New York - Divorce. Bullies. Foster care. There are books for children on just about every tough subject these days.

But mummy's plastic surgery? Dr Michael Salzhauer, a Florida plastic surgeon, has written about just that in My Beautiful Mommy, a picture book due out on April 28 that tries to calm the fears of kids with parents getting breast-enhancement procedures and nose jobs.

He said: 'Many parents don't explain to their kids what's going on.'

The father of four, with his fifth child on the way, added: 'Children are very perceptive. You can't hide a major surgery from them. When mum goes down for two weeks after a tummy tuck, it affects them.'

Illustrations show a crook-nosed mum with loose tummy skin under her shirt picking up her daughter from school one day and taking her to a handsome DrMichael.

Big Tent Books in Savannah, Georgia, is racing the book out after the Internet lit up last Wednesday with word of its upcoming release. The initial 4,400 copies will be available for purchase only through its website.

Dr Salzhauer acknowledges the subject matter may seem distasteful to some. But he said: 'The intention is to allow parents who are going through this process to have a vehicle to explain it to their kids.'

Ms Diane Kuplack understands. At 37, she has six biological children under the age of 12, including five-year-old twins, along with two other older stepchildren from her husband's first marriage.

She said it was 'nerve-racking' trying to decide what to tell her children about her breast-implant surgery.

The patient of Dr Salzhauer's read the book to her children. 'The older ones loved it. It really helped them understand because it explains everything so well. They didn't have any questions after that.'

Mr Jerry Seltzer, general manager of Big Tent's parent company, Whimsical, admits he initially wondered about the content.

'I thought, 'Gee, mummy looked awfully good before the surgery.' But I felt confident because it was appropriate for the market. Women are out there getting the surgery.'

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons, representing most of the nation's board-certified surgeons in the speciality, reported nearly 348,000 breast-augmentation procedures and 143,000 tummy tucks on women last year.

'My patients do worry about their children when they're going through this,' said Dr Salzhauer.

'The book just goes towards trying to make the process as understandable as possible for the kids, so they can feel included and don't have to make things up in their minds on what's going on.'

This article was first published in The Sunday Times on Apr 20, 2008.