Dr Feldman performs monsplasty (mons pubis liposuction) in South Yarra, Melbourne.
The word is out. Mons pubis is the new thigh gap. If we’re to believe the hype flooding the web over the last two days, mons (pubis), that area over a woman’s pubic bone, is the word on the street. The Internet is awash with articles on women’s insecurities around the size and shape of their private parts. You can even put a hashtag on it. Search social media for #monspubic or #monspubis
Despite this media driven fashion fad (and yes, we will discuss this later), resulting in inflated interest from young, perfectly normal girls willing to change their body part for Absolutely No Reason at All, many women request this successful method of liposuction surgery for sound reasons. But first, let’s get down to basics.
What is the mons pubis
The mons pubis is a mass of fat tissue that is situated over the pubic bones or pubic symphysis. Latin for “pubic mound”, it is also more romantically referred to as the Mons Venus or Mons Veneris, (Sounds a lot nicer that way, doesn’t it?) The size of the mons depends on levels of hormones and fat in the body, and thus with women, enlarges and becomes covered with pubic hair in puberty. In menopausal years, when oestrogen levels drop, the area tends to decrease in size.
Liposuction of the mons pubis fat (aka monsplasty)
Dr Joni Feldman has been performing monsplasty in South Yarra, Melbourne for a lot longer than the current Twitter fad. As Dr Ernest Gillam MBBS (Lond.) of ‘Marbella Cosmetic High Care Group’, explained: “Monsplasty is a posh word for the removal of suprapubic fat.” This procedure is different to the lower abdominoplasty, focusing instead on the fat just above the pubic bone. Some women are more predisposed than others to fat deposit in this area, while others develop an enlarged mons pubis after losing a large amount of weight, as the fat tissue above the pubic bone tends to remain, even when other previously fat areas decrease in size. This fat deposit can sag and protrude above the pubic bone.
Reasons for liposuction of the mons pubis
Having an enlarged mons pubis area causes no clear medical issues, but can be a cause for concern with some women. It can cause discomfort when wearing tight clothes, swimwear, certain underwear and during certain activities. Other symptoms include:
- feeling that the mons drags or rubs against clothing
- increased localised sweating
- an uncomfortable feeling of carrying an external weight around (in extreme cases)
- health and hygiene issues due to bacterial or fungal infections that lie under the folds of fat (again, in extreme cases).
Diet and exercise are still the best ways to reduce excess fat, but as mentioned, even after making the best efforts to diet and exercise, the mons fat remains, that seems to be determined to stay.
#monspubis: let’s discuss the hype
So why are perfectly healthy looking young women going bonkers for what was once and still is a very sensible procedure for select women? According to Jennifer Weiner of the New York Times, “This year, the hot new body part is the formerly unnoticed span of flesh between the top of one’s panties and the labia majora, currently displayed on the cover of Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition by the model Hannah Davis.” It appears that this obsession has spawned from the immense availability of pornography online, which continues to desensitise the public. Put simply, you need to try little harder to ‘shock’ people these days. And for highly commercial publications such as Sports Illustrated, garnering their audience’s attention is an important pursuit.
Valid surgical reasons for younger women
All social media trivia aside, there are younger women that have excessive fat tissue in the mons pubis area which causes discomfort. Why so? Some younger women are simply predisposed to more fat tissue in the pubic region. Other girls have gained and lost a large amount of weight, only to be left with excessive fat tissue over the pubic area. Fortunately, a day surgery liposuction procedure can remove this tissue.
About Liposuction
Liposuction has come a long way. To find out more about liposuction with Dr Joni Feldman, you can read more about her liposuction procedures here.
Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. Before proceeding, you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner. To discover more about the liposuction procedure, results and considerations, see our main liposuction page here. Read more about surgical risks here.