Bye-bye back flab

Carly Weeks

From Friday's Globe and Mail

Back cleavage: The muffin top's uglier cousin. While a deep chasm in the front remains a sought-after attribute, that fold on your back? It's got to go. At least that's the premise of a new procedure being touted by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons as the best way to eliminate unsightly back fat.

As if chin implants, knee lifts and eyelid operations weren't enough, the cosmetic surgery industry has launched a campaign to encourage women to sign up for the "bra-line back lift." Instead of spilling out of form-fitting dresses and tops - an occurrence that can create the appearance of unsightly cleavage on a woman's back - women can have the fat sucked out, enabling them to bare their shoulders without fear that an extra roll of flesh will ooze from the constraints of their clothing. The incision is made where a woman's bra or bikini top would naturally sit, disguising the crafty female's beauty secret.

"[My clients] diet and exercise and yet still can't wear a tube top without feeling self-conscious over the extra bulge that forms on top," said Greg Wiener, a plastic surgeon based in Chicago. "This is a great way for them to stay healthy and reward themselves for a job well done."

While the new procedure raises questions of where plastic surgery could possibly suck fat from next - that bulging baby toe? - the industry says the back lift heeds a long-unanswered call from women who, despite diet and exercise, must cope with the reality of back flab.

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