I recently underwent a surgical procedure called a panniculectomy. Sometimes confused with a tummy tuck, a panniculectomy is a non-cosmetic procedure designed to remove a person’s abdominal apron, apron belly, or mother’s apron — known medically as an abdominal pannus or panniculus. An abdominal apron is a hanging collection of skin and fat that extends beyond the bikini line and hangs down to or past the mons pubis.