What is a pubic lift (monsplasty)?

A pubic lift, or monsplasty, is surgery that lifts and tightens the mons pubis: the loose skin over the pubic bone is removed through a low incision on the tummy tuck line and the deep tissue is secured so it stays up. Dr. Cat Begovic performs it as part of a tummy tuck, through the same incision, after liposuction of the mons when fat is present.

Do I need a pubic lift or liposuction of the mons?

A pubic lift treats skin and liposuction of the mons treats fat, and Dr. Cat decides with a pinch test. Stretched skin is thin, slides under the fingers and hangs lower standing than lying; fat is thick and springy and keeps its shape lying down. Most mothers have some of both, so the liposuction comes first and the lift follows in the same surgery.

Does a tummy tuck lift the pubic area on its own?

No. A tummy tuck tightens the skin from the navel down to the incision; the mons sits below that incision and keeps its own fullness unless Dr. Cat treats it in the same surgery. She adds a pubic lift through the same incision for loose skin, liposuction of the mons for fat, or both, so the front of the body is one smooth contour.

How long is pubic lift recovery?

Pubic lift recovery takes about a week: most of Dr. Cat's patients feel almost back to normal at one week and return to desk work. A drain, when skin is removed, comes out within the first few days, activity restrictions last four to six weeks, the measured compression garment is worn for six to eight weeks, and the final result shows after a few months.

Where is the pubic lift scar, and will it show?

The pubic lift scar sits low across the top of the mons, on the line where a tummy tuck incision is made, under the underwear or bikini bottom you bring to the consultation. Dr. Cat closes it as a thin, nearly invisible low scar without bunching, irregularities or step-offs, and it fades over the first year with the scar treatment she prescribes.

How long does pubic lift surgery take, and what anesthesia is used?

In most cases the pubic lift is performed within the tummy tuck's operating time, under general anesthesia with a board-certified physician anesthesiologist in Dr. Cat's QUAD A accredited surgery center on Rodeo Drive; how much skin is removed decides how long the lift itself adds, and on its own the lift takes about an hour. After a tummy tuck the first night is spent in a plastic surgery aftercare center; after a lift on its own, the need for an aftercare night is decided at your consultation.

Who is a good candidate for a pubic lift after weight loss?

A good candidate for a pubic lift after weight loss has a mons whose skin stretched while the weight was on and now hangs, a weight that has been stable since the loss, and no nicotine for two months before surgery. A GLP-1 medication such as semaglutide is stopped 1 to 2 weeks before surgery and resumed once healed, at 2 to 3 weeks.

Will a pubic lift raise my pubic hairline?

No. Dr. Cat lifts the pubic tissues and pulls them carefully upward, never over-pulled and never so far that the pubic hairline sits too high, and tailors the mons to look flat, tight and natural. The excess is removed at the low incision at the top of the mons, so the hair-bearing skin keeps its place and its shape.

Pubic Lift (Monsplasty) in Beverly Hills

Q: How much does a pubic lift cost in Beverly Hills?

In most cases a pubic lift at Dr. Cat Plastic Surgery is planned as part of a tummy tuck and quoted within it, so it has no fee of its own: Dr. Cat's surgeon's fee for a tummy tuck is $40,500 to $60,500. Liposuction of the mons added to the tummy tuck is $3,500 plus one hour of operating room time; a pubic lift on its own, the operating room and anesthesia are quoted at the consultation. Fees are typical ranges; a more complex case can cost more.

Q: Can a pubic lift be done with a tummy tuck?

Yes, and in most cases at our practice that is how Dr. Cat performs it: the pubic lift is done with a tummy tuck, through the tummy tuck incision, so the skin is tightened uniformly from the top of the abdomen all the way down; it adds no extra pain or recovery to that surgery. Dr. Cat assesses the mons at every tummy tuck consultation, so a flat tummy is never left with a mons hanging below it.

