The most common abdominoplasty performed by plastic surgeons worldwide involves the removal of a horizontal ellipse of skin from the lower abdomen with transposition of the umbilicus. A long lower abdominal incision is used when a large volume of excess skin hangs on the lower abdomen. A short incision is possible when there is a minimum of excess skin and access is primarily needed to tighten the muscles of the abdominal wall. Both variations of this abdominoplasty involve an incision around the belly button (umbilicus) to permit its anatomical relocation on wound closure.  During the procedure, the skin is lifted from the abdominal wall from the incision to the margin of the rib cage. The umbilicus is dissected free from the elevated skin and left attached to the abdominal wall. The exposed muscles of the abdomen are tightened by joining them at the midline. The result is a firmer abdomen with an accentuated waist contour. The elevated skin is then redraped to create smooth surface contours on wound closure. Umbilicus translocation is completed by exteriorizing the belly button through the redraped skin to the initial anatomical position on the abdomen.