Gruesome ‘waist snatching’ treatment that shaves inches off… influencers swear by it, but now surgeons reveal dark side effects and the one celebrity body everyone wants

The pursuit of a dramatically ‘snatched’ waist is exploding across social media – but as controversial rib remodeling inches closer to the mainstream, surgeons are increasingly divided over whether the viral trend is racing ahead of the science.

Across TikTok and Instagram, influencers and young women are claiming to have lost up to eight inches off their waists, sharing corseted recovery journeys and before-and-after photos that promise an hourglass silhouette once thought impossible.

The gruesome procedure involves ribs on each side of the thoracic cage being partially fractured and forced to heal in a narrower placement under the pressure of a corset for weeks after – and has split plastic surgery experts down the middle.

Some have been left horrified by the expensive and painful procedure – which can cost as much as $15,000 – pointing to severe risks including damage to organs, chronic pain, nerve damage, infection, or lung collapse.

Others say rib remodeling is widely misunderstood, particularly when it comes to who it’s actually designed for, and what the real trade-offs are.

Dr Sergey Turin, a Scottsdale–based plastic surgeon who has performed the procedure using the RibXCar technique, defended the procedure to the Daily Mail and said that the vast majority of his rib remodeling patients do not fit the stereotype many critics assume.

‘The vast majority of patients undergoing this in my practice are very lean and athletic women who have always had a relatively less curvy shape regardless of their diet and exercise, and who simply have no fat that can be removed to sculpt a waist,’ he said.

‘For them, this is a godsend because prior to this procedure being introduced, they really didn’t have any real options to create an hourglass contour.’

Dr Turin explained that many of these women are already highly fit, often into yoga or Pilates, and are not seeking exaggerated proportions.

‘Most of them are very fit… and they enjoy now having an hourglass contour without having to add large breast implants or a lot of volume to the butt to get there,’ he said.

Patients range widely in age, from their early 20s through their 50s, though Dr Turin noted that older patients present additional complexities due to reduced bone and cartilage elasticity.

He explained that the motivating factor for patients is results ‘everyone wants’.

‘A small waist is the holy grail of a beautiful feminine contour,’ he explained. ‘It’s like asking a guy “Do you want to be taller and more muscular?” – the answer is pretty much always yes,’ he said.

According to Dr Turin, the real barrier isn’t money, it’s recovery.

‘The vast majority of people can afford the financial cost but cannot afford the effort and commitment of the recovery,’ he said, explaining that many patients initially ask about price simply because that’s how people begin shopping for something they want, before fully understanding what’s required.

That recovery, he stressed, is not for the faint of heart.

‘There are definitely serious risks with this surgery – damage to lungs and underlying organs, poor healing, etcetera – but those also apply to tummy tucks, liposuction, breast augmentation. Just like with those surgeries, the risks of serious complications are actually very low,’ Dr Turin stressed.

However New York-based surgeon Dr Michael Stein has blasted rib remodeling as ‘not necessary’, seeing tummy tucks and other advanced surgical techniques as a safer and more tried and tested alternative.

‘If you go to someone who does this a lot and knows how to contour you elegantly and beautifully, then, if you’re a candidate for that, why break your ribs?’ he said. ‘You can do it with a less invasive approach’ he said.

‘I think that I get beautiful results doing my own techniques, which are far less invasive,’ he explained. ‘I think that you can get just as good a result without breaking ribs.’ 

Dr Stein also revealed he refuses to do rib removal surgery – a costly procedure which involves surgically removing the floating 11th and 12th ribs, usually for cosmetic waist narrowing.

Stevi Allen, a Miami-based mom who had the procedure, previously told the Daily Mail that it caused her ‘the absolute worst pain of my life,’ and left her unable to do ‘simple things’ like pick up her young son or go to work.

She said it took eight months for the pain to subside completely, and that ‘knowing the pain, it’s something that I would not have done [again],’ albeit admitting that ‘the results were great.’

Dr Turin has has steadfastly stood by the procedure – which he charges between $13,000 and $18,000 for.

He noted the intensity of the post surgical demands, warning that patients must commit to months of restricted activity and near-constant corset wear.

‘I really insist on wearing it around the clock except for a quick shower every three to four days,’ he said, adding that those who proceed tend to be ‘extremely motivated.’

