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Subscribe to RSSInnies, outies, in-betweenies. We had such an overwhelming response to our recent post on a new study examining belly button bacteria (ew) that we decided we didn't know nearly enough about our navels, and must investigate further.
Our incredibly scientific reader poll showed that 88 percent of msnbc.com readers have innies. For those of you with outies or something in between, who are unhappy about it -- a plastic surgeon can "sculpt" a new navel for you with a little nip and tuck -- and at a cost of several grand. Belly button surgery, called umbilicoplasty, is not just for the rich and famous. And people willing to go under the knife aren't necessarily underwear models, belly dancers or strippers who regularly expose their navels.
"It's usually done for cosmetic reasons and it takes about 45 minutes," says Dr. Curtis Cetrulo, Jr., a plastic surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. The procedure can be done as part of a tummy tuck or in people who have had umbilical hernias and need to have a hole in the abdominal wall surgically repaired. It's often done on women whose skin hasn't bounced back after pregnancy.
Some people want to remodel their belly button simply because they loathe its look, whether it's the shape, size, or protruding skin. Perhaps a woman had an innie all her life, but after giving birth, it became more of an "in betweenie" because the tissue in the abdominal wall has stretched. Worse still (in some people's minds), it has become -- or always was -- an outie and sticks out. Heaven forbid!
Created by the snip of the umbilical cord at birth, your belly button gets its appearance when the stalk from the leftover cord dries up leaving an abdominal scar.
Whether you have an innie or an outie has nothing to do with the handiwork of the physician who delivered you, explains Cetrulo. It's related to the presence of space between the skin and the abdominal wall, he says.
If the soft tissue protrudes through, you've got an outie, which is much rarer in people than the more-desired innie.
Cetrulo has never had a patient request an outie and says most people ask for "a vertical dime slot of a belly button that's small and thin."
Reconstructing a belly button is done under local anesthesia on an outpatient basis and results in a little pain from soreness afterwards.
Although many umbilicoplasties are done as part of a tummy tuck (and statistics for this are not kept separately), there were more than 2,100 reconstructions done in the US without a tummy tuck in 2005, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. (This is the last year the Society reported statistics for this procedure.) That figure in 2005 put the number of people having belly button surgery in a category comparable to those receiving butt implants.
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My two-year old has a huge outtie. It's so big that it often creates a dent in shirts that fit a little snug. Our pediatrician said when she turns 5 we can opt for a quick procedure to tone it down a bit. We're seriously considering it - little kids can be harsh! I mean if a doctor mentions a procedure to make it smaller, it's probably pretty big.
Are you sure it's not an umbilical hernia? They are very common, especially in preemies. My son was born with a huge umbilical hernia- like the size of a strawberry- but it healed itself when he was about 6 months old. The doctor said he would have to get surgery if it didn't go away naturally.
My son had an umbilical hernia too. We took a silver dollar and secured it to his belly. Worked like a charm. It went away on it's own. He now has an innie. Personally, I've always wanted to do away with the whole thing entirely. No belly button at all.
I had an outtie and they did that surgery on my when I was about 6. Turns out, it was a hernia, insurance paid for the whole thing and now I have a fun navel :)
That kid will be smart enough at age five to know that mommy is trying to change her, rather than accept her. How do you think that's going to make her feel? All you're going to do if you make her undergo this procedure, is make her feel like there's something wrong with her, even though there is NOT. There is nothing wrong with having an outie bellybutton, and maybe you should teach your daughter that she's beautiful the way she is, and that she doesn't have to do this if she doesn't want to. Even though she'll only be five, I still think she should have the choice as to whether or not her body is altered.
How about teaching her comebacks to say so that she can stand up to those kids?
why should a child have to be a martyr for sake of acceptance? And frankly, it's not about her mom 'wanting to change her". Its about how the child feels. There is no loss of function in this procedure.