Pubic Lift in Beverly Hills

Monsplasty (mons pubis lift: the loose, hanging skin of the mons pubis removed through a low incision hidden under your own underwear, with liposuction of the mons first when fat has to go too) by Dr. Cat Begovic, MD, FACS, board-certified plastic surgeon with two surgical residencies, head and neck surgery and plastic and reconstructive surgery, Harvard-educated and UCLA trained

A pubic lift (monsplasty, also called a mons pubis lift or mons lift) lifts and tightens the mons pubis, the mound over the pubic bone, when its skin has stretched and hangs after pregnancy, a large weight loss or with age: the loose skin is removed through a low curved incision on the tummy tuck line, the tissues of the mons are pulled up and the deep tissue is secured with sutures so it stays up, with liposuction of the mons first when fat is part of the problem. Dr. Cat Begovic performs every pubic lift herself at her Rodeo Drive practice in Beverly Hills, in most cases as part of a tummy tuck and through the same incision, for patients from across Los Angeles and from out of town, so the skin is tight from the top of the abdomen all the way down and the mons never hangs below a flat tummy.

In most cases at Dr. Cat Plastic Surgery a pubic lift is planned and quoted within a tummy tuck, whose surgeon's fee with Dr. Cat is $40,500 to $60,500; when the mons carries fat as well, liposuction of the mons is added at $3,500 plus one hour of operating room time; a pubic lift planned on its own, and the operating room and anesthesia, are quoted at your consultation. Surgeon's fees are typical ranges: a more complex case can cost more, and your fee is set at your consultation and is final only in your written quote. With her special technique, patients have a quick recovery, walking a few hours after surgery and most only needing to take Tylenol and no prescription pain medication.

15-minute Patient Concierge call, no obligation. The consultation with Dr. Cat is $500, credited toward your surgery.

Medically reviewed by Dr. Cat Begovic, MD, FACS

Board-certified plastic surgeon, trained in both head and neck surgery and plastic and reconstructive surgery. Harvard-educated, UCLA trained. Updated October 3, 2026

What makes Dr. Cat's pubic lift different

The decisions behind a mons that lies flat and a scar nobody sees.

Fat or skin, decided before surgeryThe pinch test separates stretched skin from fat. When both are present, liposuction of the mons comes first and the lift follows in the same surgery.

An incision hidden under the underwear you bringA low curved incision on the tummy tuck line, under the underwear or bikini bottom you bring, closed as a thin, nearly invisible scar without bunching, irregularities or step-offs.

Never over-pulled, the hairline where it belongsThe deep tissues are secured with sutures, pulled upward with care and never so far that the pubic hairline sits too high; the mons and the abdomen are planned as one contour.

Every step by Dr. Cat, in her own surgery centerNothing is delegated, in her QUAD A accredited surgery center on Rodeo Drive, with a board-certified physician anesthesiologist, and a recovery most patients manage with Tylenol.

What is a pubic lift (mons lift)?

A pubic lift is surgery that lifts the mons pubis, the hair-bearing mound over the pubic bone, and removes the skin that has stretched and now hangs. A mons lift is the same operation under another name: the loose skin goes, the tissue underneath is pulled up and secured, and the mons sits flat and projects less in clothing. The mons becomes enlarged and loosened from aging, pregnancy or weight fluctuations, and diet and exercise do not reach it. Our page on why the mons gets fuller explains the anatomy.

In most cases at our practice Dr. Cat performs a pubic lift as part of a tummy tuck, through the tummy tuck incision, rather than as a stand-alone operation: the mons and the lower abdomen are one contour, and lifting one without tightening the other usually leaves a step between them. A pubic lift on its own is the exception, planned at the consultation when the abdomen above it needs no tightening. When the problem is fat rather than skin, liposuction of the mons on its own is the operation, with no lift and no tummy tuck; this page covers the lift, and liposuction of the mons as part of it.

Monsplasty: what the surgery does

Monsplasty is the medical name for a pubic lift, and a mons pubis reduction is the same operation described by its result. Any excess fat is removed first, with liposuction, so the mons is thin before it is lifted. The skin and fat of the mons are lifted off the abdominal wall, the mons tissues are pulled upward and the deep tissues are secured with sutures, which is what holds the lift in place. The excess skin is removed and the incision is closed low, where a tummy tuck incision sits, so the scar hides under underwear. The result is a flatter and tighter mons pubis that projects less in clothing.

What monsplasty does not do is remove the fat pad entirely: the pad cushions the pubic bone, and a mons suctioned flat looks hollow and feels hard. Loose abdominal skin or separated muscles above it need a tummy tuck, planned with the lift as one contour.

