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When Natalie first booked a consultation with New York plastic surgeon Thomas P. Sterry, MD, she was expecting to talk about liposuction. “I was interested in mainly liposuction, Lipo 360 at first,” she says. But during that visit, Dr. Sterry brought up something she hadn’t considered, a new technique he’d just learned abroad that offered the potential for an even more dramatic result.
“He looked at me and he was like, ‘I think you’d be the perfect candidate for this rib remodeling procedure,’” she recalls.
Her reaction was immediate: “Well, there’s no way I am doing this. This is not what I signed up for,” she says. “And I was scared. I was so, so scared to go through with this procedure.”
Why Rib Remodeling?
What ultimately shifted her perspective was understanding how this could amplify her results. “This is a much more powerful tool than just liposuction,” Natalie says. “Liposuction just gives me the contour, but the RibXcar is the one that gives me the actual curves.”
Developed internationally and now being introduced in the U.S., this rib reshaping technique targets the lower ribs (usually the last three says Dr. Sterry) to create a more sculpted, cinched-in waist. Before surgery, a CT scan is done to help determine which ribs can safely be adjusted.
What Recovery Is Like
Natalie had the RibXcar procedure performed alongside Lipo 360, and she’s candid about the recovery. “It did hurt. I can’t lie,” she says. “Liposuction itself is already painful, very uncomfortable… Getting out of bed was hard some days.”
To allow the newly reshaped ribs to set in place and reduce risk of complications, she was instructed to sleep on her back for 10 days. “Once I got over the liposuction soreness, the ribs started to get my attention,” she says. “I couldn’t jerk some ways, I couldn’t move fast. I’d just have to kind of take it slow.”
That positioning period, while tough, was essential, not just for results but for safety. “We don’t want the ribs curating that postoperatively,” she adds, referring to the rare risk of pneumothorax that can happen if healing isn’t properly supported.
What the Surgery Actually Involves
Contrary to popular belief, rib remodeling doesn’t involve breaking or removing ribs. “We’re able to soften the outer cortex of the rib and gently bend it inward to reduce the width of the waistline,” says Dr. Sterry. “It’s a technique that leaves the rib structure intact but repositions it for a more refined silhouette.”
Using imaging to guide the plan, the procedure typically focuses on the lowest three ribs.
While it can deliver the kind of shape that diet, exercise, and even traditional liposuction alone often can’t, it’s still surgery and not without risk. Discomfort, the need for strict recovery protocols and rare complications are all considerations. “You have to respect the anatomy,” Dr. Sterry says. “This is a very specialized technique that requires precision and experience.”
The Takeaway
Now fully healed, Natalie says the transformation was more than worth it. “It gave me more of the curves that I want,” she says. “I finally feel like I have the shape I’ve been working toward for years, and it’s something I couldn’t have achieved on my own.”
