Jessica Brinton
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It’s 7am in an office in West Hollywood, LA. On the horizon there is the delectable Pacific. Dr David Matlock doesn’t want to talk about the scenery, though. He wants to talk about his work, which is proudly displayed in a series of ring binders. It is not my usual choice of pre-breakfast viewing. “Look at that — excess tissue along the clitoris. Now, see how clean and sleek that is. The minora: nice and neat.”
Indeed, the photographs leave nothing to the imagination.
On we go with the salesman’s patter. “I have procedures that I pioneered, trademarked and have developed over the past 12 years. Laser vaginal rejuvenation, for the enhancement of sexual gratification. Designer laser vaginoplasty, for the aesthetic enhancement of the vulva structures. I also do liposculpting.”
Yes, ladies, David Matlock, aka Dr Sex, can “fix” you. Didn’t know you needed to be fixed? With the exception of more serious problems, it wasn’t until the late 1990s that plastic surgeons seriously considered scouting for business “down there”. Yet from 2005 to 2006, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, vaginal rejuvenation procedures in the States increased from 793 to 1,030 a year. Leading the charge towards this bold new frontier in physical perfection-seeking is Matlock himself.
At 47, he has been in plastic surgery for 21 years, and in vaginal rejuvenation for 16. Today, he is a multimillionaire. Patients (or “customers”) from more than 30 countries arrive each week at his Laser Vaginal Rejuvenation Institute of Los Angeles, paying up to £41,000. A self-styled, can-do crusader for women, he sees his role as one of liberating women from the tyranny of sexual inadequacy and disappointment. By arming us with the tools for total physical dominion over our private parts, he is, to his mind, setting us free.
“My customers say, ‘You know what, I don’t like the length of my labia minora. I don’t want the small lips projecting outside the outer lips.’ We can take that excess skin away. They say, ‘I don’t want my labia majora. They’re too flat, I want them full.’ We can inject fat there. Or, ‘I’ve got too much fat in my mons pubis. It looks like I have a penis.’ And we can do that. Or, ‘I’ve had children, I’m too relaxed, I want intense sexual gratification’, so we tighten the muscle. Or, simply, ‘I just look too old.’ Because it's all about youth, youth, youth.”
These services add up to what he calls a “boutique cosmetic gynaecological laser surgery programme”, because customers will often have several at once. He does hymen repair, but doesn’t talk about it since receiving death threats from religious groups.
His latest product is the G-Shot. This is when a quantity of collagen — the same stuff that goes into lips — is injected into the rough area inside the vagina that is supposed to constitute the G-spot. It costs £955 (£1,290 for a double hit), and lasts four months before being reabsorbed. Matlock also ships G-Shot kits to doctors all over the world.
Does it work? “Studies showed 87% claim heightened sexual pleasure.” In fact, this figure comes from a 2002 pilot study based on a 20-patient sample. No research on the G-Shot has been published in a peer-reviewed journal, but in the past few weeks, the British media has been all over the story. Professor Phanuel Dartey, a cosmetic gynaecologist based in Harley Street, has begun to offer the G-Shot over here.
Matlock himself is indefatigable in his enthusiasm for his inventions. I mention to him a recent report by a group of Italian scientists confirming that while the G-spot exists, it is not found in 15% of women.
“Hmm,” says Matlock, shaking his head. “I would say that every woman does have one. Reports like that . . . it’s as if men want to take pleasure away from women.”
Why? “Because it’s a man’s world.”
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