Inside the rise of rib remodelling surgery.

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"I just had my ribs remodelled and honestly, the pain was real but so worth it!" influencer @real.mld told her followers, documenting her recovery in real time — corsets, bruises, and all.

"Wearing the corset is annoying, but I already see such a difference in my waist — can't wait till it's fully healed."

Yes! It's not about the BBLs anymore. There is a new and exciting part of your body being picked (carved?) apart – your ribcage.

Watch hosts of This Glorious Mess podcast, Annaliese and Tegan, discussing today's beauty standards. Post continues below.

Apparently 'rib remodelling' is the next big thing on the cosmetic surgery scene. Forget corsets, implants or Photoshop — it's being sculpted, quite literally, from the bone.

@real.mld 3 months post op rib remodeling + reverse tummy tuck. Dr. Azizi in 📍 Chicago was my amazing surgeon. I'm cleared to no longer wear the latex waist trainer. I'm feeling great and looking forward to enhancing the results with proper nutrition and exercise! #ribremodeling #drazizi #ribxcar #ribremodelingjourney ♬ Love is in the air - noxz

Search #ribremodelinghealingprocess or #ribxcar and you'll find hundreds of people sharing their transformations: post-op bruises, compression corsets, before-and-afters that look suspiciously filtered.

The Cut even published a whole review of the procedure and what it entails. The New York Times reported on it. The procedure is everywhere you look.

Intrigued? Horrified? Same.

@aanonymousekk Almost 3 monthsss out from #ribxcar ♬ original sound - hails

So… what is rib remodelling?

Let's be clear: rib remodelling is not rib removal. The so-called 'Barbie waist' procedure reshapes the lower ribs, rather than removing them entirely. Still — it's your bones we're talking about.

Under general anaesthetic, surgeons use ultrasound to map the lowest ribs, then make two tiny punctures in your back. Through these, a device called a piezotome vibrates 30,000 times per second to gently weaken the bone's outer layer. Once softened, the ribs are bent inward to create a narrower waist. Your organs stay protected, your ribcage still functions, and voilà — a smoother curve.

New York surgeon Dr Thomas Sterry has gone viral for his version, Invisarib (yes, like Invisalign for your waist). Using ultrasound guidance and pin-hole incisions, he reshapes the lower "floating" ribs, with patients wearing a corset for weeks afterward to "set" the new position. The result? A cinched, hourglass silhouette — no rib removal required.

Why now?

Because apparently, our ribs are in the way.

Low-rise jeans are back, along with micro tops and that early-2000s body ideal we all swore we'd left behind. In 2025, ribs are the new boobs and butts.

As The Sydney Morning Herald put it, this is part of a "new body aesthetic that's nostalgic, punishing, and precision-engineered for selfies."

Like the BBL craze or buccal fat removal before it, rib remodelling taps straight into our cultural obsession with "fixing" what's already human.

And yes, for some — including transgender women or people assigned male at birth — the surgery can help create a more traditionally feminine silhouette when hormones or liposuction alone can't.

But it's also hard to ignore that what once sounded like an urban legend (remember the "Cher removed a rib" myth?) is now being re-packaged as just another routine tweak.

Is it safe?

According to the surgeons promoting it online, absolutely. It's "minimally invasive," "scar-free," and has a "low complication rate." No rib removal, no hospital stay, back to work in a week.

But critics are quick to point out "minimally invasive" doesn't mean "minimal risk." You're still reshaping bone. There's still the potential for fractures, nerve damage and the very real question of why we need to shave inches off our waist in the first place.

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Beauty journalist Jessica DeFino summed it up in her Flesh World newsletter: "We used to make jokes about people possibly removing ribs for beauty. Now they are. And it's not the punchline — it's the new normal."

The fact is that cosmetic trends are now evolving faster than our bodies (or ethics) can keep up – and boundaries continue to be pushed. One year it's filler, the next it's buccal fat and BBLs, and now, it's our literal skeletons.

And while rib remodelling might look like the next evolution in 'body confidence', it feels a lot like an industry that's run out of skin to sell us.

Feature Image: Getty.