How do I know I have the type of abdomen fat that can be removed with lipo (or even the noninvasive "lipo"s)?

Your question is very common and is best answered during a consultation with a Plastic Surgeon. Everyone has visceral and subcutaneous fat. The proportions and their distribution determine the best strategy for looking your best. Deciding if liposuction or non-invasive fat reduction options are good for you requires a consultation. Best regards,Dr. Mosher

   A physical exam would be necessary to make this determination.  The good news is that it is rare for a person to have substantial visceral fat and very little subcutaneous fat amenable to liposuction.Find a board certified plastic
surgeon who performs hundreds of liposuction and liposuction revision
procedures each year. Then look at the plastic surgeon's website before
and after photo galleries to get a sense of who can deliver the
results. Kenneth Hughes, MD Los Angeles, CA

You can usually tell how much subcutaneous fat you might have by
grasping and rolling skin and fat together with two hands. You may have
to slump forward to keep the skin loose enough. If you are able to
grab these layers, and especially if you can slide the whole thing up
and down, you're holding external fat. The fullness that
doesn't move, that is deeper than the layers you are holding, is the
abdominal wall. (Clench your abs to be sure.) This group of muscles
contains the internal or visceral fat. If most of your fat is external,
rather than internal, you can have it removed by surgery or nonsurgical
methods. Surgery could include liposuction and or abdominoplasty.
CoolSculpting is our preferred nonsurgical method.You are
correct that plastic surgery cannot remove visceral fat. A final
consideration is abdominal wall looseness. Some abdomens are relatively
firm and won't change much with deep muscle tightening, while others
improve dramatically with suture tightening during abdominolasty.
"Sucking in your stomach" can give you some idea of the amount of change possible. After
you've made your own diagnosis, consult an experienced board certified
plastic surgeon and seek his or her opinion and recommendations.

Thank you for the question.To best help you, a physical examination or picture evaluation is best in order to determine which procedures and technique can be the best ones for your case. Dr. Campos

Your question is good but liposuction will not remove visceral fat.  This requires exercise and diet but remember that liposuction is a contouring procedure and not a weight loss technique.  I would recommend you see a plastic surgeon who can guide you through this process so you can get the best result an correct information.

Yes, there is visceral( within the abdominal cavity) fat that can not be treated with liposuction and the more superficial fat just above the muscular fascia and below the skin that can be treated with liposuction. An exam and demonstration in front of a mirror will help you.

Thank you for your question, but it may help to
have a picture as well. If you have areas of stubborn fat that will not go away
with diet and exercise you may be a candidate for Smartlipo. My suggestion is
to consult with a surgeon to find out if Smartlipo will benefit your body.

External fat is that which can be accessed for liposuction and laser fat removal such as Zerona and is external to the muscles. It is what you can pinch when you grasp the skin. Visceral fat is beneath the muscles of the abdomen and around the gut. You can tell if you have excess visceral fat if your tummy is anything but flat when you are laying flat of your back.

Thank you for your question. I'm so pleased you are looking into ways to live your life healthier and happier. The simple answer is to make an appointment with a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon. A physical exam is necessary to  put you on the right path to achieve your goals. There are many methods of lipo on the market, that is for sure! Unfortunately the "non-invasive" does not have much credible research behind it. It's a nice concept but as of yet seems to be relatively ineffective. That being said, a healthy person tends to recover very quickly from traditional liposuction with nice results. I hope I was helpful to you and best of luck!

There are two maneuvers you can do at home to get an idea if the fat is in the skin and can be treated with liposuction. Lie down on a flat surface and if your tummy skin rises higher than your ribs, it is almost always due to the internal or visceral fat. The other way is to stand up, tighten your abs and grab your tummy fat. If it is visceral you will not be able to grab it. Of course the only way to totally answer your question is to see a surgeon.