So, if you’re an outtie, let’s face it. You’re now longing to be part of the innie crowd.

With umbilicoplasty, or the nicer-sounding belly button renewal or lift, your belly can be born again.  Whether you’ve had an outie all your life, or your belly button is starting to protrude after babies or the skin above your navel is starting to droop over it, this relatively simple surgery (in terms of time, recovery and cost) can reset your middle ground.

If you think about it, the belly button is just a fairly large scar that we all have.  After we’re born and the umbilical chord is cut and tied, some heal as innies, some as outies.  Like everything else on our bodies, they tend to change over time, be it from child birth, drastic weight gain or loss or just gravity.  For some, it becomes a real hot-button issue.  Women want to look good in a bikini or have that attractive spot to pierce; men with good abs don’t want a knot sticking out of a well toned mid-section.

Umbilicoplasty is different from a tummy tuck, focusing solely on the navel.  It is often done in conjunction with that surgery to make sure the belly button matches the newly flattened tummy.  If an umbilical hernia is causing the belly button to protrude, surgery to fix the hernia would precede the belly button lift.  When done on its own, umbilicoplasty takes about an hour with local anesthesia.  The incisions are usually hidden within the navel itself and downtime is about one day.  The surgical costs will likely range from $500-$2,000.

• Here’s a really wierd site about belly buttons.
• Did you ever wonder if Adam and Eve had belly buttons?  This Christian site has the answer.
• American Health and Beauty always has good information.

Jumping on the J.Lo and Beyonce booty craze, what heretofore was known as a butt lift or buttocks enhancement is being billed as the Brazilian butt lift.  A few shots of fat in your fanny and you’ll have that classy chassis of our South American sisters!

They are really just repositioning (no pun intended) the various ways to get a backside boost.  The two primary augmentation procedures — implants and fat injections – have been around for quite some time, and the general demand has more than doubled since 1998.

According to the-cosmetic-surgery-directory.com, implant surgery – aka gluteoplasty  – involves a 2- to 3-inch incision through which a silicone implant is inserted under the main butt muscle, the gluteus maximus.  The surgery, which averages about $6,000, takes a couple of hours and requires general anesthesia.  Healing time is about four weeks, but it could take several months before your gluteus is stretched to its new maximus.  This method is primarily used by patients who don’t have excess fat to siphon off and use for the injections.

On the other cheek, fat injections – aka the Brazilian butt lift — is a less invasive procedure and requires less down time.  Fat is liposuctioned from another part of your body – thighs, abdomen, back and hips are the most common areas – then injected into the buttocks.  The upside of this method is that you are changing your shape in two areas, offering a greater visual impact of the result.  This method is preferred by most plastic surgeons over implants for its more natural look and because the body won’t reject its own cells.  Some of the fat will be absorbed back into the body, so the results may not be permanent.  The procedure takes a couple of hours and is also done under general anesthetic, but most patients can resume some activity within a couple of days and are back to full activity in a couple of weeks.  The costs are all over the map, and will run anywhere from $8,000 to $18,000.

The American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons ranks buttock augmentation and buttock lift separately, because one is a surgical procedure involving incisions, and the other is not.

You may also come across a third procedure, a thread lift for your butt that is sometimes called a Parisian butt lift.  A number of polyester threads are implanted in your bottom, pulled to lift it, and then anchored on the lower back.  The procedure takes from 1.5-3 hours, requires local anesthetic and recovery time is a couple of days for normal activity.  And while we’ve seen a website that calls the threads “unbreakable” and the procedure “long-lasting,” it really doesn’t strike us as the best choice. I mean, come on.  What if one of the threads broke?

• Plasticsurgery.com testifies to the curvy caboose:
• Here’s a video interview about fat injections.
• There are lots of YouTube videos:
  • Implant surgery
  • Fat redistribution
  • Thread lift

Abdominoplasty: A surgical procedure done to flatten your abdomen by removing extra fat and skin, and tightening muscles in your abdominal wall. This procedure is commonly referred to as a tummy tuck. (webmd.com)

Rated the 4th most popular procedure in 2008, tummy tucks are particularly popular with women whose bellies have been left stretched out by pregnancy, or men and women who have experienced dramatic weight loss. Don’t let the cute word “tuck” deceive you, this is major surgery with a price tag that ranges from $3000 – $8000. Down time is at least a couple weeks or more, the discomfort level can be substantial, and there will be permanent scarring. But the results? Most report loving it.  Over the years the scars have become thinner and the abdomen even flatter.

Resources:

• Consumer Guide to Plastic Surgery has a good animated presentation on abdominoplasty.
• For the stronger stomached, you can view the real thing in a video posted on YouTube by Dr. Art Foley, from Olympia, Washington.  It’s tastefully edited (no pun intended).
• As with any procedure – DO YOUR HOMEWORK on the doctor. LookinGood likes the 7 critical questions posted by Dr. Sam Speron, from Chicago’s Park Ridge Center for Plastic Surgery. Plastic Surgery is permanent – don’t take it lightly.

Interview several doctors and ask the following questions:

1. What, if any, board certifications does the doctor have?
2. How long has the doctor been performing this procedure?
3. Can you look at typical “before” and “after” photos?
4. Can you speak with an actual patient who had this procedure done?
5. If the procedure is to be done in an outpatient center or an office, is the facility Medicare certified and state licensed?
6. Does the office offer financing?
7. Who will perform the surgery and all of the postoperative care?