Dr. Devgan was honored to be featured in Avenue Magazine's special March 2016 issue dedicated to Age Defiers & Beauty Innovators. Her interview with the magazine is pictured below.
Your first week after labiaplasty surgery
Labiaplasty is one of the most popular procedures in my New York City practice. Many women have questions about what it will be like immediately after surgery.
Immediately after surgery, there is no pain and only minimal swelling. The majority of your discomfort will start several hours after the surgery and will occur in the first 1-2 days. Most patients do very well with ice packs, Tylenol, and sometimes stronger pain medicine.
Swelling peaks at about 2-3 days after surgery and continues to get better over the course of the next several weeks. By 1 month, you will have 80-90% of your final surgical result. A tiny amount of swelling will continue to go away over the course of the next few months. You will be able to resume exercise at 4 weeks and sex at 6 weeks.
For questions or to book an appointment, please email info@LaraDevganMD.com or call 212-452-2400.
The images above show an actual patient of mine before, 5 minutes after, 1 week after, and 1 month after labiaplasty surgery.
A female plastic surgeon's take on beauty standards
This ran as an invited article for The Doctor Blog by ZocDoc on February 24, 2016.
I’m a Plastic Surgeon and a Woman. Here’s What Beauty Standards Mean to Me
February 24, 2016 By Lara Devgan, MD
When I introduce myself as a plastic surgeon, I am often greeted with surprise. Between the slightly quizzical looks, the concerned head tilts, and the explicit queries, the question is clear: How could a woman of substance find herself in that line of work?
The truth is that real plastic surgery (in my world, at least) is nothing like its media representations. The nipped and tucked patients with outlandish requests, the salacious and provocative doctors, the ostentatious displays of wealth and consumption – these have nothing to do with my life or career. Plastic surgery, at its core, is an academic discipline that requires more than a decade of intense study, anatomic mastery of the entire human body, and precision surgical skills that are fine enough to sew a one millimeter blood vessel and strong enough to put the abdominal muscles back together. My patients are real, relatable human beings who have concerns about their physical appearances.
When I plan my surgical cases – whether they are reconstructive operations for breast cancer or broken facial bones, or cosmetic operations for facelifts or breast implants – I go through the same rigorous procedure. I examine, photograph, measure, and map out my incisions and approach. I review the patient’s medical history, prior surgeries, allergies, family history, and relevant habits. I consult with internists, anesthesiologists, radiologists, and hematologists to make sure each patient is optimized for surgery. Finally, I carry out the operation with attention to the highest standards of safety and quality. Plastic surgery, from the surgeon’s standpoint at least, is a serious intellectual field with a heavy dose of art and science.
Although a significant portion of plastic surgery procedures are reconstructive (for cancer, burns, injuries, and congenital anomalies), the majority of my practice is devoted to cosmetic surgery. And as a woman, wife, mother, expert in aesthetics, and board-certified plastic surgeon, I make no apologies for that fact.
Real, complex, intelligent women and men care about their appearances. It is part of the human condition to want to present yourself in the best way you can. There is no shame in wearing makeup, getting your gray hair colored, buying fashionable clothes, or working on your abs, and there should be no shame in getting plastic surgery either.
Elle magazine writer Elissa Strauss tackled this subject in an article she penned for Elle.com last year: “The way we talk about women who get plastic surgery is based on the assumption that caring about our looks and caring about our souls is a zero sum game,” she wrote. But the truth is that “[w]e are more than capable of searching for internal truths with lipstick on, being feminists with face lifts, or choosing something a little fake while also being very real.”
The beauty standards that are so prevalent in our modern zeitgeist are not abhorrent simply because they exist, but because they exist against a notion of effortlessness. You must be born beautiful, wrinkle-free, with a taut abdomen, a perfect nose, full lips, and the spoils of the genetic lottery, or else you are a superficial “plastic surgery junkie.” This concept that there is no solution to having something about yourself that you dislike is limiting, disheartening, and false.
The reality of plastic surgery is that it can be an incredibly empowering way to harness artistry and technology to help people feel better about themselves. It is this part of my job that I enjoy the most. You can be a brilliant lawyer and want larger breasts. You can be a successful businessman who dislikes his nose. And you can be a woman of substance and also be a plastic surgeon. I have a wall of diplomas and thousands of patients to prove it.
Click to read this article on ZocDoc's Doctor Blog
Dr. Devgan named to the RealSelf Top 500 for 2015
Dr. Devgan was honored to be named one of the top cosmetic doctors in the US in 2015 by RealSelf in the 2015 RealSelf 500 list.
“The medical professionals that made the annual RealSelf 500 list are recognized for providing invaluable insight and expertise to those looking to make informed, confident choices around personal, highly considered health and beauty choices. ”
Click to view the full list of the RealSelf 500 for 2015
Dr. Devgan named a Charlotte's Book Beauty and Wellness Expert
Dr. Devgan is pleased to have been named a Verified Beauty and Wellness Expert for the renowned aesthetic health and wellness guide, Charlotte's Book. Inclusion in Charlotte's Book is by invitation only. Charlotte's Book experts adhere to strict professional and ethical standards that go above and beyond board-certification by the American Board of Plastic Surgery (which is, of course, a prerequisite).
“Appropriate certification and training is obviously the most important part of choosing the right practitioner. But the other half of the equation is what we call the grey area: bedside manner, word-of-mouth, experience, and referrals. Charlotte is snobby when it comes to her beauty, health, and wellness. ”
Click to view Dr. Lara Devgan's listing in Charlotte's Book as a preferred expert plastic surgeon in New York City
