Brooke Shields Reveals a Doctor Conducted Vaginal Rejuvenation Without Her Consent

Brooke Shields is baring it all in her forthcoming memoir, Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old: Thoughts on Aging as a Woman. The 59-year-old opens up about some deeply private and even shocking moments in her life, including when a doctor performed a vaginal surgery without her consent.

In the book, which releases on January 14, the model, actress, and mom-of-two recounts when her "wonderful" gynecologist recommended she undergo labial reduction surgery. Shields, who was in her 40s at the time, had experienced bleeding, chaffing, and discomfort since she was a teenager due to the length of her labia.

“Of course, it’s not covered by insurance because it’s considered cosmetic, which is very interesting. The last time I did check, I did not want to be a porn star,” Shields told Us Weekly.

The Blue Lagoon star explains she had a consultation with a male surgeon and moved forward with the operation. But, during a post-procedure checkup, he revealed he "[threw] in a 'bonus procedure,'" she writes, in the form of an irreversible vaginal rejuvenation surgery (vaginal tightening) that she did not consent to.

"'I was in there for four hours, and you know what I did? I tightened you up a little bit! Gave you a little rejuvenation!'" she recounts him saying in the book. "'After two kids, everything is looser,' he said. 'But I had C- sections, and a scarred, more restricted cervix,' I responded. 'Still . . .' he said, staring...He acted as if he’d done me a favor, and that I should, in fact, be grateful."

“It felt like such an invasion—such a bizarre, like, rape of some kind," Shields told the publication.

Shields said the doctor "legitimately proudly explained to me that he, you know, threw in a little twofer.” This left her "dumbfounded."

“Nothing pointed toward this need to be tighter or smaller or firmer or younger, especially there,” she added.

Shields said she felt such "anger" and "shame" that she didn't talk about her experience for the longest time—she didn't even tell her husband, Chris Henchy, for a while. This was also the reason why Shields never took action against her doctor. "I didn’t particularly want talk of my lady parts, once again, on the front page of every paper," she writes. "The fact that the most intimate parts of my body had been a public focal point for so long . . . it was enough already."

Now, about two decades later, Shields is opening up about the experience to call attention to women's health and encourage other women to advocate for themselves.

“I’d be lying if I said I’m not embarrassed to share this very intimate information,” she writes. “But, if we are to change the way we approach and talk about women’s health, then we need to bring up the uncomfortable but very real issues. Shame is no longer an option.”

Read the original article on InStyle