Monsplasty and the FUPA: the area most tummy tuck patients do not know is included

There is an area of the body that comes up in almost every tummy tuck consultation I have, and it is one that patients rarely think to mention until I bring it up.

It is the mons pubis, sometimes referred to as the FUPA, which stands for fatty upper pubic area. It is the soft tissue just above the pubic bone, and it is one of the areas most commonly affected by pregnancy and significant weight changes. It is also one of the most commonly overlooked in a standard abdominoplasty.

At Deigni Plastic Surgery, monsplasty is included in every drainless tummy tuck I perform. This is a deliberate choice I make because addressing the mons pubis as part of the abdominoplasty produces a more complete and natural result.

What the mons pubis is and why it changes

The mons pubis is a fatty pad of tissue that sits over the pubic bone. During pregnancy, as the abdomen expands and weight shifts, this area can accumulate fat and develop excess skin. After delivery, even when overall weight returns to near-baseline, the mons pubis quite often remains enlarged or drooping in a way that does not resolve on its own.

For many patients, this is the part of their body they find most frustrating. They may have lost significant weight and feel good about most areas, but the lower abdomen and mons area continues to look and feel different from how it did before pregnancy.

What a monsplasty involves

A monsplasty reduces the size and improves the position of the mons pubis. It can involve the removal of excess skin and fat from the area, and in some cases liposuction to refine the contour. When performed as part of a drainless tummy tuck, the procedures complement each other: the tummy tuck addresses the abdomen and muscle repair, and the monsplasty addresses the area immediately below, creating a cohesive result across the full lower torso.

The monsplasty uses the same incision as the tummy tuck along the bikini line, so there is no additional visible scarring from the monsplasty itself.

Why I include it in my drainless tummy tuck

Pregnancy and weight changes do not stop at the belly button. They affect the full lower abdominal area, and a tummy tuck that only addresses the upper portion of that anatomy leaves an incomplete result. The mons pubis is part of the picture. Addressing it at the same time, through the same incision, with the same recovery, produces a result that looks complete rather than partially addressed.

When patients come in for a consultation, I always examine the full lower abdominal area including the mons pubis, and we discuss what they are seeing and what the right approach looks like for their specific anatomy.