Surgery · Intimate
Vaginal tightening — vaginoplasty to surgeons, colpoperineorrhaphy in operative reports, “vaginal rejuvenation” in the press — tightens the walls and the entrance of the vagina, for functional reasons, most often after one or more deliveries. This page is about that procedure, not about gender-affirming surgery, which also goes by the name vaginoplasty. The practice offers pelvic floor rehabilitation and the gynecological (gynaecological) laser first. Consultations at the practice, 42 avenue Mozart; Dr Chaima Gatri, OB-GYN and gynecological surgeon, operates herself at the Clinique de la Muette, a five-minute walk away. English-speaking practice.
Updated on 20 October 2026
Recognizing it · Who is it for
The vagina and the perineum stretch during delivery; in some women a feeling of widening settles in and lasts. Patients' own words come back again and again:
The examination tells apart what looks alike: laxity of the vaginal walls, gaping of the vaginal entrance and the perineum, a scar band, or pelvic organ descent — prolapse, which has its own page: incontinence and prolapse.
Without surgery first
Vaginal laxity after childbirth is managed first without surgery. The practice offers two treatments performed in consultation, with no hospital stay: pelvic floor rehabilitation — with a midwife or a physiotherapist on prescription, or at the practice by magnetic stimulation, which works the pelvic floor muscles in depth, without a probe or effort — and the gynecological laser, offered for laxity of the vaginal walls* — three sessions four weeks apart, under local anesthesia (anaesthesia). Patients followed at the practice most often describe an improvement in their comfort; surgery remains possible if the result is not the one expected.
Offered, on its own or alongside other treatments, for dryness and discomfort at menopause, mild to moderate urinary leakage, vaginal laxity, mild prolapse, a C-section scar: three 30-minute sessions. HPV lesions and genital warts: one session; a second one if needed, decided at the check-up. At the practice, with no hospital stay.
Discover the laserMagnetic stimulation of the pelvic floor, offered alongside or after rehabilitation with a midwife or a physiotherapist: stress urinary leakage, rehabilitation after childbirth, recovery after pelvic surgery. Six sessions over three weeks, seated and fully dressed, without a probe.
Discover the rehabilitationIn consultation, Dr Gatri tells you what calls for rehabilitation, for the laser or for surgery.
The consultation
Dr Gatri first listens to the request — what has changed, since which birth — then examines the vulva, the perineum and the vaginal walls: the examination assesses the opening of the vaginal entrance, the tone of the perineal muscles, the state of the scars, and looks for an associated pelvic organ descent.
The information covers what the procedure tightens, the anesthesia, the recovery, the risks and the alternatives; the information sheet of the French National College of Gynecologists and Obstetricians (CNGOF) on nymphoplasty and vulvo-perineoplasty is given to you and talked through. A detailed quotation is then sent by e-mail, to be accepted by electronic signature; for a procedure performed for aesthetic reasons, French law requires this written quotation and a fifteen-day reflection period. Strict smoking cessation before surgery is required. Appointments are booked on Doctolib under « Consultation pour Vaginoplastie » (vaginal tightening consultation), or through the secretariat.
The procedure
The procedure has a medical name: posterior colpoperineorrhaphy. The tissues of the posterior wall of the vagina and the perineal muscles are brought together, then the mucosa is closed; the aim is to narrow the entrance of the vagina and to strengthen the perineum. A scar band is divided in the same operation; when the vulvar fourchette is involved, the vulvo-perineoplasty of the CNGOF sheet corrects its appearance.
A later pregnancy stretches the treated tissues again: the procedure is therefore discussed in the light of your plans for children.
Recovery
After a laser procedure at the practice, recovery is simpler and shorter, and you resume your activities sooner; Dr Gatri gives you her instructions. The guidance below is that of surgery, according to the CNGOF sheet.
You feel a pulling sensation in the treated areas: it is well relieved by simple painkillers during the first week, and ice reduces the postoperative swelling.
The CNGOF sheet details the risks: bleeding or hematoma (haematoma) during the operation; wound breakdown afterwards — the main one, which occurs with a hematoma and calls for local care, sometimes antibiotics; more rarely localized necrosis, or pain during intercourse, which is exceptional and usually transient. Heavy continuous bleeding, foul-smelling discharge, unusual pain or fever: call the surgical team.
The names
Information
Every operation carries risks; Dr Gatri goes through them with you at the consultation and gives you the CNGOF information sheets. Two sheets describe this procedure: the one on labiaplasty (nymphoplasty) and vulvo-perineoplasty for the vulval and perineal part, and the one on repair of prolapse by the vaginal route for the colpoperineorrhaphy. Each point below says which sheet it comes from.
Frequently asked questions
The consultation for surgery is an appointment at the practice. Dr Gatri examines your situation, explains the planned procedure and answers your questions. If the procedure is decided on, you receive a quotation and an informed-consent form; once they are signed, a date is set for the procedure at the Clinique de la Muette.
The tightening of the walls and the entrance of the vagina, particularly after one or more deliveries, for functional purposes; the medical name is posterior colpoperineorrhaphy.
No: the word vaginoplasty also names the creation of a vagina in gender-affirming surgery; this page is about tightening the vagina after childbirth.
The examination decides, in consultation with Dr Gatri: at the practice, the Fotona TimeWalker laser — three sessions four weeks apart, under local anesthesia — and pelvic floor rehabilitation address laxity; at the Clinique de la Muette, surgery, under general anesthesia, addresses gaping of the vaginal entrance and the perineum. The clinical criteria and the extent of the anomaly decide; pelvic floor rehabilitation, at the practice, complements it.
| By laser, at the practice (treatment of laxity) | By surgery, at the clinic | |
|---|---|---|
| Where | At the practice | At the Clinique de la Muette |
| Anesthesia | Local | General |
| Stitches | None | Absorbable stitches that fall away on their own |
| Sessions | Three 30-minute sessions, four weeks apart | One procedure |
Fees are detailed on the Fees page.
Performed for aesthetic reasons, it is outside the official schedule and is not reimbursed. When Dr Gatri finds, at the consultation, a functional indication, partial coverage by the Assurance maladie is possible: that part is paid directly to Dr Gatri (tiers payant), and the excess fee (dépassement d'honoraires) remains payable by you; it may be reimbursed by your complementary insurer, depending on your policy. Your quotation states it.
Fees are listed in the fee schedule; the quotation, provided before any decision, gives the exact amount.
According to the CNGOF sheet, the pulling sensation felt is well relieved by simple painkillers during the first week.
Local for the laser, at the practice; general for surgery, at the Clinique de la Muette, with its anesthesiologist.
After the postoperative consultation, generally one month later — the same for tampons, baths and sport.
With surgery, the stitches are absorbable threads, which fall away on their own in the weeks that follow. The scar lies at the entrance of the vagina and on the perineum, along the posterior wall that has been closed. The CNGOF sheet names wound breakdown as the main risk after the operation: it occurs with a hematoma and usually calls for local care, sometimes antibiotics.
A later pregnancy stretches the treated tissues again: the procedure is therefore discussed in the light of your plans for children. At the consultation, Dr Gatri, an OB-GYN, goes over with you what you feel today and what you are planning; pelvic floor rehabilitation and the gynecological laser, both performed at the practice, answer many concerns in the meantime.
Fees
* What is known about this treatment: Patient information and ethics — What is known, and what is known less.
Appointments
Appointments can be booked online via Doctolib or by telephone through the secretariat.
Doctolib — Dr Chaima GATRI