What is an incontinence pessary?

An incontinence pessary is a plastic device that is inserted into the vagina and helps to support the neck of the bladder to prevent urine leakage, according to WebMD. The device is commonly used for patients with stress incontinence, which causes urinary leakage when coughing, sneezing or laughing.

A variety of vaginal pessary devices exist in various shapes and sizes to control stress incontinence, vaginal vault prolapse, uterine prolapse, enterocele, rectocele and cystocele, according to the American Family Physician. An incontinence pessary may also be used for preoperative preparation. The nonsurgical device is one of the oldest medical devices available.