In the mid-1990s, an American plastic surgeon showed that by slightly changing the usual technique, liposuction could safely be combined with a tummy tuck to provide a nicer-shaped, flatter, and tighter tummy. I used this technique for 15 years and, whilst the results were improved, it was still painful, I was still using drains (and women still hated them), and patients were still staying in hospital for up to three days.