Am I A Good Candidate For Rib Removal Surgery?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I just retired and I’m built like a brick house.Now I would like to be much more feminine looking figure wise. I’ve seen people who received rib contouring and I wasn’t impressed with the results. I have only seen one Dr. Eppley’s patients who had the procedure and they looked great, 100 times better than rib contouring.

I researched both rib contouring and rib removal and I think removal is the best option for me.

A: Thank you for sending your pictures. Rib removal surgery works best and should only be performed on lean patients where the only obstruction is structural (bony). In patients that have some significant skin laxity and a thicker subcutaneous fat layer procedures that address those issues should be done first. In your case an extended tummy tuck with lateral oblique plication with flank and back liposuction will get much better results than rib removal alone.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Plastic Surgeon