If you’ve been looking for a way to get rid of body fat, you may be weighing CoolSculpting vs. liposuction in your mind.
You may have heard more about liposuction, which has been around much longer. It’s a surgical procedure that manually removes fat deposits, so they won’t come back. CoolSculpting is a newer procedure. It freezes the fat from outside the body, so your system naturally dissolves it.
The more you know about these procedures, the more prepared you’ll be to choose the best one for your needs.
How Does CoolSculpting Work?
CoolSculpting is a non-surgical and non-invasive procedure. It’s based on a scientific process called cryolipolysis, which kills off fat cells by cooling them to extremely low temperatures.
What Can You Expect From the Procedure?
CoolSculpting procedures don’t involve needles, scalpels, or any other kind of cutting. Instead, a trained specialist delivers controlled cooling energy through the skin using a special applicator device.
The provider glides the applicator over the treatment area. If you’ve ever had an ultrasound during pregnancy, the process looks very similar. The energy moving through the applicator will chill and eventually freeze the fat cells. Some providers massage the treated area to break up the frozen fat cells. This helps the body to get rid of the cells and may help results to show up faster.
One CoolSculpting session takes about an hour, with 35 minutes of treatment time. Depending on how large an area you want to treat, you may need to return later for additional sessions.
What Are the Side Effects of CoolSculpting?
CoolSculpting is a non-invasive procedure, so the side effects are extremely mild. They include:
- A tugging or pulling feeling during treatment
- Pain, stinging or aching two weeks after treatment
- Temporary redness, swelling, bruising, or sensitivity at the treatment site
In almost all cases, side effects go away on their own. There is also a rare complication in which the fat cells grow instead of shrink. This happens only in about 1% of patients.
How Does Liposuction Work?
Liposuction is an outpatient surgical procedure. A surgeon makes a cut in your skin and uses a thin tube called a cannula to draw out the fat cells.
What Can You Expect from the Procedure?
Today, many doctors use advanced technologies like ultrasound or laser energy to break up the targeted fat cells. This makes the fatty tissue easier to remove, decreases pain, and reduces the risk of bleeding.
Liposuction may involve local anesthesia, sedation, or general anesthesia. Your surgeon will recommend the best option for your needs, considering how extensive a treatment you need and what type of liposuction you’ll have. Expect the surgery to take one to three hours, depending on how many areas you need to treat.
What Are the Side Effects of Liposuction?
Liposuction is a surgical procedure, so there are more risks and side effects than you’d get with CoolSculpting. These include:
- Bruising, redness, and swelling
- Infection
- Localized numbness
- Skin infection or discoloration
- Wound healing issues
If you choose liposuction, your surgeon should discuss all possible risks with you before the procedure.
CoolSculpting vs. Liposuction
Below are some typical questions about both CoolSculpting and liposuction.
What’s the Recovery Time?
As a non-invasive procedure, CoolSculpting involves no recovery time. You can expect to return to normal activity immediately after the procedure.
Liposuction is surgical, so you’ll probably need a few days to recover. Swelling and related discomfort may persist over a few weeks, and it may be up to a month before you can exercise strenuously again.
When Will You See Results?
Some people start to see results as soon as three weeks after CoolSculpting, but it can take two or three months for final results to show up. In that time, your body will continue to break down and eliminate treated fat cells.
Liposuction removes fat cells instantly, but the swelling can hide the results for a while. Most people see final results one to three months after the procedure.
What Do the Results Look Like?
Liposuction and CoolSculpting both target localized fat deposits. They’re not weight-loss surgeries, and they can’t remove cellulite or tighten loose skin.
They can improve your silhouette and shrink “problem areas” that don’t respond to diet or exercise
CoolSculpting is best for people who want to treat smaller pockets of fat, such as:
- “Banana rolls” under the buttocks
- Bra fat
- Double chins
- Love handles
A clinical study showed that CoolSculpting can remove up to 25% of the fat from a treated area.
If you want to significantly change the contours of your body, liposuction may be the way to go. Liposuction can treat larger fat deposits but remember — it won’t make your body smaller overall.
How Long Do the Results Last?
How long does CoolSculpting last? CoolSculpting removes fat tissue permanently. The cells that die off won’t come back, but it’s possible to regrow more fat cells in the same area. Diet and exercise are important for maintaining results long-term.
Like CoolSculpting, liposuction completely removes fat cells from your body. Those cells won’t grow back, but the procedure will leave some cells behind. Those cells can grow and fill in the treated area.
Some people notice that their bodies build up fat in other areas after liposuction. One study showed that a year after the procedure, people had the same amount of fat as before, just redistributed to different areas.
How Much Do They Cost?
CoolSculpting and liposuction are relatively similar in cost. CoolSculpting usually runs between $2,000 and $4,000, depending on how extensive the treatment needs to be and
Liposuction is at the high end of that range, costing an average of $3,548.That excludes the cost of anesthesia, which can drive the price up significantly if you end up needing a general anesthetic.
In both cases, your provider will give you a customized pricing plan.
Which One Is the Right Procedure for Your Body?
Liposuction and CoolSculpting are safe for most people who are in generally good health. There are exceptions for people who have clotting or circulation disorders. Discuss your medical history with your provider before undergoing either procedure.
At Medicus Vein Care, we’ve been offering CoolSculpting since 2013. We’ve performed hundreds of treatments, and our certified CoolSculpting technicians are happy to discuss the procedure with anyone interested.
Learn more today, or schedule your free consultation with a member of our team.
