Abdomen size

Is abdomen size heredity?  My sister and I are close to the same height and weight, but her measurement around the abdomen at the belly button is 35, mine is 45.  I'm between 15-20 lbs over
what I weighed in High School, College and on to my 40'd and longer.  Pants that I could wear when I weighed 10+ pounds more I can't wear now.  The abdomen pokes into my ribs, more so at night.  Primary doctor thought it looked bloated and did a cat scan/dye and they told me the organs were OK.  Tried to find out if it was fat (Some of feels like it is, but it's firm under the top layer) but I was told the cat scan showed the organs only.  I seem to have a lump problem as a fat pad of almost a pound was removed from under my lung in 2004.  Last year I had several cysts in the breast removed.  I'm suppose to have the nodule on the thyroid removed and probably the whole thyroid as biopsy isn't normal.  Now I'm wondering about the abdomen as I've looked at some pictures of my great grandmothers and noticed the large size of their stomach.  What can I do other than the tummy tuck?  Excerise hasn't helped.  It hurts so at the rib area that I want to get it off.  Note:  I weighted 20 lbs more in 2004 and had a breathing problem so bad I couldn't talk or walk.  The doctors didn't believe the fat pad could cause the breathing problem but took it out as every test was normal.  2 years to solve that problem, I hope this doesn't take that long.  Thanks  

[Howard Rosenberg, MD]

Assuming you and your sister are both the same height and weight (prove it by getting on the same scale). The the difference in abdominal girth can be due the amount of intra-abdominal fat stored within your abdominal cavity, the status of your abdominal muscles and/or overlying abdominal fascia (stretch form pregnancy) or accumulation of fat external to your muscles.  An examination by a physician will tell where the difference lies.  Treatment will depend on the result of this exam.