Cryolipolysis is a treatment for adipose hyperplasia which involves freezing the fat cells. Recently, there was a big news story of a model, Linda Evangelista, who had developed paradoxical adipose hyperplasia after cryolipolysis. While cryolipolysis is an effective treatment for adipose hyperplasia, there is still some unknown about the long-term effects of cryolipolysis on the body. So before you opt for cryolipolysis as your treatment for adipose hyperplasia, be sure to talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits of the treatment.
What is Paradoxical Adipose Hyperplasia?
Paradoxical adipose hyperplasia or PAH is a complication that happens after a fat freezing treatment. It can cause your fat cells to grow instead of being removed. This can result in a treated area that looks like a stick of butter, which looks hardened and enlarged.
What is CoolSculpting?
CoolSculpting is a trademark name by Zeltiq Aesthetics for its cryolipolysis procedure. It is a non-invasive cosmetic treatment that uses fat freezing to remove excess fat from the body. The fat cells are then broken down and removed through the lymbic system, leaving you with a slimmer, more contoured figure. As it is FDA-approved and results are long-lasting.
Causes of paradoxical adipose hyperplasia
Paradoxical adipose hyperplasia is an unexpected growth of fatty tissue on the treated area by cryolipolysis. It happens about 8 to 24 weeks after the procedure is done. Rather than breaking down and being removed from the body, the fatty tissues enlarge and harden instead leading to PAH. It looks like a stick of butter, similar to how the treated area is vacuumed and held on by the CoolSculpting applicator.
Treatment for paradoxical adipose hyperplasia
Paradoxical adipose hyperplasia (PAH) is a rare condition that doesn’t typically harm your health. However, it requires treatment to remove the fat. The most commonly used procedure to treat PAH is liposuction, which is effective in removing fat from the affected area. Abdominoplasty can also be used in some cases of PAH. Patients have to wait up to 6 to 9 months for the fat in the affected area to be removed safely or paradoxical adipose hyperplasia may recur.
What happened to Linda Evangelista?
Linda Evangelista is a supermodel in the 90s. She underwent CoolSculpting procedures in 2015-2016. Unfortunately, instead of having the fat removed, she developed paradoxical adipose hyperplasia (PAH), which caused immense distress and social anxiety. She filed a $50 million lawsuit against Zeltiq Aesthetics, the parent company of CoolSculpting claiming that the procedure disfigured her body. PAH is a rare complication of CoolSculpting, which causes fat cells to grow in the wrong places. What was surprising was that Linda claims that she wasn’t made aware of the risks of the procedure.
Should I be worried about PAH?
Every beauty treatment whether it is microneedling, CoolSculpting, medication or IPL, they all carry some level of risk of side effects. PAH has an incidence rate of 1 in about 20,000 or 50 in a million. To most people, 0.0051% is an incredibly low incidence rate. However, if you’re one of the 50 people who experience side effects from liposuction, of course you would definitely not want it on you. What is important is that you are fully aware of the risk and have weighed it against its benefits before proceeding with the treatment.
Conclusion
While CoolSculpting in most countries today is no longer a medical grade treatment, it is still highly recommended to have it performed by a professional licensed aesthetic physician. The experience of a trained professional might not be able to help with preventing PAH, but they can help you achieve much better results in your treatment, using authentic and well-maintained CoolSculpting equipments and making proper body assessments.
