CoolSculpting® – Freeze the Fat Away!


Stubborn fat deposits can develop on almost any area of the body, and they can be impossible to eliminate with diet and exercise. If you’ve followed a healthy lifestyle but still have areas with troublesome fat, a non-invasive body contouring procedure like CoolSculpting might be the ideal option for helping you achieve the slender figure you deserve.

At Ridenour Plastic Surgery, we are proud to offer CoolSculpting Elite as part of our non-surgical body contouring services. CoolSculpting Elite is an advanced version of the CoolSculpting device that offers several advantages over the original CoolSculpting treatment. With CoolSculpting Elite, you can enjoy faster treatment times, increased comfort, larger treatment areas and more precise temperature control.

WHAT IS NON-INVASIVE BODY CONTOURING?

Non-invasive body contouring does not require a cannula, a scalpel, a laser or an incision. Instead, an external applicator is used to reduce fat by focusing heat or cold energy below the surface of the skin. Several non-invasive technologies are currently FDA approved and available in the U.S., including non-invasive fat reduction with CoolSculpting.

WHY CHOOSE COOLSCULPTING®?

Because we like great results without pain or downtime, CoolSculpting by Zeltiq is Dr. Ridenour’s choice as the best and most reliable non-invasive body contouring device available on the U.S. market today. CoolSculpting and CoolSculpting® Elite are FDA cleared to treat visible bulges of fat on multiple areas of the body.

THE COOL SOLUTION IS THE MORE NATURAL SOLUTION

Procedures that use laser, sonic waves and even surgery to remove fat can actually destroy other tissue in the process by burning, shattering or extracting non-fat cells. This requires downtime for your body to heal. Totally uncool. Fortunately, CoolSculpting doesn’t burn, shatter or extract any cells.

HOW DOES COOLSCULPTING® WORK?

Developed by Harvard scientists, our unique, FDA-cleared, patented procedure uses a specialized cooling process known as cryolipolysis that freezes and kills the fat cells.

Only fat cells are frozen. Your healthy skin cells remain, well, healthy. No knives. No suction hoses. No needles. No scars.

WHAT HAPPENS TO THE FROZEN FAT CELLS?

Once crystallized, the fat cells die and are naturally eliminated from your body. The fat becomes waste that is permanently removed through your body’s lymphatic system.

In a few months, boom: say hello to a new you.

HOW MUCH FAT CAN YOU REMOVE WITH COOLSCULPTING®?

A single CoolSculpting or CoolSculpting Elite session has been clinically shown to eliminate 20 to 25 percent of the fat cells in a treated area. While results vary from patient to patient and CoolSculpting should not be considered a weight loss procedure, it can generally eliminate five to 10 pounds of fat and several inches from the body for healthy patients.

After your CoolSculpting consultation, we can provide you with specifics about the results you can expect from this procedure.

Take Your Results a Step Further

CoolSculpting and CoolSculpting Elite are FDA cleared to treat the following areas:

  • Abdomen 
  • Flanks (“love handles” and “muffin tops”)
  • Thighs (inner and outer)
  • Back of the thighs just below the butt (“banana roll”)
  • Back
  • Fat along the bra band (“bra fat”)
  • Upper arms 
  • Submental area (a “double chin”)
  • Submandibular area (fat under the jawline) 

If you have multiple areas with bothersome fat, you can choose to have CoolSculpting on more than one area. We offer treatment with dual applicators that can treat two areas at the same time. This is highly beneficial for achieving more comprehensive body sculpting results.

AM I A CANDIDATE FOR COOLSCULPTING®?

BE NEAR YOUR GOAL WEIGHT

Ideal CoolSculpting candidates are overall healthy and within 10 to 30 pounds of their goal weight. CoolSculpting is designed to target the minimal stubborn fat that remains after diet and exercise have failed to reduce it, so patients should lose as much fat as possible with a healthy lifestyle before considering this treatment. Those who are overweight or obese may not achieve very good or noticeable results, as only a small portion of excess fat would be eliminated.

HAVE GOOD SKIN QUALITY

Ideal candidates for CoolSculpting have good skin quality in the desired treatment area. Patients with lax skin in the area may notice their skin appears looser after CoolSculpting since there will be less fat to fill out the skin.

HOW SHOULD I PREPARE FOR COOLSCULPTING® TREATMENT?

While there are no major preparations to make before your CoolSculpting procedure, we have certain recommendations for our patients. The following guidelines can help promote the safest, most effective treatment and best possible results:

  • Wear loose-fitting clothes to your appointment to prevent constricting the treated area before and immediately after treatment 
  • Refrain from drinking alcohol for at least 24 hours before your treatment
  • Avoid caffeine for at least two hours before (and after) your CoolSculpting procedure
  • Drink at least 100 ounces of water per day in the days leading up to your procedure to ensure you are fully hydrated

WHAT TO EXPECT DURING A COOLSCULPTING® TREATMENT

We recommend wearing loose, comfortable clothing to your CoolSculpting appointment. You will lie on your back or stomach in a comfortable position with the treatment area accessible. 

