Do I have excess skin or excess fat on my lower abdomen? (Photo)

An examination of you would really provide the most information to give you the best answer in regards to having fat versus excess skin on your abdomen, but just based on your photos, I would say that it looks more like fat than excess skin to me. I think that you appear to be a good candidate for cryolipolysis of the abdomen.

Thank you for reaching out with your concerns about the nature of your lower abdominal issue and for sharing your history and photos.
Assessment: Your photos indicate the presence of both excess skin and fat in the lower abdomen, with a predominant component of fat. The lack of significant wrinkles and absence of a substantial weight loss history (like 100 pounds or more) typically associated with excess skin alone, suggests that fat is the key factor.
Treatment Recommendation: Given this assessment, VASER liposuction seems to be the most suitable treatment. This technique effectively targets fat while also promoting skin tightening due to its thermal properties. It can sculpt the abdominal area, enhancing the definition of the rectus abdominis muscle, often referred to as a "six-pack."
Procedure Details:
Duration: The VASER abdominal etching procedure usually takes about 2 to 3 hours under general anesthesia.
Recovery: You should anticipate a recovery period of approximately 7 to 10 days.
Based on the information provided, VASER liposuction appears to be a promising solution for achieving a more defined and sculpted abdominal profile.
I hope this guidance is helpful as you consider your options for addressing the excess fat in your lower abdomen. Wishing you the best in your journey towards your desired results.

Sincerely,
Dr. Katzen

It's never easy to tell from photographs, but you probably have some fat and some mildly loose skin in your lower abdomen. If you wanted to look as slim and cut as possible you would be a good candidate for high definition liposuction. This is where we can do ab etching and really enhance the appearance of your six pack abs. I also don't think you would have enough loose skin to require a big incision.

Dear RealSelfMember03022,
it is hard to tell for sure without an examination. If you are considering surgery, I would suggest you consult a board-certified plastic surgeon. Only after a thorough examination, you will get more information and recommendations.
Daniel Barrett, MD
Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

For cryolipolysis treatment, you must have 5cm thick fat in the abdomen. Otherwise, the cold applied during the procedure may also affect the muscles. If there is less fat in the arms, the device cannot vacuum anyway. Anyway, cryolipolysis is an application for fat reduction and not an application for body shaping. The results are different for everyone. It also does not tighten the skin.You do not have excess fat. If you want body shaping to show the muscles, vaserlipo, if you want to tighten your skin at the same time, I recommend Renuvion Helium plasma.

I suggest you skip coolsculpting.
to assess the impact of skin laxity simply put your skin under tension while looking in the mirror, taking a picture using a timer of your camera or having somebody else take a picture. If skin laxity is creating the contour then it should go away when you put your skin under tension. to measure the thickness of subcutaneous fat put your skin under gentle tension it with the tip of one finger gently push against your skin until you feel the underlying muscle wall. I’m guessing your subcutaneous fat layer around your belly button is probably 1/2 inch or maybe 3/4 of an inch. with the same maneuver you can also feel where your muscle wall is. Your muscle wall should make a straight line from your pubic bone to your sternum. A bulging abdomen can be due to muscle, fat, skin or a combination.
I suggest having a few in person consultations with local port-certified plastic surgeons if you’re interested in getting an assessment and understanding treatment options.
Liposuction is the gold standard for removing an undesirable subcutaneous fat. That said, delivering consistent quality Liposuction results is more difficult than most people believe including plastic surgeons. simply being board-certified plastic surgery with an overall good reputation is insufficient to ensure someone has mastered body contouring with Liposuction.
Anybody who is seriously interested in getting liposuction should properly fat plastic surgeons and put in a serious effort to find the most talented and experienced provider in their community.
Do that by having multiple in person consultations. During consultations ask each provider to show their entire collection of male abdominal liposuction results. you should specifically ask the providers to show as many examples as possible of previous patients who have similar body characteristics to around in regards to age, skin laxity and the amount of body fat.
And experienced provider should have no difficulty showing you at least 20 or 30 sets of before and after pictures for male abdominal liposuction results. Highly experienced surgeons will have hundreds.
Look at all the areas treated making sure there are no skin contour irregularities on any of the treated areas. You may want to ask the surgeon to show you examples of excellent outcomes, average outcomes and less than outcomes. personally I viewed a torso as a single anatommic unit and typically prefer to treat the entire torso when doing abdominal liposuction. simply treating the problem Maria tends to leave people with an abnormal fat distribution though sometimes spot treating the torso can be acceptable.
In regards to getting a quality assessment and delivering consistent quality results finding the most talented and experienced provider is always going to be the most important variable.
Best,
Mats Hagstrom MD

Hi and welcome to our forum!
From your photos, I note fullness of the lower abdomen. There is no significant flank or hip fullness. Without a physical examination, I cannot determine the nature of the fullness. If there has been a history of significant weight loss and no fat is palpable on examination, this may represent lax skin, which would respond to a mini-abdominoplasty. If significant fat is palpable, this may simply represent a fat repository which can be liposuctioned.
Visit a board certified plastic surgeon for evaluation and discussion.
Best wishes...