Clitoral Surgery for victims of Female Circumscision

Campaigners and doctors today called for more research into a controversial procedure that it is claimed could help victims of female genital mutilation enjoy sex for the first time.

Normally women are only offered surgery to reduce pain or life-threatening complications caused by FGM, but one London surgeon is attempting to restore sexual sensation as well. The technique is already being used in Spain, France and America, and there are calls for it to be more widely available in Britain.

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Efua Dorkenoo of campaign group Equality Now said: “Apart from wanting to make sure they have sexual pleasure, for these women it is a deeper question of something having been taken away from them without their consent.

“There is not enough research to conclude one way or the other whether clitoral restoration surgeries works. The World Health Organisation needs to examine this further.”

Some 23,000 girls in the UK are at risk of FGM, which can involve cutting off the clitoris and sewing the woman shut, causing infections, pain and complications in childbirth. Consultant gynaecologist Kamal Iskander, of North West London NHS trust, treats women suffering the after-effects of FGM and has performed about 10 “clitoroplasties”. The procedure involves exposing the buried clitoris — the part not destroyed during the mutilation. It is not funded as a sole procedure, and he only carries it out on women who are having surgery for more extensive problems caused by FGM.

Mr Iskander, who is believed to be the only surgeon doing the operation in the UK, said: “It is a primitive prototype but with more innovation and work done on it, it will lead to some progress. But without enough research it will be difficult to move forward.”

The technique was pioneered by Dr Pierre Foldès, a French surgeon. Medical opinion in this country is divided over its effectiveness. Some claim it is not an-atomically possible to restore the clitoris, and warn against giving false hope and offering untested operations. Others call for more to be spent on psychological support, and say the fight to stamp out FGM could be harmed if people believe it can be reversed.

Mr Iskander said he was worried about “overselling” the procedure and agreed all efforts should be made to eradicate FGM in the first place. Ms Dorkenoo said: “For African women to get to the stage where they want to claim their clitoris is a major development. They have started being angry. If more women get angry they are more likely to take steps to protect their daughters from FGM.”