Labia Minora Repair.

BACKGROUND: Labia minora reduction has become part of the treatment spectrum offered by most plastic surgeons. The author has performed many corrective procedures involving the outer female genital region, most of which involved reducing the labia minora of approximately 4300 women. Over the years, the number of corrective procedures to rectify poorly performed initial operations increased significantly at the author's practice. The most common iatrogenic deformity is the overresection of the labia minora below the clitoris, leaving behind excess tissue in the area around and above the clitoral hood (small penis deformity). METHODS: Two basic procedures may be used to reconstruct the labia minora below the clitoris: reconstructing the labia minora by redundant labial tissue above the clitoris to form bilateral preputial flaps being rotated downward into the defect and reconstructing the labia minora by vaginal skin advancement. Other reconstructions depend on the deformity itself. The postoperative outcome was assessed in an anonymous questionnaire answered by 544 patients. RESULTS: The outcome showed a significant improvement in functional and psychological impairment as a result of the deformities caused by the initial operation. Even if the reconstruction of the labia minora did not produce the desired initial result, overall satisfaction with the corrective surgery was very satisfactory. CONCLUSION: The increase of iatrogenic deformities after the initial labia reductions is alarming. The causes of this growth are manifold: underestimation of the procedure, misjudgment and a lack of detailed knowledge. This has a heavy psychological and physical impact on patients. Reconstruction of excessively shortened labia minora is often not easy and not always satisfactory. Training and the establishment of surgical standards should be used to avoid errors and achieve the best result. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE IV: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

Composite reduction labiaplasty.

BACKGROUND: The demand for surgery to treat the external female genital area has increased significantly in recent years. Since 2001, the author and his colleagues have performed more than 2,100 surgical procedures to enhance the shape and function of the female genital area. The majority of these procedures were aimed at reduction of the labia minora. Drawing on the technique for labia minora reduction (labiaplasty) that the author first described in 2007 (Gress S, Gynäkologisch-Geburtshilfliche Rundschau 47:23-32, 2007), the technique was advanced such that in addition to an even reduction of the labia over their entire length (i.e., not only the part below the clitoris but also the part of the clitoral hood and above), it currently is possible to achieve further tightening of the clitoral hood and correction of a protruding clitoris (clitoral protrusion). This technique creates separate labial segments, the composition of which allows for an optimal shaping and reduction of the labia minora. Since 2006, the author and his colleagues have managed 812 cases using this technique, which has been named "composite reduction labiaplasty." METHODS: After removal of the excessive tissue in an S-shaped line along the internal and external aspects of the labium minus and after cutting of a cranial pedicle flap approximately 2-3 cm long (seen as the caudal extension of the clitoral hood), a crescent-shaped skin segment below the clitoris and a centrally pointed rectangular skin segment above the clitoral hood are removed. By joining the wound margins, a tightening and balanced reduction of the labia minora as well as a correction for the protruding tip of the clitoris (clitoral protrusion) is achieved. RESULTS: All the patients received postoperative care and follow-up assessments during a period of 6 months. Except for a few cases of wound dehiscence requiring surgical correction, wound healing was without complications, and the outcomes were both aesthetically and functionally very satisfactory. CONCLUSION: In contrast to most techniques published to date, the "composite reduction labiaplasty" technique ensures a balanced reduction and a tightening of all parts of the labia minora, especially in the region of the clitoral hood. In addition, this technique results in an optimal correction of clitoris positioning in cases of clitoral protrusion. Concerns regarding impairment of sexual sensation or the ability to be sexually stimulated are unfounded. Approximately 35 % of the patients even reported a postoperative increase in their ability to be sexually stimulated. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE V: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

Effects of the German reference drug program on ex-factory prices of prescription drugs: a panel data approach.

This paper examines effects of the German social health insurance system's reference drug program (RDP) for prescription drugs on ex-factory prices. Moreover, we analyze whether manufacturers adapt prices of their products that are not subject to reference pricing as a consequence of changes in reference prices of their products that are subject to reference pricing. We use econometric panel data methods based on a large panel data set of nearly all German prescription drugs on a monthly basis between October 1994 and July 2005. They provide information on ex-factory prices, reference prices, manufacturers, type of prescription drug, and market entries and exits. Our results show that there is no full price adjustment: A 1%-change in reference prices leads to a 0.3%-change in market prices. Price adjustment, however, is fast - it mostly happens in the first month. Furthermore, the first introduction of a reference price reduces market prices of the affected products by approximately 7%. Finally, we observe a significant time effect that is positive in the market without reference prices and negative in the market with reference prices.

Reform of prescription drug reimbursement and pricing in the German social health insurance market: a comparison of three scenarios.

