Reviewed and updated 22 August 2026. This article provides general information and is not individual medical advice.
By Aneeta Prem MBE
Women living with the effects of female genital mutilation deserve accurate information about what healthcare can and cannot currently offer.
Two very different procedures are sometimes discussed as if they were the same: deinfibulation and clitoral reconstruction. They are not.
What NHS FGM care currently includes
The NHS provides specialist FGM services in England, including National FGM Support Clinics.
These services can offer sensitive assessment, information, emotional support and counselling, access to FGM health advocates and referral to specialist clinicians where needed.
Many clinics also provide or arrange deinfibulation.
What deinfibulation is
Deinfibulation is an operation to open scar tissue that narrows the vaginal opening after type 3 FGM.
The NHS says it may help where FGM is causing difficulty with urination, sexual intercourse, examinations or childbirth.
It does not replace tissue removed by FGM and should not be described as reversing the original harm.
For some women, however, it can improve specific physical problems and make future healthcare easier.
Clitoral reconstruction is different
Clitoral reconstruction aims to expose or reposition remaining clitoral tissue after FGM.
This is a more controversial and less established procedure.
Current Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists guidance advises that clitoral reconstruction should not be performed because the evidence does not yet show conclusive benefit and there are concerns about complication rates and the possibility of further nerve or vascular injury.
The College supports further research.
That is a stronger and more accurate statement than simply saying the NHS “refuses” reconstruction.
Why some women still seek surgery abroad
Some specialist centres outside the UK offer clitoral reconstruction, and some women choose to explore those services privately.
The reasons can include pain, sexual function, body image, trauma and a wish to regain a sense of bodily autonomy.
Those reasons deserve respect. So does the uncertainty in the evidence.
A person considering surgery needs clear information about the particular procedure, the surgeon’s experience, likely benefits, known risks, follow-up arrangements and what would happen if complications occur after returning home.
Specialist care is broader than surgery
FGM can affect physical, psychological, sexual and reproductive health in different ways.
Current NHS specialist clinics may involve gynaecology, midwifery, counselling, psychology, continence services, pain services, psychosexual support and advocacy depending on local provision and individual need.
That breadth matters because no single operation can address every consequence of FGM.
Why survivor choice and evidence both matter
There is a risk of talking about reconstructive surgery in two equally unhelpful ways.
One is to present it as a simple restoration of what was removed. It is not.
The other is to dismiss women who want to explore it. Their questions are legitimate.
Good healthcare should create space for informed discussion without promising an outcome the evidence cannot support.
What I would like to see in the UK
I would like survivors to have easy access to specialist FGM care wherever they live, clearer information about available treatment and transparent research into reconstructive options.
Where research is undertaken, survivor-reported outcomes should sit alongside surgical measures: pain, sexual function, wellbeing, complications and longer-term satisfaction all matter.
It is also important that future policy distinguishes between deinfibulation, established treatment for specific complications, and experimental or less-established forms of reconstruction.
Where women can seek NHS help
National FGM Support Clinics are free to access for people eligible for NHS care. The NHS says some services accept self-referral as well as referrals from GPs and other healthcare professionals.
Women can use the current NHS clinic directory rather than relying on old contact details copied from historic articles.
Final word
FGM is an abuse. The healthcare response should not create another loss of choice.
Women deserve access to established care, honest information about uncertainty and properly designed research into options that may improve their health and quality of life.
That means neither overselling reconstruction nor closing down the conversation.
Sources and further reading
- NHS: female genital mutilation
- NHS: National FGM Support Clinics
- RCOG: Female Genital Mutilation and its Management
