How much of my stomach is visceral fat and will a tummy tuck be worth it? (photos)

Thank you for sharing your question and photographs. Although you did not supply your height and weight I think you could see a very nice level of improvement from a full tummy tuck and liposuction of your waist and flanks.  The tummy tuck will tighten your stomach muscles, helping to achieve a flatter appearance, while removing excess skin and adipose tissue.  Liposuction can be used to enhance your tummy tuck results by narrowing your waist and removing isolated areas of diet and exercise resistant fat.  I would favor the full approach because it appears that your skin and muscle laxity is present above and below your belly button. Hope that this helps

It’s difficult to determine how much of your fat is visceral based on your photos alone. Typically, fat that can be removed with liposuction/tummy tuck is pinchable, which means you can actually grab it between your fingers. If your stomach has a bloated appearance and you aren’t able to grab too much tissue between your fingers, then the majority of the fat in your mid-section may be visceral. You may want to ask your surgeon how much they predict can be removed to determine whether your aesthetic goals can be achieved.

Unfortunately, you have not told us your height and weight. However, you have a large umbilical hernia and your abdomen is protruding anteriorly. If you are not planning future pregnancies, I recommend abdominoplasty with mesh reinforcement. The mesh creates a more hourglass figure by compressing the abdominal wall resulting in early satiety and helps maintain a reduced weight.

Best Wishes,

Gary Horndeski, M.D.

Hello! Your photos indicate that there is abdominal wall laxity (bulging) and an 'outie' belly button which is relatively low on the overall wall. Your flanks are really good! It is very hard to know how much internal fat (visceral fat) there is. A helpful way to test this is to push on the abdomen near your belly button and see how much this goes in. You will be able to tell how 'firm' the abdominal wall is. But based on the back and flanks, I suspect you have appropriate laxity. I definitely defer to your board certified plastic surgeon. I believe that you will benefit from a tummy tuck. The question is how much. And from these photos, I believe that you will get a fairly good tightening. A plastic surgeon is only able to tighten the abdominal wall musculature as much as your body allows - meaning there is a point at which the sutures will begin to pull through the fascia (tissue). Another benefit from the tummy tuck is that the belly button area should be improve and returned to an 'innie.' Lastly, you should be able to get rid of a lot of that excess lower abdominal skin. Best of luck! I am very hopeful that you will have a nice result! Respectfully, Jules A Feledy, Jr, MD American Board of Plastic Surgery, American Society of Plastic Surgery

Thank you for the question. Based on the photos, you are going to see a big improved after your tummy tuck. I wish you the best of luck. Vasileios Vasilakis, MD. Double board-certified, fellowship-trained plastic surgeon, Houston. TX.

Dear river9,
based on your photos, you look like a good candidate for a TT. Full tummy tuck should tighten your abdominal muscles and remove the excess skin. Flanks liposuction would give you a better shape. I would suggest you to consult a board-certified plastic surgeon because 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

It's difficult to tell from a photo how much visceral fat you have, but it does appear you have abdominal wall laxity and an umbilical hernia. These can be addressed as well as removing excess skin and subcutaneous fat. It appears you would have a nice result from a tummy tuck.

In a case as yours with only viewing posted photos it is very difficult to be exact. But appears you are very over weight causing the rather large abdominal bulge. I recommend 20+ pounds weight loss first before undergoing any surgery. Discuss this with your chosen surgeon.

Hello and thanks for your question. Tummy tuck is a skin removal operation which aims to remove the excess skin on the tummy area. On the other hand, the liposuction is a fat removal surgery which removes the extra fat tissue between the skin and the muscles. You have fat deposit in the deeper tissue than the stomach muscles. In the pictures that you sent it also can seen that you have loose abdominal wall. Tummy tuck operation is a good option for your case but before the operation you should loose as much as weight you can to decrease the visceral fat and get the best result.