It is True That Most Belly Fat on Most People is Behind the Muscle and Cannot Be Removed?

The surgeon I had a consultation with told me that there is no way of telling how much of the fat is behind the muscle and that only the fat in front of the muscle can be removed. I was all excited about having Vaser done, but now I am having second thoughts, since I may end up with little results. I do appreciate his honesty, if what he told me is a fact.

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7 Doctor Answers | Asked by Cindy 1961 in St. Charles, Missouri

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Is Your Belly Fat Just under the Skin or is it Around your Intestines?

If you go to a surgeon and he or she tells you they cant tell if you fat is in front or behind the muscle, leave quickly and find a new surgeon. Ant real surgeon certified by the ABPS etc and a FACS can easily tell by manual palpation...ie feeling your stomach.... if fat is just between skin and muscle or around the intestines... The fat about you intestines is called mesenteric fat. Surely you could not have been consulting with a true surgeon. You better more

Belly Fat is Located Both In Front and Behind Abdominal Muscles

It is true that belly fat is located both in front of the abdominal muscles (subcutaneous fat) and behind the muscles, inside the abdominal cavity (intra-abdominal fat). It is also true that only the subcutaneous fat in front of the muscles is accessible for removal with liposuction or direct surgical excision or noninvasive techniques. It is not true, however that most belly fat is located behind the muscle in most people. In fact there is much variation depending on sex, age and individual... more

Belly fat intraperitoneal

That is not necessarily true. Uusally patient with large intraperitoneal fat components are obese. And this can not be treated with liposuction or a tummy tuck.

Steven Wallach, MD

12 reviews

Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Liposuction on the abdomen

It is true that fat behind the muscle cannot be removed. However, I usually find this pretty easy to determine and can demonstrate to patients the amount of fatty tissue that is both internal and external on their bodies. I would recommend an in-depth consultation with a board-certified plastic surgeon. He or she will be able to give you the best recommendations and determine the composition of your abdomen.

Is belly fat behind the muscle, or can it be removed with liposuction?

Both men and women have intraabdominal fat in the mesentery and omentum, both of which enlarge with weight gain. Likewise, there is a layer of fat outside the abdominal wall musculature, but beneath the skin, which IS able to be sculpted via liposuction, Vaser liposuction, power-assisted liposuction, water-assisted liposuction, SlimLipo (laser-assisted liposuction), etc. The issue is further complicated by the fact that some women have had children, stretching the abdominal wall and the... more

Liposuction of the abdomen

Abdominal fat is composed of both visceral fat, or omental fat, the fat around the intestines and located safely behind the muscle wall and the supramuscular fat above the rectus abdominus (six pack muscle) wall. As a generalization, men and women tend to put fat on in the visceral fat , but the extra fat gets deposited in women as lower abdominal supramuscular fat and outer thigh fat, and men tend to place it in the love handles. Certainly both men and women who have excess... more

Intra and extra-abdominal fat

It is quite easy to tell how much fat is between the skin and the muscle. All the rest is inside. I don't know why the doctor waffled on this, maybe go to another.