In plastic surgery, the tiniest of details often set apart merely an acceptable result from one that is truly extraordinary. In this vein, researchers in Singapore sought to find specific, definable aesthetic characteristics for reconstructing the umbilicus for patients undergoing abdominoplasty or lipoabdominoplasty. Shu Jin Lee, MD, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, and colleagues analyzed these aesthetics in their paper “Comuputer-Aided Analysis of the ‘Beautiful’ Umbilicus,” published in this month’s issue of the Aesthetic Surgery Journal.
In the study, Lee et al. used software they developed, called the Aesthetic Analyzer, to assess the vertical and horizontal positions, length and shape of 37 Playboy playmate bellybuttons. Based on their results, they report the “beautiful” umbilicus has these parameters:
- Vertical ratio (xiphoid process-lower limit of the pudendal cleft) of 46:54
- Midline horizontal position
- Length equaling 5% of that of the xiphoid process to the lower limit of the pudendal cleft
- Oval shape
- No hooding (29.8%) or superior hooding (21.6%)
The authors conclude that these parameters can help in planning the “ideal position, shape, and size of the umbilicus [and] can be useful for achieving successful reconstruction of the umbilicus during abdominoplasty and lipoabdominoplasty.”
