List date(s) this work was published or aired.
Apr-11
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
Every year, more than 100,000 women get a tummy tuck–a number that’s risen 88 percent in the last decade. And millions more dream of the procedure: In a poll we conducted on redbookmag.com, more than two-thirds of readers said they’d have a tuck if money weren’t an issue. If REDBOOK readers–young mothers who’ve watched their pre-baby bodies change from toned (or toned-ish) to wobbly–were considering such a drastic surgery, we wanted them to know everything about it. So we recruited veteran health writer Hallie Levine to write, “Would You Get a Mommy Tuck?” for our April issue. Supporting Levine’s in-depth reporting was a lively and informative design: Before-and-after pictures showed the impressive tummy-flattening results of abdominoplasty and told the truth about the grisly bruising and swelling involved. Sidebars gave readers even more information, including a pre-surgery checklist and a sharp-eyed look at the celebrity culture that’s fueled the procedure’s popularity. Finally, REDBOOK offered readers a viable non-surgical alternative: exercises that can get results when dieting and regular crunches fail.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
Medical studies, statistics from the Plastic Surgery Association, medical reference drawings of abdominoplasty surgery were used. No FOI requests were necessary.
Explain types of human sources used.
In addition to interviewing top-level plastic surgeons, fitness experts, and several women who had undergone the procedure, we commissioned a medical illustrator who worked closely with surgeons to detail the radical re-do patients undergo in a typical tummy tuck.
Results:
Levine uncovered two rarely-reported facts: Abdominoplasty is one of the most painful plastic surgery procedures, with a recovery time of anywhere from 10 to 14 days–and because the skin of the stomach is pulled so taut, most women can’t stand up straight or sleep lying flat for days afterward. Remember those readers we polled, who said they wanted the operation? When we shared these details with them, 26 percent changed their minds. As reader Mandy Flemister told us on Facebook: “I’ll definitely try to get in shape the ‘hard’ way, eating right and exercising, before going under the knife.”
Follow-up (if any). Have you run a correction or clarification on the report or has anyone come forward to challenge its accuracy? If so, please explain.
Every plastic surgeon and medical doctor the writer talked to for this piece told her that the only cure for a distended belly post-pregnancy was weight loss and abdominoplasty. But she found out that wasn’t necessarily true: A small community of physical therapists and fitness experts claimed to be having incredible results using specific exercises to help heal the abdominal muscles and knit them back together, flattening the belly. After “Would you get a mommy tuck?” ran, we decided to test that claim and recruited several women who had been pregnant to try a non-surgical exercise plan. Their amazing results became a second piece, “The tummy makeover that works!” which ran in the January 2012 issue.
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
Always think about how medical experts’ limited ranges of knowledge, and their financial concerns, may affect your story. If we had limited our reporting only plastic surgeons, we may not have uncovered the non-surgical options which then later turned into a very well-received and helpful service piece.