“I was 30, slim, the mother of one child, and a devotee of body building when I came to see a surgeon in Ukraine for a mini-tuck. My complaint was that my “line” in my leotard held my back from success in body building competition. The bulge was from weak muscles, damaged from a Cesarean section and I wanted it surgically corrected.

I had no excess fat. I had a little loose skin, but my chief problem was damaged muscle. I did a mini-tummy tuck with no liposuction and minimal skin removal. The operation repaired muscle that had been stretched by pregnancy and scarred by the Cesarean incision from navel to pubis.

I had general anesthesia and spent one night in the hospital. I even did body building exercises for my arms the day after surgery. I was tired but had no pain—a result of my excellent muscle con­dition. I went back to work as an aerobics instructor after 2 weeks, but I led her classes for the first week without actively demonstrating.

The operation did what I wanted I now-flat abdomen looked perfect in a leotard except that my lumpy scars showed through, very faintly. I saved a lot when had an operation in Kiev. I’m confident that I’ll win my next competition.”