CoolSculpting® Treatment: The Science and Technology Behind It
The principles behind the CoolSculpting® procedure are based on the findings of two scientists, Dieter Manstein and R. Rox Anderson, who determined that, in a process called "selective cryolipolysis," subcutaneous fat cells, when exposed to cold, break down and are eliminated by the body; skin and any other nearby cells are unaffected.
Most other methods of fat reduction involve either heat, high-intensity focused ultrasound or chemical injections, all of which can be problematic. There's often damage to nearby tissue because these methods can't precisely target the cells they want to destroy. CoolSculpting treatment, however, is able to precisely target only the fat cells that need to be removed.
There are three steps to how fat is destroyed and then eliminated by the body during selective cryolipolysis. According to the CoolSculpting website, "Exposure to cooling via energy extraction causes fat-cell apoptosis (a natural, controlled cell death) which leads to the release of cytokines and other inflammatory mediators that gradually eliminate the affected cells. Inflammatory cells gradually digest the affected fat cells in the months after the procedure, reducing the thickness of the fat layer. Lipids from the fat cells are slowly released and transported by the lymphatic system to be processed and eliminated, much like that of fat from food."
The upshot of all the science and technology behind CoolSculpting treatment is that patients are happy with its results. In the first widespread study of how patients felt after undergoing selective cryolipolysis, 73 percent were satisfied with their results, and 86 percent said they would recommend it to their to friends. The treatment areas that had the best results were the abdomen and flanks; 86 percent of patients who had those areas treated showed improvement.