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Fashion and beauty icon Linda Evangelista, 56, took to social media to share that she was experiencing side effects after turning to CoolSculpting, a topical procedure that freezes fat cells.
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A rare side effect called paradoxical fat hyperplasia can occur in the weeks and months after fat-melting procedures, in which the fat cells enlarge and harden.
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This side effect, as well as others that patients are aware of before CoolSculpting, may require surgery to correct.
The hype around cosmetic fat-melting procedures may subside after Linda Evangelista, the model known for her work with Versace in the ’90s and as a Revlon brand ambassador, revealed she had suffered from painful corrective surgeries after turning to CoolSculpting. Evangelista, 56, took to social media to share that she suffered traumatic side effects after turning to the non-invasive cosmetic procedure – classified by scientists as cryolipolysis, and often used by celebrities in general – which is intended to locally reduce body fat over a series of treatments. The explosive revelation indicated that Evangelista ended up experiencing fat growth in certain areas of her body rather than the slimming effect she was hoping for.
“To my subscribers who wondered why I wasn’t working when my peers’ careers were flourishing, the reason is that I was brutally disfigured by Zeltiq’s CoolSculpting procedure which did the opposite of what she was doing. had promised, “she revealed via Instagram. “It increased, not decreased, my fat cells and left me permanently deformed even after undergoing two painful and unsuccessful corrective surgeries. As the media described, I remained ‘unrecognizable’.”
Fat targeting procedures such as CoolSculpting are normally considered a discreet alternative to procedures such as liposuction. But there are a few minor side effects to consider, as well as a rarer risk that Evangelista has reported impacting her own fat cells.
The fashion icon developed what experts call paradoxical fat hyperplasia or PAH – something physicians and healthcare providers have always had to contend with to warn patients before CoolSculpting procedures. The condition (which is also colloquially referred to as the “butter stick” effect by some) causes fatty tissue in the affected area to grow in size and often harden permanently. This appears to be the case for Evangelista, who alleges that she was not made aware of the potential risk before signing up for CoolSculpting.
What other types of potential side effects do patients face before this procedure, and what are the exact causes of PAH in the first place?
Weight loss, health and body image are complex topics – we invite you to gain a broader perspective by reading our exploration of the dangers of diet culture.
What is CoolSculpting?
To understand how a person can end up with a hard mass of fat under their skin, you must first familiarize yourself with the procedure, which uses a long, thin CoolSculpting applicator that is positioned locally on the patient’s areas. choice.
“The fat is sucked into a suction cup-shaped handpiece, and this area of fat in the handpiece is exposed to very low temperatures which, in essence, freeze the fat cells and cause them to crystallize,” says Troy Pittman, MD, a board certified cosmetic plastic surgeon in a private practice in Washington, DC “The frozen fat cells then die – a process called cellular apoptosis – and then the immune system clears the cellular debris.”
This cool approach to targeting fat deposits on the body is relatively new – CoolSculpting, in particular, was first approved by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials in 2010. But the key distinction is that People often sign up for several CoolSculpting sessions over many years is the fact that it is designed to remove targeted areas of body fat. It is not a holistic weight loss procedure like gastric bypass, for example; CoolSculpting is intended to treat areas of fat that cannot be addressed through diet, exercise, or lifestyle changes, as listed on its promotional website.
Current recommendations state that CoolSculpting can be applied to areas such as the thighs, arms, stomach, buttocks, and areas of your face, especially the chin. The procedure itself only takes a few hours at most, but patients see direct results within six months, with some research-based reports indicating that a single session can reduce up to 20% of the composite fat in the body. area involved. While some patients treat the same area over and over for best results, the price of a single session can cost up to $ 4,000.
According to Dr. Pittman, the risks that CoolSculpting patients are informed about before their first procedure include:
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A feeling of pulling or pulling on the skin at the treatment site, which may include pain
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Redness, bruising, and other tenderness or swelling of the skin after the procedure, potentially up to a week after
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Those who target their chin may experience sensations in the throat in the days following their procedures.
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More rarely, development of PAH in the few months following the intervention
What is PAH and how does it develop?
This side effect is indeed considered rare by most experts, including Dr Pittman, and has already been shown to affect less than 1% of those who turn to cooling procedures to melt fat. , according to JAMA Dermatology. Plastic surgeons usually don’t get PAH until well after the procedure, as Dr Pittman explains that fat cell growth occurs slowly over time and they still don’t know what is causing it in the first place. .
Almost everyone who has suffered from PAH agrees that the affected area can be painful or painful to touch. “This leaves patients with a treatment area that gets bigger rather than thinner,” he adds.
PAH may be more common with large CoolSculpting applicators and older devices, but Dr Pittman adds that the side effect is seen more often in men than in women. “It seems to appear more frequently in the lower abdomen than on other parts of the body,” he says. “There is no way to predict which patients will have PAH, so all patients should be warned.”
While there are no significant long-term health risks associated with PAH, individuals will have to turn to potentially painful surgery to treat it – something CoolSculpting patients generally wanted to avoid first. place. Dr Pittman says that more often than not, the hardened fat mass is removed by liposuction (which is not guaranteed to relieve it entirely) or that patients are placed in surgery to extract it altogether.
Is there an alternative to CoolSculpting?
If hearing about Evangelista’s case makes you think of these procedures as a whole, many plastic surgeons may indicate that CoolSculpting is not always the best route for topical fat reduction, despite more than eight million people who do. have registered for the procedure, according to the New York Times.
“The gold standard for fat reduction is surgical liposuction,” Dr. Pittman tells us. “For patients who seek non-surgical treatment with minimal or no downtime, their expectations need to be managed appropriately; they will not get a surgical result from non-surgical treatment. “
There are also other topical alternatives to CoolSculpting in particular, including TruSculptID, which is licensed to doctors by Cutera. This treatment harnesses “radio frequency energy” to target fat cells by heating them, rather than freezing them, says Dr Pittman, adding that the procedure maintains a similar result. Like CoolSculpting, the best results can be obtained after several treatments.
It is essential that you consult your primary health care provider before seriously considering any form of plastic surgery, as your individual medical history may make certain procedures riskier for your health. This article is intended to be educational in nature and is not a substitute for medical or treatment advice from a licensed professional.
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