It's 7am in an office in West Hollywood, LA. On the horizon there is the delectable Pacific. Dr David Matlock doesn't want to talk about the scenery, though. He wants to talk about his work, which is proudly displayed in a series of ring binders. It is not my usual choice of pre-breakfast viewing. "Look at that -- excess tissue along the clitoris. Now, see how clean and sleek that is. The minora: nice and neat."
Indeed, the photographs leave nothing to the imagination.
On we go with the salesman's patter. "I have procedures that I pioneered, trademarked and have developed over the past 12 years. Laser vaginal rejuvenation, for the enhancement of sexual gratification. Designer laser vaginoplasty, for the aesthetic enhancement of the vulva structures. I also do liposculpting."
Yes, ladies, David Matlock, aka Dr Sex, can "fix" you. Didn't know you needed to be fixed? With the exception of more serious problems, it wasn't until the late 1990s that plastic surgeons seriously considered scouting for business "down there". Yet from 2005 to 2006, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, vaginal rejuvenation procedures in the States increased from 793 to 1,030 a year. Leading the charge towards this bold new frontier in physical perfection-seeking is Matlock himself.
At 47, he has been in plastic surgery for 21 years, and in vaginal rejuvenation for 16. Today, he is a multimillionaire. Patients (or "customers") from more than 30 countries arrive each week at his Laser Vaginal Rejuvenation Institute of Los Angeles, paying up to £41,000. A self-styled, can-do crusader for women, he sees his role as one of liberating women from the tyranny of sexual inadequacy and disappointment. By arming us with the tools for total physical dominion over our private parts, he is, to his mind, setting us free.