Many people have questions about coolsculpting. Vogue aims to answer these questions in a recent article titled “Does Fat Freezing Work? Two Experts Weigh In on CoolSculpting.”
Mackenzie Wagoner of Vogue writes, “Blame it on bikini season or the forthcoming gala circuit, but recently, at dinner parties across the country, a topic has been on the tips of tongues: CoolSculpting. Not an entirely new technology, the fat-freezing procedure formally called cryolipolysis was first discovered after, rumor has it, doctors noticed that children who ate a lot of ice pops experienced fat degradation in their cheeks. ‘Fat is more temperature-sensitive than your skin,’ explains UCLA professor and plastic surgeon Jason Roostaeian. ‘It goes through the cell death process before your skin does.’ CoolSculpting was first approved by the FDA in 2010, but recently gained attention when it was rebranded from minor spot treatment to a noninvasive alternative to liposuction, promising to eviscerate love handles and bra bulge with the wave of a cooling paddle. Sound too good to be true? According to Roostaeian and Manhattan-based CoolSculpting guru Jeannel Astarita, the technology works. Here, they discuss the ins and outs of fat freezing, from weight loss to health risks… CoolSculpting procedures use rounded paddles in one of four sizes to suction your skin and fat ‘like a vacuum,’ says Dr. Roostaeian. While you sit in a reclined chair for up to two hours, cooling panels set to work crystallizing your fat cells. ‘It’s a mild discomfort that people seem to tolerate pretty well,’ he says. ‘[You experience] suction and cooling sensations that eventually go numb.’ In fact, the procedural setting is so relaxed that patients can bring laptops to do work, enjoy a movie, or simply nap while the machine goes to work… Above all, emphasizes Roostaeian, CoolSculpting is ‘for someone who is looking for mild improvements,’ explaining that it’s not designed for one-stop-shop major fat removal like liposuction. When clients come to Astarita for a consultation, she considers ‘their age, skin quality—will it rebound? Will it look good after volume is removed?—and how thick or pinchable their tissue is,’ before approving them for treatment, because the suction panels can only treat the tissue it can access. ‘If someone has thick, firm tissue,’ explains Astarita, ‘I won’t be able to give them a wow result.’”
When it comes to body contouring, you need a surgeon you can trust. Rex E. Moulton-Barrett, M.D. is internationally known and acknowledged. He is board certified with The American Board of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and The American Board of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.
Dr. Moulton Barrett offers a wide variety of body contouring procedures, including tummy tucks, arm lifts, thigh lifts, CoolSculpting, and much more.
If you’re considering body contouring, contact us for a consultation.