A VIDEO of a plastic surgeon examining a woman's stomach has gone viral – leaving social media users baffled.
Dr Clayton L Moliver had been looking after a patient at a practice in Houston, Texas, US.
The 63-year-old showed what can happen during pregnancy if the stomach muscles separate.
This is a condition also know as diastasis rectus, a separation of the midline muscles of the tummy wall, which is common after pregnancy.
In order to demonstrate what this looks like, he gently places his hand into the gap between the muscles and demonstrates how they've separated – with his hand disappearing into the empty space.
Dr Moliver explained: "But here’s the fun part – I can put my finger right in between her muscles and feel her aorta."
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While it might be an odd sight to behold, the condition actually affects around 60 per cent of women after giving birth.
He explained: "It can affect men and women after massive weight gain, although it's overwhelmingly found in women during or after pregnancy.
"Diastasis rectus is the separating of the midline muscles of the tummy wall and specifically, there's a line of fascia called the linea alba.
"It's this structure that gets stretched wider than normal, which is typically less than two cm, and it happens during or after pregnancy.
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"It's like feeling a very soft abdominal wall hernia and instead of feeling any structure under the skin, it's just soft thin skin."
Many social media users were stunned, with some referring to the space as a 'snack pocket'.
The video has had over 6million views on TikTok.
The medic explained that as he dove deeper, the patient's aorta was very close to his finger tips and he said he could feel it pulsing.
He added: "It can burn, throb or hurt intermittently depending on the person's weight status and general condition – as well as cause bulging of the abdomen.
"It can sometimes be corrected with physical therapy, such as abdominal wall exercises and that's the best option.
"If it doesn't work after three to six months, then a surgery to repair the midline can be performed.
"This last technique is commonly performed by plastic surgeons during routine tummy tucks."
To stop this happening, he said you should monitor your weight, physical activity and make sure you include core strength exercises into your routine.
Personal trainer Lydia Rees previously said that if you have diastasis recti then you should avoid putting pressure on the area, and said exercises like sit ups can put unnecessary pressure on your core.
However, Dr Moliver claims symptoms should subside after repair.
He added: "This was such an obvious case and so easily seen.
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"It was a great teaching case since she was so slender and I could show it easily on video.
"I get excited when I have the opportunity to each."
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