The benefits and disappointments following clitoral reconstruction after female genital cutting: A qualitative interview study from Sweden.
Female genital cutting or mutilation refers to the cutting of girls' external genitalia. Due to migration from contexts where female genital cutting is common, it is estimated that around 38 000 cut women and girls live in Sweden. Clitoral reconstruction, a relatively new form of surgical healt...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2021-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254855 |
| _version_ | 1818401604713316352 |
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| author | Malin Jordal Hannes Sigurjonsson Gabriele Griffin Anna Wahlberg |
| author_facet | Malin Jordal Hannes Sigurjonsson Gabriele Griffin Anna Wahlberg |
| author_sort | Malin Jordal |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Female genital cutting or mutilation refers to the cutting of girls' external genitalia. Due to migration from contexts where female genital cutting is common, it is estimated that around 38 000 cut women and girls live in Sweden. Clitoral reconstruction, a relatively new form of surgical healthcare offered to women with female genital cutting, was established in Sweden in 2014. This surgery aims at restoring clitoral function and anatomy, but there is yet a dearth of evidence demonstrating the effects of the surgery. The aim of this study was to explore how women undergoing clitoral reconstruction in Sweden between 2016 and 2019 experienced the surgical process and its aftereffects from a physical, sexual and psychosocial perspective. Eighteen women who had undergone clitoral reconstruction at a university hospital in Sweden agreed to participate in the study. The women were interviewed using semi-structured interviews, which were recorded, transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. The results, based on self-categorization and labelling theory, demonstrated both benefits and disappointments following the surgery. Several women reported positive outcomes in terms of sexual, psychosocial and aesthetic terms. They experienced reduced genital pain, improvements in their sex lives, and a sense of feeling more empowered and at ease in their bodies. Yet, some women reported aesthetic, functional and process-related disappointment related to clitoral reconstruction. Nonetheless, the women expressed gratitude for the possibility of undergoing the surgery. In conclusion, the women reported that they experienced physical, sexual and psychosocial benefits of the surgery. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T07:55:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-071babf7a289402692396c56a8adc16e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T07:55:07Z |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-071babf7a289402692396c56a8adc16e2022-12-21T23:10:33ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032021-01-01167e025485510.1371/journal.pone.0254855The benefits and disappointments following clitoral reconstruction after female genital cutting: A qualitative interview study from Sweden.Malin JordalHannes SigurjonssonGabriele GriffinAnna WahlbergFemale genital cutting or mutilation refers to the cutting of girls' external genitalia. Due to migration from contexts where female genital cutting is common, it is estimated that around 38 000 cut women and girls live in Sweden. Clitoral reconstruction, a relatively new form of surgical healthcare offered to women with female genital cutting, was established in Sweden in 2014. This surgery aims at restoring clitoral function and anatomy, but there is yet a dearth of evidence demonstrating the effects of the surgery. The aim of this study was to explore how women undergoing clitoral reconstruction in Sweden between 2016 and 2019 experienced the surgical process and its aftereffects from a physical, sexual and psychosocial perspective. Eighteen women who had undergone clitoral reconstruction at a university hospital in Sweden agreed to participate in the study. The women were interviewed using semi-structured interviews, which were recorded, transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. The results, based on self-categorization and labelling theory, demonstrated both benefits and disappointments following the surgery. Several women reported positive outcomes in terms of sexual, psychosocial and aesthetic terms. They experienced reduced genital pain, improvements in their sex lives, and a sense of feeling more empowered and at ease in their bodies. Yet, some women reported aesthetic, functional and process-related disappointment related to clitoral reconstruction. Nonetheless, the women expressed gratitude for the possibility of undergoing the surgery. In conclusion, the women reported that they experienced physical, sexual and psychosocial benefits of the surgery.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254855 |
| spellingShingle | Malin Jordal Hannes Sigurjonsson Gabriele Griffin Anna Wahlberg The benefits and disappointments following clitoral reconstruction after female genital cutting: A qualitative interview study from Sweden. PLoS ONE |
| title | The benefits and disappointments following clitoral reconstruction after female genital cutting: A qualitative interview study from Sweden. |
| title_full | The benefits and disappointments following clitoral reconstruction after female genital cutting: A qualitative interview study from Sweden. |
| title_fullStr | The benefits and disappointments following clitoral reconstruction after female genital cutting: A qualitative interview study from Sweden. |
| title_full_unstemmed | The benefits and disappointments following clitoral reconstruction after female genital cutting: A qualitative interview study from Sweden. |
| title_short | The benefits and disappointments following clitoral reconstruction after female genital cutting: A qualitative interview study from Sweden. |
| title_sort | benefits and disappointments following clitoral reconstruction after female genital cutting a qualitative interview study from sweden |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254855 |
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