What to expect with my fat freezing treatment?
Prior to any effective cryolypolisis or fat freezing treatment it is important for you to have a comprehensive evaluation where you can communicate your goals for the treatment and your Chi therapist can assess your problem areas. At this time it will be determined what type of applicators will be used to freeze the fat away, and the number of areas that require treatment.
Before the treatment is commenced, the regions where the fat will be frozen is marked with you standing up so that the correct contours can be created. How these markings are made is extremely important to the aesthetic result of your cryolypolisis or fat freezing treatment, to ensure a smooth look and create beautiful contours. To initiate the treatment, we will position the device on your body. The device will then draw the bulge up between two cooling panels. The sensation is a firm pull and pressure, enough of a pull to ensure the selected tissue will be cooled most efficiently. For the first few minutes the area feels cold, but then the area goes numb. While you are freezing fat cells, you can expect to sit back, relax, read, listen to music, or even take a nap. An hour or so later, depending on your needs, you’re done.
No anesthesia or pain medication is required. Patients can return immediately to their normal routine, even if that means engaging in strenuous exercise. There may be some redness in the treated area, though this will clear within a few hours, and some swelling and rarely bruising, which will disappear within a week. Some patients have also reported a temporary dulling of sensation in the treated area. Additional cryolypolisis or fat freezing treatment in the same or multiple areas may enhance your desired aesthetic effect. It is important to remember results and patient experience may vary.
What is fat freezing?
Cryolipolysis, also known as “fat freezing” is a new procedure that involves the non-invasive cooling of body fat to break down fat cells, resulting in a reduction of body fat without damage to other tissues. Cryolipolysis or fat freezing treatment is the result of a ground-breaking discovery by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital of Boston, a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School. They discovered that subcutaneous fat cells are naturally more susceptible to the effects of cold than other surrounding tissue. These Harvard studies confirmed that you can freeze fat. When exposed to precisely controlled cooling for a sustained period of time, fat cells die and the amount of fat you have is reduced permanently. Cryolipolysis or fat freezing treatment is like a non-invasive, non-surgical liposuction.
How does fat freezing work?
Cryolipolysis or fat freezing treatment works in a similar manner frostbite; it freezes fat, leaving the overlying skin intact. A section of your skin is inserted into a freezing device for about an hour and cooled down to a temperature between +5 to ?5 °C. Treated fat cells are crystalised (frozen), then die. Over time, your body naturally processes the fat and eliminates these dead cells, resulting in the disappearance of some fatty deposits. Cryolipolysis is effective in reducing subcutaneous (just beneath the skin) fat volume. The best patients for Cryolipolysis or fat freezing treatments have fat that can be pinched and drawn into the fat freezing paddles.