also, they would not notice if you were "tighter" or not since the vaginal muscles would not change--only the hymen would change and this does not contribute to the "tightness" to the vagina. The best thing you can do is try to find someone that does the surgery a fair amount. I think that there are people that now specialize in adolescent gynecology--especially in bigger cities. You can go to www.acog.org and do your research looking for an "adolescent gynecologist" or even a "pediatric gynecologist" since you want to see someone that does this surgery a lot. Again, I know that you are 21 years old but I have a feeling that you have suffered with this problem for awhile. An "adolescent gynecologist" and pediatric gynecologists have their own subspecialty. Typically, if someone is an adolescent gynecologist they see only adolescents. If you have further questions, please feel free to e-mail me with questions. My e-mail is jadashek@aol.com. Joseph Adashek MD FACOG
First of all, I am proud of you for bringing this up and not just "living with it." There is absolutely no reason that you need to suffer with this problem. You probably have an imperforate hymen. The fact that you can still have sex does not mean that you do not have this problem. There are different degrees of imperforate hymen. It can vary from being so imperforate that it can block you from bleeding with your periods to a pretty mild case where having sex with someone with a large penis causes pain. You should see your local OB/GYN physician, preferably, someone that does "adolescent gynecology." I know that you are 21 years old, but, it is typically a surgery done on younger people. The surgery is not that bad and recovery is not a problem. Actually, my daughter had the procedure done and her recovery was not a problem and she is happy that she had the surgery done. (She was not able to use a tampon at all before and now she can. I obviously do not want to know if she can have sex without pain.) Lastly, speaking, as a male, most men would not want you to suffer in pain during intercourse. Also, they would not notice if you were "tighter" or not since the vaginal muscles would not change--only the hymen would change and this does not contribute to the "tightness" to the vagina. The best thing you can do is try to find someone that does the surgery a fair amount. I think that there are people that now specialize in adolescent gynecology--especially in bigger cities. You can go to www.acog.org and do your research looking for an "adolescent gynecologist" or even a "pediatric gynecologist" since you want to see someone that does this surgery a lot. Again, I know that you are 21 years old but I have a feeling that you have suffered with this problem for awhile. An "adolescent gynecologist" and pediatric gynecologists have their own subspecialty. Typically, if someone is an adolescent gynecologist they see only adolescents. If you have further questions, please feel free to e-mail me with questions. My e-mail is jadashek@aol.com. Joseph Adashek MD FACOG
