One of the great things about CoolSculpting is there are no restrictions following treatment, and the downtime is minimal.
Most commonly, patients may experience minor bruising, swelling, cramping, or altered sensation for a few days following treatment.
This is minor and rarely interferes with daily activities. Rarely (less than 5% of the time), a side effect called late onset pain will develop a few days after treatment, that can last up to two weeks.
This is typically treated with prescription medications.
Your provider should address all possible side effects in detail and provide thorough post procedure instructions. (Kent V. Hasen, MD, Naples Plastic Surgeon)
The best part about CoolSculpting is that there is no downtime following the procedure. Patients can resume their regular activities immediately following the procedure, even return to the gym the same day.
It Is Not Uncommon For The Treated Area To Bruise
A patient may experience some minor redness, minimal swelling and bruising which will disappear within a week.
Numbness can persist up to one month but does not effect daily activities. (Alan N. Larsen, MD, Atlanta Plastic Surgeon)
While there is no specific downtime, you can be swollen for a week or two and numb in the areas treated for a few weeks.
Beyond that, there is a risk of late-onset pain mostly if treated in the abdominal area that can start on day 5-7 after treatment and last up to 14 days after treatment.
This is treated with medication and compression and is always self-limited and doesn’t happen to everyone. (Sheila S. Nazarian, MD, Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon)
Since CoolSculpting is not a surgical procedure, you can resume normal activity after your CoolScultpting treatment.
We offer a complimentary consultation to determine if you are a good candidate for the procedure. (Lenore Sikorski, MD, Orange County Dermatologist)
Recovery after Coolscultping
You can consider recovery as follows:
- You won’t hurt yourself if you went and did an ‘all out’ workout right after the procedure. You may feel slightly or moderately uncomfortable, but you won’t hurt yourself for doing this.
- Discomfort: This varies by individual and by treated body area. The abdominal area is usually the treatment where patients may experience some variation of discomfort that can linger between 1-2 weeks. (Young R. Cho, MD, PhD, Houston Plastic Surgeon)
Recovery post coolsculpting
Patients can resume activities immediately post treatment. We have had patients who have a coolsculpting treatment in the morning, and went to the gym in the afternoon. Patients may experience tenderness, swelling, and bruising post treatment but actual pain is in less than 3% of the cases nationwide. (Kris M. Reddy, MD, FACS, West Palm Beach Plastic Surgeon)
Coolsculpting has little to no downtime
Many patients literally workout the same day they do coolsculpting. We find the area treated is tender to pressure or touch for a week or so and that fitted athletic clothing works well to keep the areas comfortable.
If you are planning on being at the beach/pool soon after, you should know that swelling a bruising can happen and the treated area doesn’t look back to normal for a week or so.
Before Coolsculpting, traditional liposuction or tumescent liposuction was the was to remove those trouble spots of fat resistant to diet and exercise. The liposuction scars hide under clothing, but aren’t pretty. Now we have a scarless way to treat focal fat!. (Michael H. Swann, MD, Springfield Dermatologic Surgeon)
Recovery After CoolSculpting
There is no downtime or restrictions after the CoolSculpting treatment. You can get back to your regular activities right away.
Some people experience an intermittent cramping or burning sensation which usually resolves on its own after a week or two.
It should not interfere with your normal activities. (Michael A. Zadeh, MD, FACS, Sherman Oaks General Surgeon)
CoolSculpting is an amazing technology!
Zeltiq CoolSculpting has revolutionized the non-invasive fat reduction market for a number of reasons.
It works! The average patient that we treat with CoolSculpting is coming in for two treatments one a few days after their initial consultation and the second thirty days after the first.
What we generally find is a 20-25% reduction in the fat layer at the treatment site after each treatment. This means that our average patient is seeing >40% reduction in the fat layer in the areas treated by CoolSculpting.
Patient selection is important with any aesthetic procedure so we do recommend that every patient attend a complimentary consultation where we will do a 360 degree evaluation of your body and help build you a customized plan for treatment to transformation.
That is one of the greatest advantages to CoolSculpting with other solutions that are effective like traditional liposuction you have to worry about drains and not exerting yourself physically after the treatment.
With CoolSculpting you may be a little swolen and tender to the touch for a few days post procedure but you should still be able to attend school, work and any other commitments you may have on your busy schedule! (Paul Vitenas, Jr., MD, Houston Plastic Surgeon)
Coolsculpting and Recovery
Most people require 2-4 weeks where they need to take it easy, as there is swelling, bruising and irritation at the site. Some get a tingling sensation due to the nerves in the area being irritated.
All this resolves and the results are seen in 3 months. (Jason Emer, MD, Los Angeles Dermatologic Surgeon)
Getting CoolSculpting and want to know how long the recovery is
Fortunately, recovery following Cool Sculpting is minimal. Some patients do experience a moderate amount of swelling. Occasionally, a minimal amount of bruising may occur. Other patients report numbness in the area treated which may persist for 4-6 weeks.
The good news is that you can return to your regular activities immediately following the procedure. (R. Stewart Collins, MD, Raleigh-Durham Plastic Surgeon)
recovery Following coolsculpting
As a general rule you will have some pain in the first several hours followed by numbness in the next 2-4 weeks. The majority of your swelling should be gone within one week. Occasionally patients will have additional numbness or swelling for a longer period but it certainly hasn’t resolved within 3-4 months in our practice.
I would recommend you seek out a qualified plastic surgery in your area to find out if you are a good candidate for this technique. (John J. O`Brien, Jr., MD, Saint Petersburg Plastic Surgeon)
COOLSCULPTING FACTS
- CoolSculpting patients see an average of 20% reduction in fat in the treated areas in as little as three weeks after the procedure.
- The non-invasive CoolSculpting procedure allows patients to resume daily activities immediately following treatment.
- It’s comfortable – CoolSculpting patients can sit or lie down, read, work on their laptop or even nap during the procedure.
- The CoolSculpting procedures last about one to two hours, so treatment can easily be fit into a busy schedule.