THE RODEO DRIVE BELLY BUTTON

You're invited to a pool party but your belly isn't pancake flat in your Versace bikini... thank goodness for Dr. Lloyd Krieger, whose new Rodeo Drive Belly Button technique creates an ultra-flat tummy.

As with the more common tummy tuck, he creates a long horizontal incision below the knicker line, then pulls down and cuts off excess skin and fat. The clever bit is that by stitching down the skin under the new belly button more tightly, Dr. Krieger creates a natural-looking gentle slope — and leaves a 'platform' at the top of the belly button that's perfect for a piercing, too.

"We're seeing more women in their twenties and thirties who wear low-rise jeans and want to show off their pierced navels," he explains.

The Rodeo Drive Belly Button costs from $3,500 (£2,000), see www.rodeodriveplasticsurgery.com. For a tummy tuck in the UK, plastic surgery consultant Wendy Lewis recommends Adam Searle (www.baaps.org.uk; from £6,000).