We review regulation of two important parameters for third-party payers and manufacturers of prescription drugs: regulation of reimbursement and pricing. We find that centralised regulation of reimbursement and pricing prevails in the 15 original EU member countries (EU-15) and in European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries. Compared with countries such as Switzerland, The Netherlands, France and England, regulation in the German social health insurance system is rather unique. First, market approval is nearly always equivalent to reimbursement. Second, manufacturers are free to determine prices but internal reference prices restrict them from actually doing so for generics and therapeutic substitutes. In order to contain rising expenditures for prescription drugs in Germany, and to set incentives for physicians to consider the costs as well as the benefits of prescriptions, three reform scenarios are feasible. The first scenario maintains centralised reimbursement and centralised pricing; the second maintains centralised reimbursement but switches to decentralised pricing (similar to social health insurance in Israel and Medicare in the US). Third-party payers would be able to negotiate with manufacturers about discounts and market shares for genetic and therapeutic substitutes. In the third scenario, pricing and reimbursement would be decentralised (similar to private health insurance in the US). We suggest that the second scenario is a viable compromise between consumer protection and a more competitive and cost-effective market for prescription drugs in German social health insurance and other similar markets for prescription drugs.

[Aesthetic and functional corrections of the female genital area]. / Asthetische und funktionelle Korrekturen im weiblichen Genitalbereich.

In the last few years, we have performed an increasing number of genital reshaping procedures in females. Most frequently we carried out corrections of the labia, followed by operations to reduce the size of the clitoris and the pubic area. Psychological as well as functional complaints were the reasons for the decision to undergo a surgical correction. After a large number of operations we have gained great experience and developed specific operation techniques. The results are functionally reliable and aesthetically pleasing with a very low rate of complications and a high level of patient satisfaction.

Elasticities of market shares and social health insurance choice in Germany: a dynamic panel data approach.

In 1996, free choice of health insurers was introduced to the German social health insurance system. One objective was to increase efficiency through competition. A crucial precondition for effective competition among health insurers is that consumers search for lower-priced health insurers. We test this hypothesis by estimating the price elasticities of insurers' market shares. We use unique panel data and specify a dynamic panel model to explain changes in market shares. Estimation results suggest that short-run price elasticities are smaller than previously found by other studies. In the long-run, however, estimation results suggest substantial price effects.

Criteria and procedures for determining benefit packages in health care. A comparative perspective.

The legitimacy of procedures and criteria for determining benefit packages depends crucially on the representation of stakeholders in decision-making bodies, the transparency of procedures and the consistency of benefit decisions. Moreover, the assessment of the costs of healthcare services and its application as a decision criterion can be an important policy instrument in order to increase the overall efficiency of healthcare systems. Our analysis of procedures and criteria for determining benefit packages in England, Germany and Switzerland established potential for developing more legitimate procedures and criteria for benefits decisions. In Germany, representation of stakeholders and transparency of procedures can be improved. Consistency of decision-making is hindered by the veto positions of selected stakeholders. Moreover, benefit decisions are made for different healthcare sectors separately. In Switzerland, transparency of procedures is virtually non-existent at the moment. Thus, it is impossible to assess the consistency of decision-making. Only in England the costs of healthcare services influence the decision to include or exclude them.

Consumer mobility in social health insurance markets : a five-country comparison.

During the 1990s, the social health insurance schemes of Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium and Israel were significantly reformed by the introduction of freedom of choice (open enrolment) of health insurer. This was introduced alongside a system of risk adjustment to compensate health insurers for enrolees with predictable high medical expenses. Despite the similarity in the health insurance reforms in these countries, we find that both the rationale behind these reforms and their impact on consumer choice vary widely.In this article we seek to explain the observed variation in switching rates by cross-country comparison of the potential determinants of health insurer choice. We conclude that differences in choice setting, and in the net benefits of switching, offer a plausible explanation for the large differences in consumer mobility.Finally, we discuss the policy implications of our cross-country comparison. We argue that the optimal switching rate crucially depends on the goals of the reforms and the quality of the risk-adjustment system. In view of this, we conclude that switching rates are currently too low in the Netherlands, and an active government policy to encourage consumer mobility seems warranted. In Germany and Switzerland, high switching rates call for an improvement of the rather poor risk-adjustment systems. Given low switching rates in Israel and Belgium, improving risk adjustment is less urgent, but still required in the long run.

Free choice of sickness funds in regulated competition: evidence from Germany and The Netherlands.

Sickness funds became the focal point of health insurance reforms in the 1990s. Policy makers expected funds to become more consumer-oriented and more active in managing the provision of health care. This is especially true for two countries in the heart of Europe that, on first view, have many similar institutional characteristics. Both Germany and The Netherlands have introduced competition between sickness funds in the last decade. We present extensive quantitative, as well qualitative, data with regard to the behaviour of consumers after the introduction of free choice between sickness funds. National data was used with regard to contribution rates and member flows and survey data was used to investigate personal motives for actual change and perception of differences between sickness funds. In Germany, contribution rates between sickness funds differ significantly. Accordingly, these differences are the main reason for consumers to switch funds, which occurs on a considerable scale. However, survey data show that other reasons may be important too. In The Netherlands, premium differences are much lower. The same is true for the degree of change. Survey data show that consumers perceive very small differences between sickness funds and do not see much reason for change. Our findings support the claim that the degree of actual changing depends strongly on economic incentives, especially with regard to the extent of financial risk sickness funds have to bear and to the extent premiums or contribution rates can differ. However, the higher the financial risk of individual sickness funds actually is, the higher the incentives for risk selection.