Clitoroplasty is plastic surgery involving the clitoris.
Examples of clitoroplasty include clitoral reduction surgery used to treat clitoromegaly,[1] and the creation of a neoclitoris in male-to-female gender reassignment surgery.[2] In both cases, the surgeon tries to retain sensation and function.[1][2]
Clitoral reconstruction
Clitoral reconstruction is surgery to restore the function and structure of the clitoris.
Examples of clitoral reconstruction include its use to mitigate congenital malformation or repair damage caused by female genital mutilation.[3][4]
Clitoral reconstruction after female genital mutilation involves surgery to expose the remaining deep structures of the clitoris. As of 2023[update], there was little evidence for the therapeutic effectiveness of this procedure.[5]
Clitoral reduction
Clitoral reduction is the surgical reduction in size of the clitoris, used to treat clitoromegaly. Unlike clitoridectomy, the amputation of part of the clitoris, now viewed as a form of female genital mutilation, modern clitoral reduction surgery aims to preserve sensation and function through the use of nerve-sparing microsurgical techniques.[6][7][8]
It should be distinguished from clitoral hood reduction, an operation on the clitoral hood in which the clitoris itself is not damaged.
Gender-affirming surgery
During male-to-female gender-affirming surgery, a neoclitoris is made from the tissue of the glans penis.[9]