Freezing the Fat Away

Since the approval of the first cryolipolysis device in 2010, what have been some of the trends in fat removal through controlled cooling? Have physicians seen the same safety and efficacy in practice as they have in clinical trials? And just how in-demand is this non-invasive body contouring procedure? Plastic surgeons from Southern California sought to answer these questions by conducting the largest, most comprehensive review of cryolipolysis to date, focusing on 528 consecutive patients treated with the CoolSculpting® device (manufactured by Zeltiq) at a single, multi-surgeon practice between January 2010 to December 2012.

The plastic surgeons found that cryolipolysis was highly effective at reducing subcutaneous fat volume and was associated with few adverse events: only three cases of mild or moderate pain/neuralgia were noted in the retrospective chart review, all of which rapidly resolved. They also found that the popularity of the procedure grew dramatically over the two years studied, with 823% more treatment cycles delivered in 2012 than in 2010, and a growing demand for the procedure among men. The complete findings are presented in the article, “Broad Overview of a Clinical and Commercial Experience with CoolSculpting,” appearing in the August issue of the Aesthetic Surgery Journal.

“Our review showed that cryolipolysis is not only safe and effective for nonsurgical, localized fat removal, but also provides high patient satisfaction levels,” said lead author Grant Stevens, MD, of Marina Del Rey, California. “With careful treatment planning, proper applicator placement, and multiple treatment cycles, cryolipolysis can produce results comparable to those of liposuction.”

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Source:  by staff writer for HealthNewsDigest.com on August 5, 2013 at http://www.healthnewsdigest.com/news/Plastic_Surgery_450/Freezing-the-Fat-Away.shtml