Is CoolSculpting dangerous to do? CoolSculpting, or cryoliposis, is the science of using extreme cold to freeze fat cells. Once the fat freezes the fat cell’s wall bursts. The fatty contents spill out and the body removes them naturally. This is the same process that InstaSculpting uses; however, InstaSculpting uses harmless sound waves instead of cold. This issue recently made the news again in Australia when after the severe injury of a young woman before her marriage. She received second degree burns on her abdomen. Telithia Ha, a high school teacher from Adelaide, Australia, paid for fat freezing to help her look her best before her wedding. What happened was tragic.
Why Does CoolSculpting Burn?
CoolSculpting is cold, so how does it burn? It is technically an ice burn, which is similar to frostbite.¹ When done properly CoolSculpting chills the area enough to burst the fat cells but not damage the skin, tissues, or blood vessels. But when done incorrectly it can cause ice burns to all the tissues, resulting in blistering and second-degree burns. This will leave Telithia with a scar forever. Whether or not the machine or the technician is to blame does not help to solve the issue. The real problem is that cryoliposis, or fat freezing, has left many people with scars, pain, or in need of liposuction to reverse the damage.
How Dangerous Is CoolSculpting?
According to Seattle based Dr. Alexander Sobel the incidences of cryoliposis harming patients is on the rise.² While the CoolSculpting device is reported to be safe by its manufacturer the cases of injury similar to Telithia Ha’s are sharply on the rise. A similar injury occured in 2015 in England to Jesse Hawkins. Jesse’s stomach actually swelled as large as when she was pregnant. This has led many estheticians to believe CoolSculpting is dangerous. This problem led scientists into development of safer methods of bursting fat cells. InstaSculpting uses ultrasonic sound waves to achieve the same results. It is painless and effortless; however, you will see results immediately, often a one inch reduction from your waistline.
How Does InstaSculpting Work?
InstaSculpting uses ultrasonic cavitation to destroy the walls or fat cells while not harming the surrounding tissues or blood vessels. Although you will not feel anything during the treatment you will hear the system working in your inner ear as a slight buzzing. This is the sound waves traveling through the area breaking up fat cells. Once the fatty contents spill out of the cell they are removed from the body naturally through the lymphatic system. This is much more effective than the potentially dangerous CoolSculpting which takes weeks or even months to remove the fat from the body.
— Michael Bakke
Founded on facts: for peer-reviewed articles, scholarly journals, and articles cited above please see the below sources.
- Ice burns and frostbite are fairly similar. The major difference is that ice burns come from contact with ice or ice packs. Frostbite occurs when the body is exposed to freezing air and the tissues freeze, but the injury is the same.
- https://www.andersonsobelcosmetic.com/blog/how-common-is-paradoxical-adipose-hyperplasia-after-coolsculpting/
