CoolSculpting® non-surgical fat reduction has been a big hit with patients here at Center for Plastic Surgery. It’s so easy and effective that even busy professionals can get results* without downtime—leading one of our doctors to jump on the CoolSculpting bandwagon! We sat down with Dr. Rao to talk about his recent CoolSculpting treatment.
What were you hoping to improve with CoolSculpting?
Like many of our CoolSculpting patients, I eat relatively healthy and maintain a regular exercise routine, but I still had a bit of extra, stubborn fat in my lower abdomen and love handle area. Because it wasn’t a large amount of fat that would necessitate surgery, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to give CoolSculpting a try. Personal benefits aside, now I can talk to patients about the treatment from a place of understanding and experience.
There are so many new technologies out there that get a lot of hype or have stunning before and after images, but they end up not being all that they’re cracked up to be. I got to experience the entire CoolSculpting process and see firsthand just how much it helps. It’s great being able to relay that to my patients.
What did your CoolSculpting treatment feel like?
After the treatment areas have been marked on the body, the CoolSculpting applicator is applied. As soon as it turns on, you can feel the bulge that you’re treating being squeezed quite hard. This discomfort can last anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes, depending on where you’re being treated, and then the area begins feeling very cold and goes numb. I had four different areas treated, so it was a bit uncomfortable for a number of minutes.
Once that initial part is over, it was completely comfortable. I relaxed, read, and watched videos on my iPad to occupy myself during the hour-long treatment. Immediately after the treatment, everything still felt numb. There was mild bruising and swelling at this point, but nothing unmanageable. I even went straight to the gym right after the procedure! Everything went back to normal within two weeks.
What was a negative aspect of your CoolSculpting treatment?
Sometimes, particularly for patients having the abdomen treated, there can be some pain that occurs a few days after treatment. It only happens about 15% of the time and, of course, it happened to me! I was actually the first to experience this out of all of the patients we have treated.
I had some extra pain for about 7 – 10 days in the abdomen, but while it was uncomfortable, it wasn’t unmanageable. This area also happened to show the greatest result*.
Was there anything about your treatment that surprised you?
Just how easy the entire thing was. It did exactly what it was supposed to with very little muss or fuss. It’s always great when something works exactly “as advertised.”
How long did it take you to really see the full benefit and final results* of CoolSculpting?
In some areas, I started seeing results* in as little as three weeks. For others, it took about three months to start seeing final results*. I saw the biggest and quickest result* in my lower abdomen, while the love handles took a bit longer.
Would you do it again?
Absolutely! I am very pleased with my results*. I saw between a 20% to 25% decrease. In “real” terms, when I pinch an area that was treated and pinch an area that wasn’t treated, I can absolutely feel a difference.
Have you tried CoolSculpting too? Tell us about your experience in the comments below!
*Individual results vary.