New plastic surgery aids pursuit of perfect body

The pursuit of perfection prompted attorney Carolina Mankey, who represents celebrities in Los Angeles, to try that new procedure.

"What woman doesn't want to get rid of a little bit of her rear end?" Mankey joked.

The fit, 44-year-old woman didn't want foreign objects implanted in her body, so getting breast implants was out. Instead, plastic surgeon Dr. David Broadway steered Mankey to a liposuction procedure called vaser hi-def.

"We take fat from one portion of the body – the buttock, the leg, the tummy – and instead of throwing it away like we used to, we can use it in other parts of the body," Broadway said. "The results will be natural. They'll be full. They'll be firm."

In addition to larger breasts, Mankey decided to get the hard body she had long wanted. Using vaser hi-def, Broadway and other plastic surgeons at his Colorado practice created athletic-looking abs for her.

"Interestingly enough, when someone in their 50s comes in, we can get them the exact result the 20s or 30s are looking for," plastic surgeon Dr. John Millard said. "In fact, you'd be surprised. I just had a 62-year-old who had a four pack and wanted a six pack."

"We're actually shaping form into patients' bodies, much as they would do going to the gym," Millard explained.

The cost for vaser hi-def runs about $16,000, but doctors said that type of liposuction is safer than traditional methods.

"This shakes the fat away," Millard said. "(There's) less trauma, less bruising, less bleeding, faster recovery."

Mankey had to take only a week off from work and was bikini-ready in a month.

"I'm 44, and I don't have to hide it, but I'd love to look 24," she said. "I've always wanted the perfect body, and that's what I'm hoping to have."

Before considering any invasive cosmetic procedures, make sure your doctor is a board-certified plastic surgeon.