Put Fat in the Deep Freeze Before Summer

While we may not head to the beach here in landlocked western Illinois, that doesn’t mean we don’t hit Horseshoe Lake or any of the myriad area pools. And we all want to look our best in our swimsuits. But unwanted fat that tends to accumulate in areas such as the lower abdomen, thighs, flanks, and other areas can make us turn down the lake invite and keep things covered up.

That’s no way to go through life! Come see us at Musick Dermatology and let’s give that unwanted fat the cool shoulder with CoolSculpting! CoolSculpting is the revolutionary fat reduction treatment that reduces fat up to 25 percent in the treatment area in a completely non-invasive procedure. CoolSculpting is the world’s most popular body contouring treatment. March is a great time to have CoolSculpting done to slim down your contours in time for summer.

It all started with a few popsicles

CoolSculpting^® wasn’t the original intention when two scientists studied the effects of freezing on the cheek area. Two doctors at the Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, Drs. Dieter Manstein and R. Rox Anderson, were doing a study that theorized children who ate lots of popsicles growing up developed dimples in their cheeks more than children who didn’t eat lots of popsicles. Dimples form in the cheeks where the muscle isn’t covered with much fat, so when the muscle contracts a dimple forms. The idea was that the cold in the popsicles somehow affected the fat cells in the cheeks. The doctors called this Popsicle Panniculitis.

Based on what they thought could be happening in the cheeks, the two doctors made the next step and theorized that the same process/result could happen elsewhere. So, they investigated selectively freezing fat cells in a process they called cryolipolysis. The end result of those studies was CoolSculpting^®.

How it works

To achieve cryolipolysis, CoolSculpting^® involves a three-step process. First, a cooling panel uses suction to pull the target area skin into solid contact with the cooling plates. Then the cooling is directed downward into the skin. The temperature is precisely equal to the freezing point of fat cells, while not freezing adjacent tissue cells that freeze at a lower temperature. Exposure to this freezing causes fat cell apoptosis (a natural, controlled cell death). The body sends cytokines and other inflammatory mediators to the area to gradually digest the dead fat cells in the weeks following the CoolSculpting session. Lipids from the dead fat cells are slowly released and transported by the lymphatic system to be processed and eliminated from the body, in the same manner that fat in food is eliminated. It takes anywhere from three to 12 weeks for the body to permanently remove the dead fat cells.

The result? A 20 to 23% decrease in fat cells in the treatment area over the months following your CoolSculpting session with the team at Musick Dermatology.

Non-invasive and easy to take

The entire CoolSculpting^® treatment is not painful. There is some minor discomfort when the cooling is first being delivered, but that passes as the area becomes numb with the cooling. And there isn’t any downtime. How cool, literally, is that?!

CoolSculpting has been approved by the FDA for eight areas: the abdomen, thighs, bra line fat, back fat, upper arms, flanks, underneath the buttocks, and the jowls. Do any of those areas need to chill out on your body? Call us at Musick Dermatology, (618) 628-2588, and set up your CoolSculpting consultation.