Nov 26, 2007 9:48 pm US/Eastern
Belly Button Makeover Makes A Marvelous Midriff
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
Americans are obsessed with their looks. But some will go under the knife to fix just about everything, even their belly buttons, which is why the latest craze in cosmetic surgery is the belly button makeover.
For years, Kelly Mattey kept a secret undercover, her belly button.
"I actually hated the whole midsection area, but the belly button actually lowered, you know, after childbirth, so it didn't look much like a belly button anymore," Kelly Mattey told
CBS4'S Dr. Sean Kenniff.
With all of those dare to bare fashions, more and more women are seeking belly button beauty makeovers, also known as umbilicoplasties.
Dr. Constantino Mendieta, a cosmetic surgeon in Coconut Grove, says, "The middriff is one of the sexiest aspects of the human body."
He says most of us are born with a beautiful belly button but it can change.
"Their belly button shape is developed at birth, but that shape can change especially with extreme weight changes, with pregnancy," says Dr. Mendieta.
That's what happened to Kelly so she went to see Dr. Brent Moelleken in Los Angeles.
"Sometimes after childbirth for example, the whole outer lining of the muscles is very weak it's actually ripped during pregnancy, and usually we do that through some sort of tummy tuck," said Dr. Moelleken.
Belly button makeovers are often combined with other procedures like liposuction and tummy tucks, but the results can be dramatic.
"The best candidate for a belly button makeover is someone whose belly button is just not right for whatever reason. Usually it's an "outie" but sometimes it can be a belly button that's sunk in because the other layers are bulging out," said Dr. Moelleken.
Kelly was thrilled with her results, and even though her procedure cost a few thousand dollars, she says it was more than 'barely' worth it.
"I feel great. I feel like I can do those sit ups and it's never coming back. It sticks up straight, and it's high where it is supposed to be, you know, not hanging down," said Kelly.
According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, more than 8,000 such procedures were performed in the last three years alone.
Highlights of umbilicoplasties:
- It involves the use of local anesthesia.
- Usually, to make an outie an innie, a surgeon makes an incision on the perimeter of the belly button and tacks it down with sutures.
- Extra skin around the belly button is also trimmed off.
- This is a simple procedure.
- It takes around 30 to 90 minutes.
- The recovery period from this surgery is a week or less.
Cost:The procedure costs around $2,000 - $5,000
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
