ONE third of Australian doctors have been approached by girls as young as 10 seeking female genital surgery for purely cosmetic reasons.

A survey of 443 GPs found just over half had seen patients requesting such procedures. This includes 35 per cent of patients who are under 18 years of age.

Researchers found around half of the doctors surveyed don’t support non-medical procedures on girls under 18 and thought all patients needed counselling before referral to a cosmetic surgeon.

Most GPs surveyed saw one to 10 patients a year wanting such a procedure, the University of Melbourne and Monash University study revealed.