Cosmetic Plastic Surgery Articles

As we hold our collective breath, waiting for the stay-at-home restrictions to lift, here’s another date to keep in the back of your mind: June 20. The start of summer.

Under normal circumstances, we’d be registering for boot camps and tightening up our diets with an eye toward the stream of bathing-suit days just ahead of us. With the coronavirus complicating those plans, a little extra firepower may be in order. Enter CoolSculpting.

Why CoolSculpting, you ask? For one, it’s noninvasive, so there’s no downtime. The last thing any of us wants is to be pinned back on the sofa with a long recovery once the quarantine ends. The timeline also fits well. You can expect up to a 25 percent reduction of fat in the treated area over the weeks following your treatment. More on that to come. First, let me explain what CoolSculpting is.

How it works

CoolSculpting, you’ve probably heard of before this post. It and other noninvasive body-contouring treatments comprise one of the fastest-growing segments in cosmetic plastic surgery. Less familiar is the term cryolipolysis, which is the name of the process behind CoolSculpting.

An FDA-approved device freezes and kills fat cells in the targeted area without harming the skin, nerves, vessels, or muscles. It’s proven effective for treating the abdomen, love handles, the inner and outer thighs, upper arms, back fat, including the bulge under your bra strap, and under the butt. With a special applicator called the CoolMini, it can also be used to minimize or even eliminate altogether a double chin.

Are the results as dramatic as they are with liposuction? Not quite. But the procedure’s also a lot easier. There’s no anesthesia, incisions, or downtime. The treatment time depends on the size of the targeted area, or the number of areas being treated, but the procedure generally runs about an hour or less. Short enough to squeeze in before heading into the office or over lunch.

Is CoolSculpting right for you?

In my next post, I’ll get into what the treatment entails and how long it takes for the results to become visible. But, first, let’s figure out if CoolSculpting’s a good fit for you.

The treatment tends to be most effective when you’re within about 20 pounds of what you would consider to be your ideal weight. In other words, you’re looking for help with a couple of stubborn pockets of fat rather than a total-body makeover.

That’s not to say that you’re not a candidate if you’re trying to shed more than 20 pounds. It just may take two to three treatments to achieve the results you’re expecting. In that case, keep in mind that the treatments are generally most effective when they’re spaced about five months apart. If that’s a longer timeframe than you’re hoping for, you’re not out of luck. Ask your plastic surgeon about your alternatives.

I’ll leave you with this: CoolSculpting is not considered a treatment for loose skin or cellulite, but it’s shown an ability to visibly improve both in many instances. If you’ve been having a hard time picturing yourself at the shore this summer in a bathing suit, try now.

If you’ve heard about CoolSculpting in passing, the part that probably caught your attention was the low-maintenance nature of the treatment. Shed fat without a single incision and minimal to no downtime. If it sounds too good to be true, it’s not. To that end, here’s a closer look at what CoolSculpting is and how it works.

What happens during the treatment

The treatment itself generally takes between 30 minutes and an hour, depending on the size of the area being treated and the number of areas being treated. Some plastic surgeons have the capacity to treat two separate areas simultaneously with two machines.

You’ll either sit in a comfortable chair or lie down, again, depending on the area or areas being treated. And then a protective gel will be applied to the targeted area, followed by the CoolSculpting paddle. Your skin and fat will be suctioned into the paddle, where they’ll be lowered to a temperature of 14 degrees Fahrenheit.

The fat cells in the treated area freeze and then, ultimately, die through a process called cryolipolysis. You’ll feel a couple minutes of pressure and intense cold around the treated area before it goes numb, at which point you should be able to relax and fill the remainder of the time however you want—answering work emails, scrolling through Instagram, meditating.

Once the treatment is over, the paddle is removed. Your plastic surgeon will then massage the treated area with another device that’s meant to break up the crystals and expedite the body’s natural ability to metabolize and flush out the dead fat cells. That process will occur gradually over the next few months, your results improving as it progresses.

A recent study found that the initial treatment triggers an inflammatory response that dissipates after two to three months. A second treatment, if it’s performed within the first two months of the initial treatment, generates a stronger inflammatory response, which leads to an even greater reduction in fat.

When you can expect to see results

Everyone’s biology is a little different, which means no two people are going to excrete the dead fat cells at the exact same rate. That said, you’ll notice a difference within the first month of your treatment, and it’ll become even more dramatic after two months. By that point, the majority of your result should become apparent, though your body will continue to eliminate dead fat cells for up to six months following your treatment.

Most will see a significant change in their shape after a single treatment. That said, CoolSculpting is a cumulative process, meaning the most dramatic fat reductions occur after two to three treatments, on average. And each subsequent treatment better enables your plastic surgeon to “sculpt” the contours of the treated area because there’s a further reduction of residual fat.

Even better, the results are permanent. As long as you maintain a healthy diet and exercise regularly, you’ll make the most of your new shape for the foreseeable future.