Is CoolSculpting® Safe?
Choosing to take steps to change the appearance of your body with surgery or non-surgical devices can be scary, intimidating, and overwhelming. With many options on the market to remove subcutaneous fat, BBME chooses to provide CoolSculpting® technology over other devices due to effectiveness, safety, scientific studies, and FDA clearance. The device remains the #1 fat removal device across the nation, with over 8 million successfully completed treatments.
What is CoolSculpting® and how does it work?
CoolSculpting® is a fat reduction treatment. It is the only FDA-cleared procedure to use controlled cooling to safely target and eliminate diet- and exercise-resistant fat. What does that mean? CoolSculpting® is an easy treatment to eliminate that stubborn fat that just will not go away even when you are dieting and exercising. Nine areas on the body can be treated including abdomen, flanks, arms, submental (chin), inner-thigh, outer-thigh, banana roll, back fat, and bra fat. CoolSculpting® results are proven, noticeable, and lasting, so you will look and feel great from every angle.
The way the CoolSculpting® works comes down to science. Fat cells freeze at higher temperatures than surrounding tissues. CoolSculpting® technology safely delivers precisely controlled cooling to target the subcutaneous fat cells underneath the skin gently and effectively. The treated fat cells are crystallized (frozen), and then die. Over time, your body naturally processes the dead fat and eliminates those cells, leaving a more sculpted you.
What are CoolSculpting® Side Effects?
An emerging complication involving CoolSculpting® is making headlines lately for a rare side effect that occurs in 1 in every 4,000 patients (0.00025% of the population) who receive CoolSculpting®, called PAH, Paradoxical Adipose Hyperplasia. Paradoxical adipose hyperplasia is an overgrowth (hyperplasia) of fatty (adipose) tissue. This complication, which can appear 8 to 24 weeks post-procedure, is when the treated area becomes hardened and visibly enlarged. The cell freezing kicks in a reactionary process in the fat cells, triggering them thicken up. As a result, the fat cells start to expand instead of breaking down and allowing the body to remove them. All patients are educated of PAH before treatment and sign our informed consent. Patients that develop PAH can be treated with liposuction to remove the overgrowth tissue. The liposuction treatment is paid for completely by the CoolSculpting® company, Zeltiq.
As with any treatment, there comes risk. We stand behind our decision to provide CoolSculpting® to our patients as it remains the #1 fat removal treatment in the nation. Further, at Bobbi Bullock, we are married to our patients’ outcomes. We are a long-time partner with Zeltiq, the makers of CoolSculpting®. We’ve worked directly with them to solve PAH issues at no cost to our clients. CoolSculpting® is deemed and designed to be a safe fat removal device compared to invasive procedures like liposuction.
We encourage our clients to come in for a complimentary consultation with our highly experienced Body Improvement Team where we will organize a unique treatment plan and determine if you are truly a candidate.