What is the Difference Between Fat Being Above the Muscle or Under the Muscle on Stomach?

asked 10 months ago by Fort Myers1710
Latest answer by Eric Swanson MD
Question viewed 501 times
Tags: above muscle, below muscle, fat, results

will it effect the outcome of a full tummy tuck w/lipo flanks?

8 answers to What is the Difference Between Fat Being Above the Muscle or Under the Muscle on Stomach?

Only subcutaneous fat is accessible to liposuction and tummy tuck

Only fat that is above the muscle (between the skin and the muscle wall) is accessible to treatment with liposuction and tummy tuck. This is called the subcutaneous fat. The fat on the inside of the abdomen, wrapped around your organs, is called visceral fat and this fat only goes away with weight loss. This is why people with "beer bellies" may not be good candidates for surgery (but may be if they lose weight). You appear to have a combination of excess... more

Eric Swanson MD
Leawood Plastic Surgeon

www.swansoncenter.com

Location Of Abdominal Fat

There are two areas in which excess fat is stored in the abdominal area. Some fat is, as you mentioned, above the abdominal muscles. This fat can be addressed with both abdominoplasty and with liposuction. The other fat is not only "located below the muscle", it is located within the abdominal cavity (primarily in the omentum) and as noted by others cannot be addressed by any plastic surgical procedure. The only mechanism for reducing the intra-abdominal fat... more

John Whitt, MD
Louisville Plastic Surgeon

Abdominal fat is not all the same.

There are two main areas for fat deposits in the abdomen: The subcutaneous fat located directly under the skin, and the visceral fat located within the abdomen (under the muscle) surrounding the intestines and organs. In body contouring procedures, the subcutaneous fat is the fat that is liposuctioned, directly removed, and sculpted. The visceral fat is never removed or manipulated with body contouring. There are physiologic differences to these fatty deposits as well. The visceral fat is... more

David Bogue, MD
Boca Raton Plastic Surgeon

Abdominal Fat Location and Tummy Tuck Results

For purposes of discussion, the abdominal (tummy) region may be thought of as being comprised of five physically distinct layers. From the most superficial layer to the deepest layer, they are: skin, fat, muscle, the lining of the abdominal cavity, and, lastly, the abdominal cavity itself. Anatomically, the fat in the abdominal region is located in two distinct areas and is referred to as being either extra-abdominal or being intra-abdominal... more

Gregory Bazell, MD
Chicago Plastic Surgeon

Fat Content

People come in all shapes and forms and how they are genetically determined to carry their body fat varies tremendously. Some people store their fat on their hips, some on their legs, and still others within and around their abdominal organs like their intestines, liver and pancreas. If a person caries a large amount of fat around their organs, it can push out on the overlying muscle wall and cause it to bulge. Unfortunately, it is not safe to remove fat around your organs. This would be... more

Marc Schneider, MD
Fort Myers Plastic Surgeon

In New York, we call it Kishkas!

Fat inside the abdomen, surrounding your internal organs plays a role in the width of your abdomenal girth. However, I have never heard of a plastic surgeon who will remove any of this fat. The fat removed during liposuction or a tummy tuck is fat outside the muscles that protect your internal organs. Therefore if you have a lot of fat inside the muscles, plastic surgery will not address this concern.

Robert M. Freund, MD
New York Plastic Surgeon

Fat above and below the muscle

I agree that the fat below the muscle cannot be addressed with any plastic surgery procedure. A tummy tuck will address extra skin and fat above the muscle, but the final contour of your waist will be greatly limited by the fat below the muscle. For the best result, you need to loose the extra weight first.

Nia Banks, MD, PhD
Washington DC Plastic Surgeon

Fat above or below Muscle in Tummy Tuck

The abdominal wall is very uniform. You have skin, Fat then Muscle. Muscle is surrounded by Fascia which houses the Muscle (Rectus Ms.) . Below this layer is the abdominal cavity which houses your intestines and the omentum ( Fatty apron that lives in the cavity). So, the only fat of concern with a tummy tuck and lipo is above the muscle, none below the muscle. The omentum is in the abdominal cavity and can lead to increase in abdominal girth. It can not be affected by... more