Visceral fat sits inside the abdominal wall and is not a target for liposuction. At Pretty Body and Line Clinic, we check the thickness of the fat layer and skin elasticity in person during an abdominal consultation, and when there is a lot of visceral fat, we first explain the range that can be achieved with the procedure.
How is subcutaneous fat different from visceral fat?
Subcutaneous fat lies just beneath the skin and can be pinched with your hand, and this is the layer liposuction deals with. Visceral fat accumulates inside the abdominal wall muscles, around the organs, so it is not somewhere the cannula reaches. Visceral fat is managed through diet and exercise.
Does that mean liposuction on the belly is pointless?
No. Most abdomens have both, and of the two, liposuction targets the subcutaneous fat layer. What matters is knowing before surgery how far the achievable range goes.
At Pretty Body and Line Clinic, we treat the abdomen as one continuous surface covering the upper abdomen, lower abdomen, flanks, love handles and waist, and in the consultation we first decide how far to include, from above and below the navel to the flanks and the waistline.
Is belly fat after childbirth different?
For those who have given birth or gone through large weight changes, stretched skin can affect the contour more than the fat does. In that case liposuction alone may not resolve it, so we also consider a lift, which excises skin.
We do not recommend surgery you do not need
At Pretty Body and Line Clinic, we do not recommend areas that are not necessary. Widening the range of liposuction increases both the recovery burden and the anesthesia time, so treating a larger area is not always an advantage. We listen to the contour you want and first decide how far the areas actually needed to create that contour extend.