Visceral fat or diastasis recti/weak stomach muscles? (Photo)

Thank you for your question. The images suggest a significant diastasis of the rectus muscles. I think this is the problem rather than visceral fat. In general, visceral fat accumulation in women occurs when the BMI is around 30 or above, which is not your situation.

Correction of the diastasis through laparoscopic techniques is technically possible and has been published. The one problem that tends to occur is that the repair gathers the rectus muscles closer to the midline and also brings the overlying skin and fatty tissue towards the midline. This can produce the impression of a midline ridge of fullness, which is unsightly.

There is a technique referred to as endoscopic-assisted abdominoplasty, which is predominantly a repair of the diastasis through the C-section or through the belly button. It also involves liposuction to the abdomen. It is suitable for people who do not have stretch marks or obvious skin laxity, so you may well be a candidate for it.

It’s difficult to tell without an « in person » exam.

For mild Diastasis recti, EM-Sculpt Neo has been proven to be effective in treating it while more significant cases would require surgical intervention either through endoscopic or abdominoplasty approach.

Endoscopic lipoabdominoplasty is the surgical technique utilizing endoscopy to repair acquired abdominal wall defects, such as diastasis recti or ventral hernias.An internal corset (muscle plication) is performed .Only three mini incisions are used, a large wound is not made as in conventional abdominoplasty.

That’s a clear high grade diastasis. That won’t improve with exercise or PT at this point. It would not be amenable to a laparoscopic or posterior repair. With that degree of weakness, I would usually suggest mesh reinforcement of the repair, as conventional muscle tightening we do on normal degrees of diastasis would probably fail over time time.