More women seeking plastic surgery to fix belly button

CHERRY HILL, N.J. (WPVI) -- It's a spot many would like to change - but they don't often talk about: the belly button.

Fortunately, improving that tiny area doesn't take a big operation.

Short tops, pants that sit below the waist, and dresses with cutouts - all those fashions put belly buttons on view. But some are very self-conscious and they don't like their navels.

A local plastic surgeon says that can be fixed quickly, and with very little recovery time.

Tina Lewis loves summer's bare clothing, but not what they reveal.

"I don't feel as though I have a belly button - it's just like a little slit," she said. "At the beach, I wear a 2-piece, and that's the focal point, and there is none."

Plastic surgeon Steve Davis from Davis Cosmetic Surgery in Cherry Hill, New Jersey says a surprising number of patients ask for tummy tucks, but he discovers the real concern.

"You don't have any loose skin there - what's really bothering you? and they always point to the belly button," he said.

The prime issues are sagging skin and stretch marks after several pregnancies or significant weight loss, a piercing that got infected, or a protruding navel - an outie.

"They want to have a more vertical-shaped belly button, most of the time," said Dr. Davis.

Dr. Davis says repairs can be done in his office in an hour or less under straight local anesthesia.

Stretch marks and some stretched out skin can be removed at the same time.

"The scars themselves are hidden in the belly button itself," he said.

And patients can be on the beach in about a week - with good sunscreen or a swimsuit cover-up.

By itself, belly button repairs are about a thousand dollars.

Lewis is already looking ahead a few weeks, after her navel is done.

"You know the dresses that have all the missing parts to them? Maybe have a piercing?" she said.

Tina says she used to think she was the only one bothered by her navel.

Now, she knows she's not alone - and she's happy she's found a fix.

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