Who is a good candidate for a pubic lift?

The test is skin against fat. Stretched skin is thin, slides and folds under the fingers, and hangs lower standing than lying down; that mons needs a lift. Fat is thick and springy and keeps its shape lying down; that mons needs liposuction. Most mothers have some of both.

You may be a good candidate if

A mons that hangs or bulges after pregnancy, a large weight loss or with age, and shows in fitted clothes
A mons that rubs, chafes or sits lower than the belly above it
A tight, flat abdomen after a tummy tuck done elsewhere, with the mons left hanging below it
A stable weight, good health, and smoking stopped for at least two months before surgery

Not yet, or a different plan, if

Your weight is still changing, or you are planning a pregnancy: either can stretch the mons again
You take a GLP-1 medication such as semaglutide or tirzepatide: it is stopped 1 to 2 weeks before surgery and resumed once healed, at 2 to 3 weeks
The mons is full of fat under skin that springs back: liposuction of the mons, not a lift, is the operation
The fold is the lower belly hanging over the mons: that is an apron belly, and a tummy tuck treats it

Because the lift is part of a tummy tuck, the tummy tuck's rules apply: a stable weight within 10 to 15 pounds of your goal and a BMI of about 30 or less. Our page on apron belly and loose skin after pregnancy separates a hanging belly from a hanging mons.

Pubic lift after weight loss

A pubic lift after weight loss treats skin, which no further weight loss will shrink. After a large loss the skin that held the fat is left behind, so the mons hangs lower and can look fuller even when the fat inside has gone; more liposuction only makes it hang more. The plan is a lift, with liposuction only if fat remains, as part of a tummy tuck, because the loose skin never stops at the mons alone. Dr. Cat asks weight-loss patients to hold a stable weight first, because skin removed now loosens again with further loss; our post on skin removal after weight loss covers the other operations.

Pubic lift with a tummy tuck

A tummy tuck removes the skin between the navel and the incision, but the mons below the incision stays where it was unless it is treated deliberately. Dr. Cat has seen too many patients with a tight, flat stomach from a tummy tuck elsewhere and a mons hanging off the bottom of it, so she assesses the mons at every body consultation. For hanging skin of the mons as well as the abdomen, she performs the pubic lift in the same surgery, through the tummy tuck incision, so the skin is tightened uniformly from the top of the abdomen all the way down; it adds no pain or recovery to that surgery, and it is quoted within the tummy tuck rather than as a separate operation. The pubic tissues are lifted and carefully pulled upward, never over-pulled and never so far that the pubic hairline sits too high, and tailored to look flat, tight and natural.

When the mons carries fat as well, conservative liposuction of the mons is added to the tummy tuck at $3,500 plus one hour of operating room time, quoted at your consultation, and the lift follows it; Dr. Cat does not perform aggressive or 360-degree liposuction in the same surgery, because the blood supply to the lifted abdominal skin travels through that fat. A mommy makeover that includes a tummy tuck treats the mons in the same plan; a labiaplasty is never done on the same day as a tummy tuck and has its own surgical day.

After a tummy tuck done elsewhere

For a patient who had a tummy tuck elsewhere and was left with a hanging mons, the lift is planned as part of a revision tummy tuck: Dr. Cat uses the old incision, or revises the scar and uses the new one, and tightens the abdomen and the mons together, because a lift beside a loose abdomen leaves a step between the two.

How Dr. Cat does it

Dr. Cat is a board-certified plastic surgeon, trained in both head and neck surgery and plastic and reconstructive surgery, Harvard-educated and UCLA trained. A pubic lift is a small operation with a large effect on how clothes fit, and she gives it the same attention as the tummy tuck it belongs to.

The markings, and the underwear you bring

Dr. Cat encourages patients to bring the underwear or bikini bottom they like to wear, so she can hide the incision under it. She marks the incision before surgery with you standing; through an old tummy tuck scar, the new scar is marked together in the pre-op area.

