Cosmetic Plastic Surgery Articles

In a survey of 2,000 people about their New Year’s resolutions, these were the three most popular goals:

1. Diet or eat healthier (71%)

2. Exercise more (65%)

3. Lose weight (54%)

Body image clearly weighs heavily on the minds of a lot of us. While there’s no discounting the numerous positive effects of eating a nutritious diet and exercising regularly, it’s those first few steps that are potentially the most empowering.

As many as 60% of us admit to making New Year’s resolutions, yet only about 8% of us are successful in achieving them. In fact, right around now is when most are abandoning them. Which means that if you can find your way through this stretch, you’ll likely gain all the momentum you’ll need to enact some meaningful change in your life.

To that end, imagine how uplifting it would be know that you had a little extra support where you need it most. While you’re working up a sweat at the gym and eating more consciously, all the while something else is whittling down that stubborn pocket of fat around your thighs or bra strap that always manages to discourage you. And all you need to do to reap that benefit is spend an hour or so in a board-certified plastic surgeon’s office.

Why CoolSculpting is different

Body contouring is one of plastic surgery’s fastest-growing segments. For years, the only real solution for getting rid of excess fat was liposuction. Effective as it is, it’s surgery, which means there’s going to be some discomfort and a recovery period. By contrast, CoolSculpting, which quickly emerged as one of the most effective forms of the new generation of body-contouring technology, is noninvasive and it requires no downtime.

CoolSculpting employs a technique that was developed by scientists at Harvard where body fat is frozen through controlled cooling. Over the course of the 12 weeks after the treatment, the frozen (now dead) fat cells are shed naturally by the body, resulting in an up to 25% reduction of fat in the treated area.

It works because fat cells freeze at a higher temperature than other types of cells. Even more, once those fat cells are destroyed, they’re gone for good. So, if you do gain some weight down the road, it’ll distribute evenly and not just return to the places you targeted.

All you need is an hour

CoolSculpting has been used to help reduce body fat on the abdomen, flanks, upper back/bra area, upper arms, and inner and outer thighs.

The treatment takes about an hour, and it’s done right in the plastic surgeon’s office. The device will feel cold for the first few minutes after it’s activated. But after that, you shouldn’t feel much of anything. And once you leave the office, you’ll be able to get right back to your day. There’s no downtime at all.

You’ll likely begin to notice a difference after about a month. If your surgeon recommends a second treatment, you can schedule it as early as eight weeks after your initial treatment.

You know what’s 12 weeks away? Spring. Sunshine. Warmer weather. It’s also the point at which you can take a deep breath and tell yourself you made it. It’s no longer a New Year’s resolution. It’s your life now.

There’s a lot of staring into mirrors that takes place around this time of year. Some of it should probably be attributed to cabin fever. But the vast majority, I believe, stems from a deep-down desire, prompted by the start of a new year, to change something about ourselves.

While much of the advice bogging down the internet at the moment about sticking to our resolutions tend to center on short-lived concerns—the five to 10 pounds gained since the end of the summer, the new urge to drink more often after a month of nightly holiday parties—it’s the ones that have plagued us for as long as we can remember that resonate most during those long stare-downs with ourselves. Things like a double chin.

The good news is, if your double chin and neck area is something that’s distracted you, tightening it up is a fairly painless process that can be done in as little as 15 minutes with a board-certified plastic surgeon. Here’s what you need to know about it.

Did someone say no downtime?

Kybella is an injectable that dissolves fat cells permanently. It was approved by the FDA in 2015 for use specifically in the submental region of the body, also known as the space between the chin and the neck. Its key ingredient is deoxycholic acid, which is a synthetic form of bile, the bodily fluid that plays an integral role in our digestion.

When it’s injected, the acid destroys fat cells in the area around the injection so that they can no longer accumulate or store fat.

Anyone over 18 who has a pinchable amount of fat in their submental area is considered a good candidate for Kybella. Effective as it is, the results aren’t immediate. Most require three to four noninvasive treatments, spaced about a month apart. You should, however, begin to notice a difference after the second session.

For a comparison, you’ll see immediate results with chin liposuction once the swelling subsides, after about three days, but it is a minimally-invasive procedure. The fat is suctioned out through a cannula that’s inserted through a small incision in the chin crease.

An overnight success story

Perhaps the best part about Kybella, in case you glossed over it toward the top of this post, is that it permanently removes fat cells. It’s worth noting that the remaining fat cells can expand over time, so it’s important to maintain your results with a healthy diet and a consistent exercise regimen.

But that shouldn’t be a problem now that you’re no longer losing big chunks of time staring into a mirror, trying to wish away that one feature that, in your eyes, has defined so much of your identity for all these years.