The condition is caused by the separation of the abdominal muscles during pregnancy.
Renee Shirfrin was in agony all day long.
The mother of three suffered from diastasis recti, the post-baby belly pouch caused when abdominal muscles split during pregnancy. Her stomach sagged forward, the muscles that would typically help hold it in useless.
While many think of it as merely a vanity issue, it's much more than that: The condition can cause severe back pain and even make it nearly impossible to move.
"I'm reminded of this in every way, from the moment I get up to the moment I go to bed," Shirfrin told Inside Edition. "It's mostly pain."
Her muscles were so damaged, she had to wear a corset and support belt just to go about her daily routine.
Shirfrin, a former competitive ice skater, desperately longed to feel normal again, "to know that I can be the mom that I want to be and spend time with my kids the way that I want to," she said.
So she visited plastic surgeon Rady Rahban.
"The diastasis is quite large," Rahban said, pointing it out to Shirfrin. "You can see there is the edge of your muscle."
Shirfrin was nervous to go under the knife but excited by the prospect of reclaiming her body.
Rahban stitched Shirfrin's muscles back together, cutting away more than a foot of excess skin as he did so. He finished the six-hour procedure by building her a brand-new belly button.
Two months later, Inside Edition checked back in with Shirfrin, who's thriving post-surgery, tackling household chores that used to be impossible and playing with her kids.
"I can't believe that my abs are working again," she said. "My body is functioning the way it's supposed to."
Inside Edition joined Shirfrin and her friends as they watched her make her triumphant return to the ice.
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