Negative Effects Of Coolsculpting

There are no known long term negative effects of CoolSculpting. It is important to understand that CoolSculpting is not a weight loss treatment. It is for exercise and diet-resistant pockets of fat in people that are at or near their ideal weight.

The cooling provided by CoolSculpting is controlled to avoid damaging other tissues. (Janet Turkle, MD, Indianapolis Plastic Surgeon)

The process of CoolSculpting allows the fat cells to be targeted by the freezing process and in so doing, it does not hurt the skin or blood vessels. Pretty neat idea ! An interesting part of the treatment happens when the “suction” is removed from a treated area and the tissue looks like a big red lump ! Then the areas are massaged.
The swelling and color returns soon and then the process of the “stunned” fat cell resorption occurs and the products of this process are excreted as any other absorbed cells do. To date there are very few complications from this process.

It does not tend to dent and there are virtually no negative effects on the skin in the treated areas. (Steven M. Lynch, MD, Albany Plastic Surgeon)

Long-term Effects of Coolsculpting

Coolsculpting like all body contouring procedures should be performed on appropriate candidates. Fat cells will die at much higher temperature than the temperature that would damage tissue etc. Therefore, the treatment utilizes a controlled cooling to reach the temperature necessary to kill fat cells but not low enough to pose a risk to tissue, skin, or organs.

A Device To Freeze Fat Cells Under The Skin

Coolsculpting if performed at a Certified Coolsculpting Center under the direct supervision of an experienced and expert board certified plastic surgeon will yield excellent results. If the treatment is performed at a lesser center, then lumpiness can be a concern.

Coolsculpting can be performed on patients whose BMI is less than 30. However, if your BMI is between 20 to 30, then you may be a better candidate for liposuction than Coolsculpting. Consult in person with an experienced and expert board certified plastic surgeon who also has a Certified Coolsculpting Center to understand your options. (Kris M. Reddy, MD, FACS, West Palm Beach Plastic Surgeon)

Cool sculpting selectively damages the fat cells and spares the overlying skin based upon the cooling temperature and length of treatment. The machine settings are science based and approved by the FDA. We have seen no cases of lumpiness in areas treated nor any long term negative effects.

A Nonsurgical Body Contouring Procedure

The results are more dramatic if you have smaller areas to treat and are otherwise fit. See a board certified plastic surgeon for a consultation and treatment plan. (Richard Chaffoo, MD, FACS, San Diego Plastic Surgeon)

CoolSculpting Has Few Side Effects and Excellent Long-Term Results

CoolSculpting is an excellent choice to target resistant fat areas, such as the “love handles” and stomach. The reason it targets fat cells without affecting other tissue is that it uses a patented method called cryolipolysis(TM), which sufficiently lowers the temperature on the area being treated to freeze fat cells and kill them, but does not lower it enough to freeze the water present in other cells.

At the same time, the device is applied with a cool gel pad to protect the skin while freezing the fat as an added safety measure. Therefore, there are few if any negative effects from CoolSculpting, and only very rare long-term adverse results have been reported.
If the device is applied properly, and the fatty bulges marked carefully, there should be no “lumps and bumps”. After the device is removed, we apply the Zwave device to further break up the frozen cells.

This helps to get smoother results and even more loss of fat. You are correct in intuiting that CoolSculpting works best on people who are already fairly near their ideal weight and simply would like to remove stubborn areas of fat to which they may be genetically predisposed.

Schedule a consultation with a board-certified dermatologist and find out how CoolSculpting can help you. (Kimberly Butterwick, MD, San Diego Dermatologic Surgeon)

To date there have been no serious long-terms negative ffects from coolsculpting. The Coolsculpting technology is specifically designed to freeze the fat cells without injuring the surrounding tissues. It does not kill the fat cells immediately, but causes them to die over the next couple of months.
The body then removes the dead fat cells. The coolsculpting applicators are smooth in design and as a result, leave smooth, uniform results. However if they are not properly applied you can get ridges and step-offs.

The results are most dramatic in isolated fatty areas where the coolsculpting technology can make big improvements. It is not a weight loss procedure and it is best to be close to your ideal body weight. (Lawrence Broder, MD, Cedar Park Family Physician)

Negative effects and Coolsculpting.

The reason why coolsculpting causes damage to only the fat cell is due to the fact that Fat will freeze at a lesser temperature then water. The cells that make up our fatty tissue are made up of glycerol and fatty acids.
Our other surrounding cells are primarily made up of water. Water is the most the most abundant molecule in the cell, accounting for 70% or more total cell mass. Meaning coolsculpting is a safe method of reducing fat cells and leaving other areas unharmed.

Directly post a coolsculpting treatment the area may feel ‘lumpy’ this will dissipate over 6-12 weeks as the fat cells are eliminated. When it comes to the results we expect to see a 25% reduction of the treated fat per session, a patient with 4cm of fat will see a greater difference then a patient with only 1cm of fat. (Davin Lim, MBBS, FACD, Brisbane Dermatologist)

Coolsculpting negative effects over time

We have been doing Coolsculpting since it first became available. We had one relatively thin woman develop a subtle “shelf” above the area treated. Clearly you could see that Coolsculpting had reduced the fat on her central abdomen.
We recently treated this area with Vanquish and that shelf has disappeared. Beyond that, we have seen no negative side effects. We definitely have seen mixed results and I believe it is because coolsculpting is so specific.

In bigger folks, you need to treat a lot of areas to get visible results but for thinner people who have “grab-able” fat pads, it works very well. (Rutledge Forney, MD, Atlanta Dermatologic Surgeon)

Coolsculpting works only on fat cells

CoolSculpting is the first and still one of the best FDA-approved nonsurgical treatments for eliminating fat permanently from the treated areas. There are very few long-term side effects from CoolSculpting, particularly if you go to a certified provider who has experience treating the various areas.

Temporary effects can include discomfort, which is typically mild, and temporary numbness to the treated area. Coolsculpting works only on fat cells because the temperature to permanently affect them is different from the surrounding tissues in the area.

This process is called cryolipolysis. It freezes the fat cells and then they undergo a slow and measured removal from your body. Unlike many other devices on the market, Coolsculpting leads to a permanent reduction in the fat cells in the treated area. (Charles M. Boyd, MD, Birmingham Facial Plastic Surgeon)

CoolSculpting after effects

We have performed 4000 CoolSculpting procedures and have not noted lumpiness afterward. We have improved lumpiness that patients developed after Lipo Suction performed elsewhere. There have been a few patients reported in the literature who developed paradoxical hyperplasia at their treatment areas.

This is extremely rare, and I have never seen an occurrence. Otherwise I am unaware of any other long term side effects. Individuals fairly close to their ideal body weight will respond the best with fewer treatments.

We recommend at least 2 treatments to get the best results. (Maurice M. Vick, Jr., MD, Baton Rouge Urologist)