And the afternoon after Valentine's Day, Mildred stood naked in the examining room at Dr. Martin Luftman's office, preparing for a second surgery. Luftman, a Lexington plastic surgeon, is plotting the terrain of Mildred's proposed tummy tuck surgery in purple surgical marker. He'll use the marks to guide him during the next day's procedure. The surgery, known as abdominoplasty, tightens the abdominal muscles, and reduces loose skin and surface fat. Luftman, who also performed Mildred's face lift, explains that, while she'll see some improvement, only weight loss and exercise will give her a truly flat stomach.
Most abdominal fat is buried inside, below the muscle, and is untouched by the surgery.
Mildred knows she will have a scar running nearly the width of her abdomen, a few inches below her belly button. Take anything you can, without killing me,'' she adds. And then she laughs, part in jest, part from nerves. Problems can occur 7 a.m., Feb. 16. Mildred feels scared to death.