FGM survivor opts for reconstructive surgery

[WarriorN]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cyx0perl8yno

I cannot believe that the nhs don't reverse any of the damage done through fgm, bar widening the vagina. From this article I got the impression that there are surgeries that could be done to lessen pain that aren't, aside actual reconstruction?

And yet will perform "identify affirming surgery" at the drop of a hat.

What a brave woman.

I've just read this article, and others about the lives of women in Somalia, and had the exact same thought.
They've been abused and disfigured, as children, against their wishes (probably, and at that age what would they know even if they did supposedly consent), and they're not allowed reconstructive surgery while AGPs who decide to remodel their bodies for kicks get those enormous surgeries for free?
It's horrifying.
Other European countries provide reconstruction on health insurance and so should the NHS.
We need to get Wes Streeting on this 💪

This isn't something the NHS should be doing at all

Yes it's awful what's happened to those girls but it's hardly the NHS responsibility to fix it for free

Plus they can't rebuild a clitoris which gets cut out so the girls can never enjoy sex and stray from their arranged marriages

The whole scenario is complex

But to blame the NHS in any way is ridiculous

No you misunderstand.

The article appears to say there are issues women suffer from caused by fgm that the nhs doesn't help with, aside* from any plastic surgery reconstruction. They do* widen vaginal entrance to support intercourse and child birth. But not other things- according to what she's had to get done privately.

This gives the impression that women are for reproduction and don't deserve treatment to lessen the physical impact of the fgm.

Also I'm not blaming the nhs.

It's another example of how women's rights are not as important as men's.

Of course the NHS should cover this.

If, as a child, you survived a fire or badly damaged a limb in a car crash, you would have ongoing medical and surgical treatment, even if your accident happened overseas.

These women are victims of horrific, misogynistic abuse, living with pain, incontinence, infertility, poor mental health etc. Why wouldn't they qualify for help?

If you travel to another country from the UK because, let's say, you're on a long waiting list and that surgery results in problems for which you need further surgery, the NHS will pick up that further surgery. But they don't like doing so, one reason being surgical techniques can differ. It's a bit like having a plumber do some work in your house, later on there's a big problem and you get in plumber number two to sort it. He spends a fair bit of time trying to figure out why plumber number one did it this way & not that way ... You get the picture.

I saw a fair bit of FGM in my time as a midwife and it certainly causes problems. But, as the article points out, some of the reconstruction work is highly skilled (I don't think de-infibulation is particularly so) and it's entirely possible we just don't have the skills in this country to do it - it is pretty niche. How many surgeries would a surgeon do each year? Enough to keep their skills up?

I struggle to understand how the clitoris can be reconstructed, though. Maybe if some tissue remains from the original not-very-precise procedure?

Reading the article, I can't see any comment from any NHS clinician. I live in a city with a specialist service for women who have survived FGM at the local hospital - i wonder what they would say. I do wonder what 'clitoral reconstruction' could involve. I wonder what different surgery offers that deinfibulation doesn't - there must always be a risk of even less sensation due to more scar tissue.

I've tried to post a link to an NHS position paper on clitoral reconstruction, but it won't paste. The short version is that there's very little evidence yet that this procedure achieves measurably good results for patients who have it. It's not yet recommended for women post FGM by any medical organisation in any country.

Ok thanks permanent, is the article misleading then?

I don't think it's good journalism. Fine to say that a person has chosen to have a procedure, and values that, and to describe what FGM involves. But no surgery can restore removed tissue (plastic surgery can fill gaps with flaps or types of filler). Clitoral reconstruction sounds like a really misleading term - I think the procedure is more like uncovering some of the internal structure, and it sounds very experimental with quite a lot of disappointment at the outcomes in the literature. It might be more about the appearance of the area than its function - and that's fine, but might seem less essential as an NHS treatment.

Why not?

These are abused women.

I think it's more justified that any type of fertility treatment tbh.

FGM is fucking barbaric. An AGP can get surgery for kicks but an abused child can't get reconstructive surgery. What a fucked up world we live in.

And don't forget it's not 'for free' - such women will be taxpayers and have contributed to the NHS as we all do. Sounds like a better use of our money than some of the Trans surgeries that are allowed.

Nimco Ali:

x.com/nimkoali/status/1814952381433393526?s=46&t=WHoOZ_3Kv5G6-FyQuvE0LQ

"A few of you have sent me the FGM article on the bbc website talking about “ reconstructive surgery”. These surgeries are brutal and have not been shown to work. I would never suggest what a survivor does in her surgery to address her #FGM experience….

but there is a reason the NHS does not and should offer them.

Over the last decade the NHS has stepped up its support for women and girls impacted by #FGM. There are clinics dedicated to addressing the physical needs of FGM survivors.

I know the scars of the trauma run deeper than the physical wound. So I hope the emotional support survivors need is will soon be available on the NHS.

I have met countless doctors mostly men who have and will promise women that they can undo their #FGM but sadly they can’t because of the complexity of the female body. Again I will never tell a sister how to handle her body but please be careful 🖤"

Thanks resister.

Is there a typo here?

but there is a reason the NHS does not and should offer them.

I'm not sure I understand- is it shouldn't?

I copied and pasted so it'll be the original text. Expect there should be another "not" but I don't claim any special insight when I say that

I thought this too. I assume they cannot reconstruct to a point of having clitoral sensation?