Cryolipolysis can be used to remove small pockets of fat without surgery. The tissue is cooled down to approx. 3 °C and exposed to this temperature for about an hour. This causes fat cells to die. The body breaks down the remains over the next few weeks and months. On average, cryolipolysis can reduce fat deposits by around 25 %. The method has hardly any side effects.
Here you will find further information and selected doctors for cryolipolysis.
Cryolipolysis is a method of removing localized fat deposits without surgery. The term means dissolving fat through cold.
The procedure makes use of the particular sensitivity of subcutaneous fatty tissue to cold. The fat cells there are permanently destroyed by localized exposure to cold.
Cryolipolysis only affects the fatty tissue so that the skin, nerves, muscles and blood vessels are not damaged. In addition, there are no scars caused by incisions or punctures.
Scientific studies have been carried out on the long-term effects of the method. They show that cryolipolysis is a safe and effective fat reduction procedure. The side effects are generally manageable and temporary.
The procedure was developed, tested and patented by dermatologists at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. The original method and the originally developed device are offered under the brand name CoolSculpting by the licensee Zeltiq Aesthetics. There are now other providers on the market (e.g. cooltech).
Cryolipolysis has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a fat reduction procedure since 2010. In Europe, cryolipolysis devices from several brands (including CoolSculpting and cooltech) have CE certification as a Class IIa medical device.
Cryolipolysis can be used to reduce small fat deposits without surgery © photoCD / Fotolia
As an aesthetic dermatology procedure, cryolipolysis is used as a treatment for people who are characterized by small fat deposits on the
feel disturbed. Cryolipolysis significantly reduces fat deposits in these areas, resulting in the desired tightening of the body silhouette.
However, it is not possible to remove large areas of fat deposits with cryolipolysis. Furthermore, the fatty tissue is not suctioned out as in liposuction, but dissolved and metabolized in the body. Cryolipolysis is therefore not a classic method of weight loss.
The cryolipolysis treatment of a problem area takes about an hour. Simultaneous treatment of two areas of the body is also possible.
During the treatment, you lie in a suitable position on a couch next to the cryolipolysis device. It contains a cooling unit and a vacuum pump. The device includes several differently shaped applicators for different areas of the body. Each applicator consists of
The area to be treated is covered with a protective fleece soaked in antifreeze before the applicator is placed on top. The fat pad is sucked in by negative pressure and held between the cooling modules in the suction cup for the duration of the treatment.
The cooling modules are then cooled down to temperatures as low as -11 °C. This reduces the temperature of the skin to a target temperature of between 3 and 5 °C. This temperature is maintained for about an hour.
In the first few minutes, the hypothermia of the skin triggers an intense tingling and burning sensation. Later, the nerve endings are anaesthetized by the cold and the treatment is painless.
After removing the applicator, the treated area is still bulging and very red. The protrusion reduces over the course of a few minutes. Sensitivity returns with a renewed intense tingling sensation.
A short manual massage of the treated area with powerful kneading and circular movements accelerates the normalization of skin sensation and contour and supports the effect of cryolipolysis.
Visible effects of cryolipolysis - i.e. a noticeable reduction in fat deposits - appear a while after the treatment. The final result of the treatment can generally be reliably assessed after two to four months.
Measurable results are seen in 86 percent of those treated. On average, the fat deposits shrink by 25 percent after treatment.
Redness and swelling of the treated skin area can be expected for several days after the procedure. Bruising caused by the suction cup can also occur. Also
may also occur. However, frostbite is not possible if the procedure is carried out correctly.
A very rare side effect of cryolipolysis is the proliferation of structurally altered fatty tissue in the treated area. The medical literature has so far reported 16 cases of so-called paradoxical adipose hyperplasia after cryolipolysis.
The effect of cryolipolysis is based on a simple physical effect: body fat "freezes" (crystallizes) at a higher temperature than water.
During the procedure, the tissue is kept at a temperature of around 3°C. As a result, the water-rich cells of the skin, nerves and muscles remain intact while the fat crystallizes. Crystallization irreversibly damages the fat cells. It initiates the process known as programmed cell death(apoptosis).
The processes during apoptosis ensure a controlled inflammatory reaction. During this process, the fat cells are broken down into their components by cells of the immune system and metabolized.
This process begins around three days after treatment and is complete after a few months: The volume of the treated areas has shrunk significantly and now contains far fewer fat cells.
An interesting case study shows the long-term effect of cryolipolysis on two men who were treated in the early days of the method. In the interests of science, the two patients only had one flank treated at a time.
Irrespective of weight fluctuations or weight gain in the following years, the effects of cryolipolysis can still be seen six and nine years later in comparison with the other flank.
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