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Belly Button Breast Implants
Reported by JoAnne Purtan
Wed produced by Kelly Reynolds

Women who have had breast implants may deny it, but their scars always reveal the truth -
until now. A local plastic surgeon is offering a procedure that gives women a boost, without leaving any marks.

It's no secret of Victoria's, or anyone for that matter: big breasts help sell.

Kelly Daly is an aspiring model who feels she's lacking a bit in that department.

"It will benefit me in just things like bathing suits and lingerie ads," Kelly said.

But Kelly has friends who've had breast implants, and their recovery time was long and painful.

"Sshe couldn't lift her arms up, she couldn't brush her teeth, she couldn't even function for two weeks," Kelly said about one friend.

So Kelly has come from Windsor to Bloomfield Hills and plastic surgeon Dr. Michael Gray. He performs what he calls scarless breast enlargement.

"Patients have quick recovery, less pain, no scars, which I think is a big benefit," Dr. Gray said.

Traditional implant surgery is done with incisions made under the arms or through the nipples, but Dr. Gray inserts the implants through the belly button.

More on the surgery in a minute, but first, we're with Kelly minutes before she's taken in.

"Are you nervous?" Health Reporter JoAnne Purtan asked Kelly.

"I haven't been through surgery before, so yea, I'm kind of nervous, definitely."

Kelly is put under with a general anesthetic, and then Dr. Gray makes a tiny incision in the belly button. He then creates a tunnel.

"I'm going underneath the skin, in the fat that lies beneath the skin and the muscles in your belly, which holds your organ inside," Dr. Gray said.

The implants are inserted through the tunnel, positioned with the help of a camera and then filled with saline to the size the patient has chosen. The incision is closed with just a few stitches.

From beginning to end, the whole procedure takes about 30 minutes.

Dr. Gray has done hundreds of these implant surgeries in the last 10 years. Still, relatively few doctors perform the surgery this way.

"I think we're at the front end of the curve for this belly button breast augmentation. I think the technology will improve and the equipment will improve, and we may see a popularity in it," said Dr. James Wells, President of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

So far the FDA doesn't recommend this approach, saying it needs more information about its safety and effectiveness. Kelly, meanwhile, is thrilled with the choice she made.

We catch up with her just two weeks after her surgery.

"The first three days were painful, the first two days. I didn't want to move, I just laid on the couch and stayed there," Kelly said.

"The third day I just felt better, and after 5 days I could have done anything."

Kelly went from a 36b to a 36c, and couldn't be happier with the results.

"When you look in the mirror, what do you think?" JoAnne asked Kelly.

"I'm happy, I'm happy, when I look in the mirror, I like how I look in clothes, I like how I look without clothes… it's nice."

The belly button breast implants cost about $5,000 and are not covered by insurance.

For more information, contact Dr. Michael Gray at the Michigan Cosmetic Surgery Center in Bloomfield Hills at 248-593-8000.

Watch the video

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