Audio By Carbonatix
From Brazilian butt lifts to breast augmentation to botox, body-perfecting plastic surgery seems to have every part covered.
In recent years, however, there's been a big increase in requests for surgery on a tiny part of the body that, until now, seemed like an afterthought.
Belly buttons.
While the question of the naval was once as simple as "innie" or "outie," plastic surgeons told ABC News their patients are requesting a very specific aesthetic when it comes to the depression on their midriff.
"Oval, with a bit of a hood on the top," Dr. Norman Rowe of Rowe Plastic Surgery in New York City said.
And if going as far as having surgery on the belly button feels a bit nit-picky, Rowe contends that's really up to "who is picking the nit." In other words, he said, what may be no big deal to one person may be a very big deal to another.
"For a person in a warm-weather climate, whose belly button is often exposed, it's as important to have that area be attractive as it might be to another to fix the tip of their nose."
While there's no data from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) on exactly how many belly button makeovers are taking place, Dr. David H. Song, Regional Chief of Plastic Surgery at Medstar Georgetown and past president of the ASPS told ABC News belly buttons are a "part of the conversation in plastic surgery in a way they have never been before. It's definitely on the minds of people right now."
Dr. Matthew Schulman, NYC Board-Certified Plastic Surgeon, said he's doing three to four belly buttons per week, twice as many as he was doing just a few years ago. In California, Dr. Brent Moelleken, also told ABC News the requests for belly button makeovers has "more than doubled" in the past three years.
Dr. Rowe said the procedure, which is technically called umbilicoplasty, is a relatively simple one. "It had always been done as part of a tummy tuck, but now people are coming in for it as its own procedure." Rowe said his patients come in to turn an outie to an innie, to remove skin from a previous piercing, reduce the size of the belly button or to change the shape.
"You can have it done now and be ready for Memorial Day," he said.
Schulman agreed there's almost no downtime to the procedure and said changing the shape from round to oval may make the abdomen appear slimmer overall. And while there's plenty that can be done to make a belly button more pleasing, there's one thing he can't do.
"I get a request once in a while to turn an innie to an outie," he said. "It can't be done."
Latest Stories
-
Who is the ‘hero’ Indian pilot who was stabbed on Israel-bound flight?
16 minutes -
NPP External Branches demand 90-day roadmap for ROPAA implementation
17 minutes -
No sustainable digital economy without trust, cybersecurity – CSA
20 minutes -
SSNIT increases stake in Société Générale Ghana to 24.36%
23 minutes -
Ghana-Colombia port deal sparks fresh cocaine trafficking security concerns
23 minutes -
EOCO moves to search Baffour Awuah’s office, residence after interrogation
30 minutes -
GoldBod, Kyrgyzstan discuss partnerships in gold and critical minerals
31 minutes -
SMEs can use vehicles, movable assets as collateral under Borrowers and Lenders Act
32 minutes -
Two dead in Canada after vehicle hits pedestrians taking part in First Nations event
34 minutes -
Cornell case highlights ‘draining’ maze for victims to report campus sex assaults
35 minutes -
Minority demands immediate suspension of Ghana-Colombia maritime deal over cocaine concerns
36 minutes -
Konadu Irrigation Project reaches 96% completion, set for commissioning in one month
36 minutes -
Joyce Bawah Mogtari calls for sustained investment in Ghana’s legal profession
39 minutes -
Close salary gap between lower bench and superior court judges—JUSAG
40 minutes -
Police arrest three over GH¢100,000 ransom demand in Yendi kidnapping case
45 minutes