The quest for the "perfect vagina" — the growing trend of labial surgery — is fraught with peril, according to a new report in a British medical journal.

But the increasingly popular surgery (the 2008 video above has been viewed 3 million times), which clips flesh for a neater (and critics say "more pubescent") look down there, is yet another boon to the $30 billion cosmetic-surgery industry.

The future looks even brighter for the industry. The global market for cosmetic products is much smaller in money terms, according to a market-research study cited on the SoCal Cosmetic Network.

Critics of elective cosmetic surgery were buoyed by the recession — see "Tuck Off: The healthy recession in cosmetic surgery," a 2008 piece by Salon's William Saletan. He cited a NY Times story indicating that the smartest med-school seniors are veering toward specializing in cosmetic surgery.

As for surgery in general, the medical tourism industry is apparently excited about the shitty U.S. healthcare industry. "Cash-strapped" U.S. consumers can get a better deal on surgeries by going overseas, according to a report handed out at last week's First International Congress of Medical Tourism, held in Cartagena, Colombia. Right now, this option is mostly for the superrich, but that may change. In any event, the global medical tourism industry is estimated at $5 billion with a projected growth of 35 percent annually for the next three years.

Mark your calendar for March 2010 and you can combine medical tourism, info on smarter-looking vaginas, and the sights of Vienna at the First International Congress on Global Reproductive Tourism.