Peer-reviewed article
An overview of female genital mutilation
Berna Dilbaz, Nuray İflazoğlu, Sıdıka Aydan Tanın ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This medical case report describes a 31-year-old woman who underwent type III female genital mutilation at age 7 and presented with sexual dysfunction due to infibulation. The report documents a surgical correction procedure called de-infibulation, which involves incising scar tissue to reveal the vaginal and urethral openings. The document provides the WHO classification of FGM types and notes that de-infibulation surgery is recommended for addressing sexual dysfunction and childbirth complications related to FGM.
Key points
- Type III FGM (infibulation) involves narrowing of the vaginal orifice by cutting and repositioning the labia minora and/or majora, with or without clitoris excision
- The patient underwent FGM at age 7 and presented at age 31 with unconsummated marriage due to sexual dysfunction
- De-infibulation surgery successfully revealed the vaginal and urethral orifices by incising scar tissue
- WHO classifies FGM into four types
- De-infibulation is recommended for resolving sexual dysfunction and childbirth-related problems
Limitations
This is a single case report and cannot provide evidence about effectiveness, outcomes, or prevalence of the procedure. It does not present comparative data, long-term follow-up results, or information about the broader context of FGM prevention or prevalence in Turkey.
Abstract
Female genital mutilation (FGM) includes procedures that intentionally alter or cause injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. To present a case of type III FGM corrected by de-infibulation for treatment of sexual dysfunction. A 31-year-old woman who had FGM reporting unconsummated marriage presented to our clinic clinic. The patient had undergone type III FGM at age 7 in her country. Surgical correction was performed. By de-infibulation, the vaginal and urethral orifices were revealed after incision of scar tissue. The World Health Organization classifies FGM in four types. Type III FGM is narrowing of the vaginal orifice with the creation of a covering seal by cutting and appositioning the labia minora and/or the labia majora, with or without excision of the clitoris (infibulation). De-infibulation surgery is recommended for resolving problems related with sexual dysfunction and child-birth.