A doctor has demonstrated positive results with an operation to remove upper-back fat that cannot be exercised away. Reporting on the cases of seven women in the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Joseph P. Hunstad, a plastic surgeon in Charlotte, North Carolina, says he surgically removed eight- to ten-inch- wide sections of fat and skin (but no muscle) across each patient's back under the shoulder blades. A long scar extends across the width of the back, but the incision is made precisely at the lower bra line in order to go undetected under a bikini. (Two patients in the study requested revisions to make their scars narrower, although Hunstad says he considered their initial result comparable to that of the others.) Recovery takes two weeks. The operation can be performed on overweight people, Hunstad says; however, the majority of his patients who have done it were bothered by excess skin or bulges in this area despite being at a healthy weight.