‘I have found this group to be some of my best patients of all to work with,’ he said. ‘It will be me and them teaming up for that three to four month period to change their body forever.’

Dr Turin emphasized that RibXCar rib remodeling is not a version of rib removal but an entirely different approach.

‘It’s not an evolution of the old concept of removing the ribs, but more so is a whole new option,’ he insisted. 

He explained that the procedure involves no rib removal, minimal access points and significantly less trauma.

‘The access sites are basically tiny enough that they are pretty much invisible once healed,’ he said. ‘There is no dissection and peeling apart of tissues, so there is a lot less trauma and tissue damage.’

Most importantly, he said, the ribs remain intact and functional.

‘The ribs still remain, albeit reshaped,’ he said, adding that they continue to support the diaphragm, abdominal wall muscles, and protect internal organs.

Still, long-term questions remain – particularly about permanence.

Dr Turin acknowledged that while the reshaped ribs do not revert once healed, life changes can still affect results.

‘Once the bones are healed in their tighter shape, they will not revert back to their original shape,’ he said. ‘However, weight gain, pregnancy, life changes etcetera will still occur and will change the waist size and body shape as they otherwise would have.’

That said, based on existing experience with similar procedures, he believes the benefits largely endure.

‘Even after pregnancy causes a temporary widening or flaring of the rib cage… the waist and ribs will still be tighter than they would have been had the surgery never happened,’ he said.

He added that the ‘extreme’ look being promoted online isn’t necessarily what most patients in major coastal markets are asking for.

‘In New York and LA, people want curves, but they want natural and elegant,’ he said. ‘Whereas in other places, people seek that out. And they want the wow factor… they want to walk in the room and people to gasp.’

In his practice, Dr Stein said his patients are chasing a far subtler result.

‘My patients come in and they’re like, “I want small cute breasts, I want a really tight waist, and, you know, I want fat where I don’t have it anymore, more like a little upper buttock and around the hips,”‘ he said.

Dr Stein believes the broader beauty pendulum is swinging away from exaggerated silhouettes – including the once-dominant BBL era.

‘Five years ago, people were asking for the Kim Kardashian look,’ he added. ‘And, you know, it’s far less common now.’

Today, he said, patients want the ‘clean,’ lean, quietly enhanced look – and in his office, one celebrity name comes up repeatedly.

‘Kendall’s the perfect example because the aesthetic of my practice is Kendall Jenner and people talk about her all the time,’ he said. ‘They bring in photos… it’s very, you know, unassuming but beautiful.’

Asked if there are procedures he won’t do, Dr Stein didn’t hesitate: ‘I would refuse to perform rib removal.’

He added that he also avoids ‘very large volume BBLs,’ saying, ‘I think it’s a risky procedure.’

Ultimately, he suggests patients tempted by the ‘snatched waist’ craze should focus less on shock-value outcomes and more on safety, anatomy and realistic results.

‘If you go to someone who does this a lot and knows how to contour you elegantly and beautifully, then, if you’re a candidate for that, why break your ribs?’ he said. ‘You can do it with a less invasive approach.’ 

Dr Stein said tummy tuck recovery is typically measured in weeks – not months.

‘It’s usually two to four weeks,’ he said. ‘Patients are walking upright and doing their daily activities, about a week and a half after surgery… At one month is when they can fully return to all physical activities without restriction.’

Cost-wise, he said pricing varies widely by region, surgeon and procedure details – but in his NYC practice, tummy tuck packages can reach five figures.

‘When you do a tummy tuck with liposuction and rectus diastasis repair is between $40,000 and $60,000,’ he said.

Stein also traced the origins of the rib remodeling trend back to rib removal, a far more aggressive surgery that has circulated for years on the internet.

‘Some surgeons in other countries, years ago, said, “Oh, you know, people really want to slim the waist.” And, if you cut out the lower ribs, which you don’t need – they’re floating ribs – that makes them have a really narrow waist,’ he said. ‘It sounds a little bit barbaric.’

Even with the modified approach, Stein stressed the procedure is still so new that many surgeons are not touching it – including him.

‘To be honest with you, it’s a brand new procedure, and I haven’t even done it,’ he said.

And he suggested the lack of long-term data is exactly why many surgeons are hesitant.

‘Usually when there’s a new procedure, most surgeons watch and wait,’ he said. ‘The people who are doing the new procedures are kind of doing experimental stuff.’