# Surgery for extreme belly fat?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surgery-for-extreme-belly-fat/688254
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [May 12, 2014, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surgery-for-extreme-belly-fat/688254 "2014-05-12T07:05:27Z")
**Posts on this page:** 10
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@JohnClay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnClay)
#### Post date: [May 12, 2014, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surgery-for-extreme-belly-fat/688254/1 "2014-05-12T07:05:27Z")
Possibly NSFW:
[http://files-cdn.formspring.me/photos/20120627/n4feb5e74897e0.jpg](http://files-cdn.formspring.me/photos/20120627/n4feb5e74897e0.jpg)
Can much be done surgically about this woman’s belly? I was under the impression that liposuction is mainly for fat under the skin rather than belly fat and that tummy tucks aren’t for extreme cases…
I’m partly asking due to a guy in another thread suggesting that she would be having surgery to fix her problem.
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### Author:  [@Lucretia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucretia)
#### Post date: [May 12, 2014, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surgery-for-extreme-belly-fat/688254/2 "2014-05-12T07:11:32Z")
Yup. That overhanging flap she’s got is called a pannus, and the operation to remove it is called a panniculectomy. It’s a different procedure than a tummy tuck, and is often done to improve mobility for people, like the unfortunate lady in the picture, who have mobility/hygiene issues.
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### Author:  [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)
#### Post date: [May 12, 2014, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surgery-for-extreme-belly-fat/688254/3 "2014-05-12T15:13:39Z")
**Moderator Note**
> [@JohnClay](#):
>
> Possibly NSFW:
Definitely NSFW. I put spoiler tags around the link so that it satisfies the two click rule.
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### Author:  [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)
#### Post date: [May 12, 2014, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surgery-for-extreme-belly-fat/688254/4 "2014-05-12T15:21:29Z")
> [@Lucretia](#):
>
> Yup. That overhanging flap she’s got is called a pannus,
Unless it’s a picture of her cornea (didn’t click link), I believe it is a panniculus.
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### Author:  [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)
#### Post date: [May 12, 2014, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surgery-for-extreme-belly-fat/688254/5 "2014-05-12T15:41:42Z")
Saint Cad’s correct, it’s a panniculus, sometimes called an apron.
The thing is, you can’t just remove it if the person in question hasn’t lost the weight which caused it. IIRC, the upwards limit for liposuction or other surgical fat removal is around 15 pounds. Most pannicula before weight loss will hold a great more.
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### Author:  [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)
#### Post date: [May 12, 2014, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surgery-for-extreme-belly-fat/688254/6 "2014-05-12T17:13:19Z")
You really seem to be intrigued by this young lass, **JC.** This is the second thread you’ve started about her. Methinks you’ve got “eyes” for that belly. You freak, you. 😉
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### Author:  [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)
#### Post date: [May 12, 2014, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surgery-for-extreme-belly-fat/688254/7 "2014-05-12T17:26:33Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#):
>
> You really seem to be intrigued by this young lass, **JC.** This is the second thread you’ve started about her. Methinks you’ve got “eyes” for that belly. You freak, you. 😉
**Ambivalid** , considering how hard you work advocating for the rights of the disabled, it shouldn’t be hard to show a little compassion to the woman pictured. Yes, I know you’re making fun of **JohnClay’s** current monomania, but the leverage is a human being in the grips of a disfiguring and life-limiting condition. The last thing she and others like her need is to be the indirect butt of casual jokes.
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### Author:  [@Lucretia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucretia)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2014, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surgery-for-extreme-belly-fat/688254/8 "2014-05-13T00:45:34Z")
I’m an OR nurse, and I’ve only ever heard it referred to as a pannus. And yes, you can remove it before the weight is lost, I’ve seen it done multiple times. Mostly, as I said, to increase mobility or relieve persistent skin infections.
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### Author:  [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2014, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surgery-for-extreme-belly-fat/688254/9 "2014-05-13T00:54:35Z")
> [@phouka](#):
>
> **Ambivalid** , considering how hard you work advocating for the rights of the disabled, it shouldn’t be hard to show a little compassion to the woman pictured. Yes, I know you’re making fun of **JohnClay’s** current monomania, but the leverage is a human being in the grips of a disfiguring and life-limiting condition. The last thing she and others like her need is to be the indirect butt of casual jokes.
As you pointed out, I was only mocking the OP, not the woman in the pic. While my comment was perhaps thoughtless, it was not cruel or lacking in compassion to those struggling with morbid obesity. Any other poster posting such a pic would not have garnered such a response from me.
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### Author:  [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2014, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surgery-for-extreme-belly-fat/688254/10 "2014-05-13T00:58:52Z")
Yes,[pannus is what I’ve heard it referred to as well, probably from the dictionary definition, "a hanging flap (of skin or other tissue)](http://surgery.med.umich.edu/plastic/patient/adult_procedures/panniculectomy/). If I was printing out patient information, it \*might \*say panniculus, but that’s not what it’s generally called in everyday speech.
Liposuction is limited in fat removal because if you remove too much, the results can be lumpy. Removal of a pannus is a totally different procedure, and involves not only removal of the fat, but the excess skin, so lumps aren’t as much of an issue. It is an incredibly painful recovery, however, as a whole lot of nerves have to be cut in the process - not entirely unlike removal of excess skin after dramatic weight loss. It also does nothing for the abdominal muscles, unlike a tummy tuck - although some doctors combine a tummy tuck with a panniculectomy.