Viveve: What You Need to Know

Pros

• Viveve addresses both vaginal laxity and bladder leakage from stress incontinence (for example, urinary leakage when you sneeze), which can significantly improve your quality of life.
• By tightening the vaginal canal and increasing moisture, it enhances sexual sensation and orgasms, while reducing painful intercourse.
• The procedure is relatively quick and painless, with no downtime. 
• Any side effects (such as swelling) are mild and usually resolve quickly. 
• You'll only need a single treatment to get results.

Cons

• Results will not be as dramatic as those achieved through surgical vaginal rejuvenation procedures, such as a vaginoplasty or perineoplasty, which can be better options for women with more severe vaginal looseness.
• You’ll need follow-up procedures every year or two to maintain your results. 

RealSelf Tip: Intimate procedures like Viveve do require the provider to be hands-on for the full treatment, so it’s important to choose a doctor with whom you feel especially at ease.

• Average Cost:
• $2,400

• Range:
• $1,875 - $3,000

The price you pay will depend on your provider's experience level and office location. 

Viveve is considered an elective procedure, so it's not covered by insurance.

The Viveve photos in our gallery have been shared by the provider who performed the procedure, with the patient's consent.

The Viveve system is a single-session treatment, lasting under an hour. Because the medical device has a surface-cooling cryogen tip to keep you comfortable, it doesn’t require numbing or anesthesia. 

You’ll lie on your back while your provider inserts a handpiece—a thin probe approximately the size of a toothbrush head, with a radiofrequency energy–emitting tip—into your vagina and gently moves it back and forth, methodically treating every tissue area.

The handpiece can also treat the vaginal opening and outer labia. The device emits pulses of monopolar radiofrequency energy, and its gentle volumetric heating penetrates up to 5 mm of the tissue. Most patients experience only a warming sensation. 

It’s an intimate procedure, so you’ll want to make sure you’re very comfortable with your provider.

 There’s no downtime, and you can resume normal activities immediately—although you'll need to avoid sexual intercourse for 48 hours. Any side effects like redness, swelling, or a tingling sensation should be mild and resolve quickly.

Results from this treatment are both immediate and progressive, thanks to the ongoing natural collagen growth in the soft tissue, and should last a year or more. 

You’ll need annual follow-up treatments to maintain your results.

Patients say they notice an increase in nerve sensitivity and muscle contractions, along with increased vaginal lubrication and reduction of urinary leakage from an overactive bladder, which improves their daily lives.