Liposuction first, then the lift

If the pubic lift is combined with liposuction, Dr. Cat does the liposuction of the mons first, with tumescent fluid, thin cannulas and no heat devices, leaving a thin cushion of fat so the mons stays soft; her liposuction page explains the technique. She then makes a low curved incision where a tummy tuck incision is made. The skin and fat are lifted off the abdominal wall, the mons tissues are pulled up and the deep tissues are secured with sutures. Several other technical details of her own create a natural-looking contour and a thin, nearly invisible low scar, closed without bunching, irregularities or step-offs.

Anesthesia, surgery day and the first night

The pubic lift is performed under general anesthesia with a board-certified physician anesthesiologist, in Dr. Cat's QUAD A accredited surgery center on Rodeo Drive, in most cases within the tummy tuck's operating time; how much skin has to be removed decides how long the lift itself adds, and on its own the lift takes about an hour. After a tummy tuck the first night is spent in a plastic surgery aftercare center with a nurse; after a lift on its own, whether an aftercare night is needed is decided at your consultation.

Preparing for surgery

Dr. Cat's team gives you the pre-operative instructions: smoking and every nicotine product stopped for at least two months; aspirin, anti-inflammatories, alcohol and herbal medications stopped two weeks before; medical clearance and lab work; nothing to eat or drink after midnight; and the aftercare night arranged for the night after surgery.

Tummy tuck with pubic lift and a 6.5 cm diastasis repair: Dr. Cat in the operating room

Real surgical footage, shown with the patient's consent.

Pubic lift recovery, week by week

Dr. Cat has developed a gentle technique with minimal pain and a quick recovery. After a pubic lift the mons feels tight but should not be painful, and Tylenol is usually all that is needed. She provides a prescription for a few pain pills in case, and most patients never fill it: those pills cause constipation and bloating.

The day of surgeryYou are walking within a few hours; after a tummy tuck, the first night is spent in a plastic surgery aftercare center with a nurse.
The first few daysIf skin was removed, a drain may be placed; it comes out within the first few days. The mons is the most gravity-dependent area of the torso, so it swells more than other areas and looks fuller before it looks flatter.
One weekMost patients feel almost back to normal at around one week and return to desk work. Bruising, when liposuction was part of the surgery, fades over two to three weeks.
Two weeksThe incision has sealed and scar treatment starts with the products Dr. Cat prescribes. Silicone strips start now, and out-of-town patients fly home once the drains are out.
Four to six weeksActivity restrictions last four to six weeks, depending on how extensive the surgery was; running, cycling and lifting wait until Dr. Cat clears you.
Six to eight weeksThe measured compression garment comes off and full exercise resumes at six weeks, as after a tummy tuck.
A few monthsThe swelling has left and the final result shows: a flatter, tighter mons that projects less in clothing. The scar keeps fading over the first year. A stable weight protects the result; a pregnancy or a large weight gain can change it.

Pubic lift before and after: what to look for

In pubic lift before and after photos, look at the line where the lower belly meets the mons: a good result reads as one smooth, flat contour from the navel down, with no step, shelf or bulge at the incision, the pubic hairline where it was, and a scar low enough to hide under the thinnest underwear. Prefer photos taken three months or later. The practice's pubic lift photographs are shown at your consultation. There is no separate pubic lift gallery yet, because the mons is lifted with the abdomen; the tummy tuck before and after photos include many tummy tucks with a pubic lift, among them TTK-0944 and TTK-0910, where about 9 and 12 inches of skin came off the abdomen and the mons, and TTK-0814, a tummy tuck and pubic lift with liposuction of the mons.

Risks of a pubic lift, and how Dr. Cat reduces them

A pubic lift is low-risk in experienced hands, and it is still surgery; Dr. Cat reviews the risks with every patient beforehand.

What can go wrong

A scar that heals wider, higher or more visible than planned, or holds pigment longer on darker skin
A pubic hairline pulled too high, or a mons that looks over-tight or hollow
A step-off between the mons and the abdomen when the two are not tightened as one contour
Delayed wound healing or a small opening of the incision, most often in smokers
A seroma or hematoma, infection, prolonged swelling, and numbness over the mons, usually temporary
Asymmetry or residual loose skin that may need a touch-up; blood clots and anesthesia reactions, both rare

How Dr. Cat reduces these risks

The pinch test before surgery, and the liposuction done first so the mons is thin before it is lifted
The incision planned under the underwear you bring, closed without bunching, irregularities or step-offs
The deep tissues secured with sutures, never over-pulled and never so far that the hairline sits too high
The mons and the abdomen planned and tightened as one contour, in the same tummy tuck
A stable weight, nicotine stopped for two months, medical clearance and lab work, and a physician anesthesiologist in an accredited facility
A drain when skin is removed, a measured garment for six to eight weeks, and follow-up visits until the result settles

How much does a pubic lift cost in Beverly Hills?

