Freeze Fat Away! A Non-Surgical Alternative

Many of us have tried every way possible to get rid of stubborn belly fat, saddlebags, our bra line, or bothersome back fat. For some of us, due to our age and background, exercise and diet just doesn’t cut it (literally) and target these areas. We’ve even tried melting the fat with “high-tech” medical devices, but that’s all temporary, and we want a more long-term solution. And now, yet another technology that this time uses a cooling method that allows your doctor to literally freeze the fat cells, and thus, causing them to die.

The concept is actually very simple and was inspired by popsicle-loving children! Yes, children. Scientists from Harvard University conducted an observation and noticed that children who enjoyed frozen snacks, such as a frozen popsicle, would develop a dimple in his/her cheek. And the more frozen snacks children had, the deeper the dimple would freeze! Then doctors wondered how this idea would affect fat cells in other areas of the body, if you froze them.

This inspired a new technology known as Zeltiq Cryolipolysis or Coolsculpting. This patented cooling Cryolipolysis treatment targets fat cells and eliminates them using the freezing method. This is a non-invasive procedure and is highly effective in fat cells without damaging other cells and tissue. The Coolsculpting device uses several different devices that can localize areas of fat to freeze.

“Treatments are customized for each patient. Some patients can achieve liposuction-like results if doing multiple treatment intervals.” Dr. Siamak Agha. Ideal candidates are those who are close to their ideal body weight and who exercise regularly yet have a hard time getting rid of stubborn fatty areas. During the treatment, a gel pack is placed on the area of the body to be frozen. This gel pack protects the skin and allows the device to tightly seal to the area. Next, the device sucks in the skin in a way to cool the area and freeze the fat directly underneath the dermis. It will cool the area for one hour, allowing the fat cells to freeze, and die. Over the next few months, the body will naturally flush out these fat cells on its own. During this process, the fatty deposits will shrink and the patient will look slimmer in the area(s) treated.

Coolsculpting is FDA approved with over a half a million treatments performed worldwide since it has been on the market since 2009. Board certified plastic surgeon, Dr. Siamak Agha offers Coolsculpting at his practice in Newport Beach, CA.