A gel pad will be laid over your skin in the treatment area to protect it, and then the CoolSculpting Elite panels will be applied over that. The device will use vacuum pressure to pull the skin and fat into the cooling panels, and cooling energy will be delivered to the targeted fat cells.

IS COOLSCULPTING® PAINFUL? 

The majority of patients describe CoolSculpting as a comfortable, pain-free procedure. At the beginning of the treatment, you may experience feelings of tingling, intense cold, stinging, cramping, mild pinching and pulling. The area will become numb as treatment progresses, so you will not experience these sensations for long. 

CoolSculpting Elite features an updated applicator design with enhanced patient comfort features, such as a built-in warming feature that reduces any unpleasant sensations during treatment.

HOW LONG DOES A COOLSCULPTING® TREATMENT TAKE?

Unlike a lot of other procedures, CoolSculpting takes very little time and is pretty simple to fit into your daily life. The CoolSculpting Elite device has expedited the treatment process to take just 30 minutes – which is even less time than you might spend at the gym. So you can easily fit your appointment into a lunch break.

WHAT TO EXPECT AFTER COOLSCULPTING®

DO I NEED DOWNTIME AFTER COOLSCULPTING®?

After your CoolSculpting or CoolSculpting Elite treatment, you can typically get right back to your busy day. No downtime is needed.

WHAT SHOULD I AVOID AFTER COOLSCULPTING®?

After your CoolSculpting treatment, it is best not to have caffeine for at least two hours. You should also avoid significantly raising your body temperature for 48 hours. Therefore, don’t take long, hot showers or baths (short, warm showers are alright) or sit in a hot tub, sauna or steam room for a couple of days. 

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO SEE COOLSCULPTING® RESULTS?

After one visit, you’ll typically see a noticeable reduction of fat within a month. It takes a few months to fully realize the effects, mainly because it takes that long for your body to naturally dispose of the fat cells.

After a few months, your clothes will fit better and you will look better. What’s more, there are no pills or supplements. Hello, you again. How cool is that?

HOW MANY TIMES CAN YOU TREAT AN AREA WITH COOLSCULPTING®? 

You can lose even more fat with additional appointments after your initial treatment if you and your doctor deem it necessary. In most cases, a series of one to three CoolSculpting treatments is adequate to target stubborn fat in a particular area of concern.

HOW OFTEN CAN YOU DO COOLSCULPTING®? 

We generally recommend that patients wait one to two months between CoolSculpting treatments, as you will only begin to see your results at that point. 

HOW LONG DO COOLSCULPTING® RESULTS LAST? ARE THE RESULTS PERMANENT? 

The fat cells destroyed during CoolSculpting and CoolSculpting Elite are permanently removed from your body after treatment and will not regenerate. So as long as you maintain a healthy diet and exercise routine, your long-term CoolSculpting results should remain stable. 

While CoolSculpting results are considered relatively permanent as long as you don’t gain weight, your body will continue to age naturally. The fat cells that remain in the treated area may migrate and change your body contours over the years as they would naturally with aging.

TAKE YOUR RESULTS A STEP FURTHER WITH COOLTONE®

CoolSculpting helps shed fat away, while CoolTone®, another cool device developed by Zeltiq, helps build muscle. CoolTone is a treatment meant exclusively for muscle-building. The device utilizes magnetic muscle stimulation (MMS) to induce up to 25,000 supramaximal muscle contractions in one 30-minute session, allowing you to achieve a more toned physique and a body worthy of flaunting. Very cool, right?

CoolSculpting is often combined with CoolTone so patients can achieve comprehensive body sculpting results. Not only can you attain a slimmer look, but you can also achieve the gym bod you’ve always dreamed of.

CAN COOLSCULPTING® OR COOLSCULPTING® ELITE GET RID OF CELLULITE? 

Cellulite is a condition that causes dimpled, lumpy skin. While a buildup of fat can worsen the appearance of cellulite, the connective fibrous cords that attach the underlying tissue to the skin are what cause the indentations in the skin. Because CoolSculpting addresses excess fat and not the fibrous cords, it is not considered a treatment for cellulite. 

Patients interested in reducing their cellulite can consider combining their CoolSculpting Elite procedure with Avéli, a minimally invasive tool that can sever the fibrous bands that cause cellulite.

SO, IF YOU DON’T QUITE FEEL LIKE YOURSELF...

Perhaps dresses don’t drape like they should. Jeans don’t fit well. Your washboard abs are covered by a load of laundry. It can seem impossible to lose that muffin top or love handles. And there aren’t enough exercises or crunches you could possibly do to lose that stubborn fat. If this sounds like you, CoolSculpting Elite is a great option.

Call us to make an appointment for CoolSculpting Elite by Zeltiq. No incisions, no needles, no anesthesia and no time for recovery.

Schedule a Consultation

At Ridenour Plastic Surgery, it’s our mission to help you feel confident, comfortable and beautiful in your own skin. To learn more about CoolSculpting, CoolSculpting Elite, or schedule a consultation, call board-certified facial plastic surgeon Dr. Brock D. Ridenour and his team in St. Louis, Missouri, at (314) 501-7946 today.

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