In most cases at Dr. Cat Plastic Surgery a pubic lift is not priced as a separate operation, because it is performed as part of a tummy tuck and quoted within it. Dr. Cat's surgeon's fee for a tummy tuck is $40,500 to $60,500, and the pubic lift is part of that plan rather than a line of its own; when the mons carries fat as well, liposuction of the mons is added at $3,500 plus one hour of operating room time; a pubic lift planned on its own is quoted at your consultation, as are the operating room and anesthesia. Surgeon's fees are typical ranges: a more complex case can cost more, and your fee is set at your consultation and is final only in your written quote. What moves the fee is the tummy tuck itself: how much skin is removed, whether the muscles are repaired, and whether liposuction comes first.

When the problem is fat alone and the skin of the mons is tight, the operation is liposuction of the mons on its own, $10,000 as Dr. Cat's surgeon's fee, with no lift and no tummy tuck.

The quote is itemized: the surgeon's fee, the operating room and the physician anesthesiologist, your measured compression garment, the aftercare night, and every follow-up visit. The quote is valid for six months; insurance does not cover a pubic lift.

The price reflects one surgeon who marks, lifts, sutures and closes the mons herself, a physician anesthesiologist and an accredited facility. Our cost guides explain what a quote from this practice is made of.

Consultation fee, deposit and financing

A consultation with Dr. Cat is $500, or $1,500 when the plan is a revision of a tummy tuck done elsewhere, credited in full toward your surgery. Your date is booked once the quote and the pre-op paperwork are signed and the $2,500 deposit is paid. To pay over time, the practice partners with Cherry, its primary financing partner, and also accepts CareCredit and Alphaeon Credit; see financing and payment plans.

Your consultation with Dr. Cat

It starts with a free 15-minute discovery call with our Patient Concierge, who books your consultation: in person on Rodeo Drive or, for out-of-town patients, a private video consultation through OnPatient, the HIPAA-secure patient portal, with photographs. Dr. Cat examines the mons standing and lying down, pinches it to judge fat against skin, looks at the lower abdomen and any cesarean or tummy tuck scar, and reviews your weight history. You leave knowing whether the mons needs a lift, liposuction or both within your tummy tuck, or liposuction on its own with no surgery of the skin, and with an itemized written quote.

A flatter mons, and an incision hidden under your own underwear

I have developed a gentle technique that has minimal pain and a quick recovery. After your pubic lift, your mons will feel tight but should not be painful, and Tylenol is usually all that is needed. I encourage my patients to bring underwear or a bikini bottom they like to wear so I can try to hide the incision under it, and I believe it is important to create the best possible result and incision without any bunching, irregularities or step-offs. This procedure results in a flatter and tighter mons pubis that projects less in clothing. For patients that felt a bulge in this area with clothing, this surgery makes a significant improvement in their quality of life.

Dr. Cat Begovic, MD, FACSBoard-certified plastic surgeon, Beverly Hills

Book a free discovery call

Ready for a mons that no longer shows in clothing?

The loose skin of the mons removed through a low incision hidden under your own underwear, liposuction first when fat is part of the problem, as part of your tummy tuck, every step by Dr. Cat herself, and a recovery most patients manage with Tylenol. It starts with a free 15-minute discovery call.

15-minute Patient Concierge call, no obligation. The consultation with Dr. Cat is $500, credited toward your surgery.

A QUAD A accredited surgery center in a Beverly Hills penthouse

Every consultation and every surgery is performed by Dr. Cat herself, with a board-certified physician anesthesiologist, in the practice's own accredited operating suite at 421 N. Rodeo Drive.

421 N. Rodeo Drive, Penthouse 4
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, by appointment

Pubic Lift in Beverly Hills

What makes Dr. Cat's pubic lift different

What is a pubic lift (mons lift)?

Monsplasty: what the surgery does