I think the incidence of cosmetic surgeries like this is just going to keep increasing. Little kids are having their ears altered if they stick out too far, now belly buttons. This culture is shallow and vain, and anyone who looks different is not encouraged to accept themselves, they are encouraged to fit in, even if it means surgery. If you have enough money (think Tori Spelling) you can carve yourself into anything that the dominant culture thinks is attractive: a new nose, body shape, dye your hair, colored contacts, etc.
The funny thing is, things like belly buttons (nose shape, hair color) are genetic. "Perfect" looking people will be awfully surprised one day when their offspring come out looking nothing like them...
Both of my daughters have outies, as did my brother. I think they are adorable, they aren't hurting them (they are not hernias) and I would never dream of changing them. My 3 year old asked me why my belly button "is all squished in"! Maybe I should have a surgery to give me a cute outie instead of an innie!
Jeepers!.. what next, injecting a child with Botox?!?.. oh, wait.. someone already did that.. oh well WTH...
My grandmother accounted for the whole family having 'innies' because of the way babies were taken care of after coming home.
She (and almost all of the other mom's in the family...including me) would take a small piece of cotton cloth (Think cotton sheets)...sometimes like about a 3"x3" or 4"x4" square...scorch it with a very hot iron, put Vaseline on the belly button, place the scorched square over that, then hold the 'button' closed and with surgical tape, tape the square onto the babies stomach. You repeated this procedure a few times a day and before bedtime.
Don't know 'why' the scorched cotton...but I think the using your fingers to 'close' the button hole and the taping probably helped. Of course we used Vaseline for everything...LOL
My sister is the only one who didn't do this to her children, and they all have outties.
I got an "outie" after my second child was born, it was a hernia that was really a painful nuisance that could not be ignored. I got it fixed through surgery and couldn't be happier. It really was medically necessary, the insurance covered it and now I can wear my normal size shirts without trying to hide my huge belly button.
My mom had a surgeon turn my outtie into an innie when I was 2. I never even knew until college when some friends at the pool pointed out that my belly button was an "extreme innie" as they called it. I told my mom about it and she said "Oh yeah! I had that fixed when you were two!"
i know a lady born in the '30s who had an innie. the exceptable practice at that time was to have a procedure done that totally removed it. if you ask her she'll show it ti you and ahe just has nothing!
I have an innie, but I think outies are so cute. The ONLY reason people who have outies are self conscious about them is because society has deemed them unnattractive, and not normal, like they're something to be ashamed of, when they aren't.
If you have an outie, you should feel good about it and embrace it, and @!$%# anyone who has something nasty to say about it. Besides, outies are rather uncommon, be glad if you have one.
I don't think it makes sense to do cosmetic surgery on a really young kid-- that outtie may become an innie as the kid grows up and/or gains a little weight. When I was age 7 and younger, I was very thin and had a little outtie belly button, but by the time I was a normal-weight highschooler ten years later, it had melted into an innie.
I remember as an infant, though I could not yet speak, my mother taking me to the doctor and having something done to my bellybutton that I didn't like. It was uncomfortable and I had a huge sticky thing on my tummy that pulled and stung. When I was grown I came across a black-and-white photo of me sitting on the porch picking at a huge "bow" of tape on my stomach. Mom said the doctor stuffed my bellybutton with cotton and taped it up. My "innie" is about a half-inch deep now, I don't know how long the cotton and tape remained. But at least I wasn't surgically altered.
Irish working class moms would tape a raisin over the newborn"s umbilicus to ensure an innie. it worked.
One of my my twin daughters had an outie, while her sister was kinda "neutral" i always worried about it, cause i didnt want her to be made fun of, fortunately it went in on its own, didnt have to do a thing.
I'm surprised some parents can be that shallow, as to opt for surgery to correct a tiny piece of flesh....surgery on a very young child. There is nothing wrong with having an outie, people. Maybe if you start accepting your children, that message will spread to everyone else, and outies will no longer be considered ugly.
Said it once, I'll say it again: People are only self concsious about outies because society has deemed them unnattractive. Well if society is gonna get so bent out of shape over such a small piece of flesh, why should you care what they think?