‘Wish I had never done this': Melbourne woman sues gyno over labia surgery
EXCLUSIVE
A Melbourne woman who was allegedly left with 'deformed' and 'numb' after labia surgery is suing her gynaecologist who performed the surgery and has called on Australian lawmakers to ban the procedure.
Janelle Nicol, 33, told Victoria's Medical Panel she underwent a labioplasty in May 2022 after her ex-boyfriend allegedly told her that her vagina was 'ugly' at age 29.
Ms Nicol, who is a store manager at Telstra, told the panel she was left disfigured, unable to orgasm, and suffered serious mental health issues as a result of the procedure performed by Fitzroy gynecologist Dr Marcia Bonazzi.
Speaking to news.com.au about her ordeal, Ms Nicol said she is speaking out in an effort to save others from getting the surgery.
'My goal is to spread awareness, I wish I had never done this to myself and looking back, I wish she had referred me to a psychologist,' Ms Nicol said.
The Victorian Medical Panel ruled the results of the surgery had met the 'significant injury threshold' required for compensation, with Ms Nicol now lodging medical negligence proceedings in Victoria's Supreme Court.
Ms Nicol said she first found Dr Bonazzi after googling doctors in her area who performed the procedure.
She told the panel that when she first checked the site, she claims her clitoral area had also been cut.
'She said when she first looked at her genitalia, a couple of weeks after the surgery, her vulva was exposed; the bilateral surgical scars extended above the clitoris, which she had not anticipated; her clitoris was hidden beneath overlying skin, making the clitoris appear protuberant ('like a small penis') and the sensation in her genital area was reduced,' the panel decision stated.
'She said she felt distressed about the appearance and numbness of her genitalia, but she thought these issues would improve as her recovery from the surgery continued, however, the appearance of her genitalia did not change.'
The panel heard how Ms Nicol had been left with a 'scarring' and 'disfigurement' as well as 'nerve damage, including to the dorsal nerve of the clitoris'.
The medical panel ruled that Ms Nicol had suffered from 'clitoral and vulval deformity and dysfunction' following the bilateral labioplasty surgery.
In her defence filed to Victoria's Supreme Court, Dr Bonazzi said she acted in a manner 'widely accepted in Australia' by a 'significant number of respected practitioners in the field' and was therefore not negligent.
Dr Bonazzi did not respond to comment from news.com.au.
The next hearing is currently set down for May 29.
Ms Nicol said she was coming forward with her story in an effort to stop 'just one' woman undergoing similar surgery.
'From that day, I've been furious,' she said.
'[Labia surgery] should be illegal. There is absolutely no reason that I should have done this. There's nothing wrong with a vagina.'
In July last year, Women's Health Victoria released a report based on a survey of over 1,000 individuals about the rise in labiaplasty.
The report stated that almost a quarter – 23 per cent – of respondents aged to 18 to 24 said they felt anxious, unhappy or embarrassed about how their labia look, while 35 per cent said they associated it with negative words like 'weird', 'disgusting' or 'ugly'.
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