Some people use Spanx, baggy sweaters, and long shirts to cover up their bulges or "muffin tops," but what do you do when your clothing just won't do the trick anymore? You try diet and exercise, and despite your greatest intentions, it just doesn't come off like it did when you were younger.
Frustrated, now you're thinking about liposuction or CoolSculpting™, but which one is better for you?
How Liposuction Works
We'll begin with liposuction, which was originally introduced in France in the 1920s, but barely anyone heard about it until the 1980s. Finally, surgeons were able to remove stubborn body fat through a small metal tube called a cannula, which removes fat through suction.
With liposuction, the surgeon cuts a tiny incision so they can access the fat. The surgeon loosens the fat by injecting IV fluid, then they insert the cannula to suck the fat out. This is a delicate sculpting process that requires the surgeon's advanced level of skill, but also an eye for aesthetics.
How CoolSculpting Works
CoolSculpting on the other hand, is not a surgical procedure. It is a non-invasive procedure developed by ZELTIQ Aesthetics Inc. It received its FDA approval in 2010, and since it hit the market it's taken off.
CoolSculpting is a fat freezing procedure called "cryolypolysis." It was created by two Harvard dermatologists who were intrigued when they read a report about toddlers who developed cheek dimples after sucking on popsicles to relieve their teething pain.
Their research was groundbreaking when it confirmed that by selectively freezing fat cells, they could reduce a person's fat deposits by as much as 25 percent.
For a patient to see noticeable results, they usually need 1 to 3 CoolSculpting treatments on a particular area.
With CoolSculpting, the controlled cooling freezes a person's fat cells, but it does so without harming the skin, nerves or muscles. Simply amazing.
Which procedure is right for me?
The effectiveness of both procedures is well-established, but there are distinct differences.
CoolSculpting is not as aggressive as liposuction, which is why some patients choose liposuction over CoolSculpting. For example, liposuction has faster results and overall, it's more effective towards overall fat reduction.
On the other hand, some patients don't want to go under the knife. In that case, they opt for CoolSculpting because it's noninvasive and there's little to no downtime. The question is, which procedure is right for you?
To learn more about the fat-reduction procedures available to you, contact us for a consultation with our Westlake Village and Oxnard Plastic Surgeon, Dr. Yuly Gorodisky!