• Magazine
    • Past Issues
    • Subscribe
    • Change Mailing Address
    • Surveys
    • Guidelines for Authors
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Editorial Deadlines
  • Practice
    • Business Tips
    • Chiropractic Schools
    • Clinical & Technique
    • eBooks
    • eCourses
    • Infographics
    • Quizzes
    • Wellness & Nutrition
    • Personal Growth
    • Podcast
  • Resource Centers
  • Products & Services
    • Buyer’s Guide
    • Products Directory
    • Submit a Product
    • Vendor Login
  • Datebook
    • Become an Events Poster
    • Post an Event
    • View Events
  • Jobs
    • Jobs
    • Post a Job
  • Advertise
    • Advertising Information
    • Media Kit
    • Contact Us
    • Upload Advertising

Your Online Chiropractic Community

Chiropractic Economics Your Online Chiropractic Community
Subscribe
  • Home
  • Current Issue
  • News
  • Webinars
  • Chiropractic Research
  • Students
  • Coronavirus (COVID-19)

“Fat Freeze” complication may be more common than thought

Chiropractic Economics July 23, 2018

July 23, 2018—Fat-freezing is touted as a noninvasive way to shed “love handles,” but it’s riskier than previously believed, Florida plastic surgeons warn.

After the procedure, about one in 138 patients develops hardened lumps of fat at the treatment site, according to a small, new study.

The fat accumulation — called paradoxical adipose hyperplasia — then needs invasive liposuction to remove it, the doctors reported.

The fat-freezing procedure is known as cryolipolysis (brand name CoolSculpting).

“CoolSculpting works, but this rare complication can happen,” said lead researcher Dr. Michael Kelly, of Miami Plastic Surgery. “Fortunately, it can be treated.”

According to Kelly, the number of patients who develop paradoxical adipose hyperplasia is greater than thought. While still under 1 percent, the rate is not one in 4,000 as had been reported, he said.

CoolSculpting aims to destroy subcutaneous fat cells by controlled cooling of tissue. It’s often used to remove problem areas like belly fat.

But for those unlucky patients, the treated area becomes larger rather than smaller in the weeks after the procedure. They’re left with a painless but visibly enlarged, firm mass under the skin, the researchers explained.

These patients are understandably upset to learn they need liposuction to remove the lump, and that they must live with this disfigurement for a few months before it can be treated, the study authors noted.

That waiting period is needed for the fat to soften. Otherwise, it could recur, Kelly said.

“Counseling is extremely important during this waiting period,” according to the study authors.

Also, some patients need more than one liposuction treatment to remove all the fat, and they should be warned of that possibility, the researchers added.

For the study, Kelly and his colleagues studied 11 patients with paradoxical adipose hyperplasia. Six had cryolipolysis at the study authors’ own clinic, and five were referred from other practices.

Seven patients were treated surgically. In addition to liposuction, one needed additional surgery called a “tummy tuck.”

Patients needed continued reassurance that the problem would be solved, the doctors said.

Two refused treatment, even though the cost was covered by the manufacturer of the cryolipolysis equipment, according to the report.

Kelly’s team said that over three years, 15 hyperplasia events occurred in six patients out of 2,073 treatment cycles. That, they said, represents an incidence of 0.72 percent, or one out of 138 patients.

Dr. Jeffrey Salomon, an assistant professor of plastic surgery at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn., explained why this side effect occurs.

“Noninvasive treatment of fat can be done with heat, ultrasound waves or by cold,” he said.

Manufacturers of these devices tout their benefits — noninvasive, no dressings, no downtime, great results, he added.

“The fact is, these devices are all based on damaging the targeted tissue,” Salomon said.

The tissue damage has to be sufficiently strong to destroy fat cells without damaging nearby fat, skin or muscle tissue, he noted. But when any tissue in the body is damaged, including fat, the body sends inflammatory cells to the rescue.

“In the case of CoolSculpting, the fat cells are damaged beyond repair by the freezing process, and then the inflammatory cells clean out the remnants of those destroyed fat cells,” he said.

But in less than 1 percent of cases, there appears to be a response from fat cells that were not damaged beyond repair, according to Salomon.

“There appears to be a potential for those partially injured but not destroyed fat cells to excessively enlarge, which is called hyperplasia,” he said.

Patients need to understand that virtually any medical device that damages tissue has risks. “The good news is that 99 percent of the time it does not happen,” he added.

The report was published in the July issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

CoolSculpting did not respond to HealthDay‘s request for comment on the study.

More information

For more on cryolipolysis, see the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

SOURCES: Michael Kelly, M.D., Miami Plastic Surgery; Jeffrey Salomon, M.D., assistant professor, plastic surgery, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn.; July 2018, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, online

Source: HealthDay News

Related Posts

  • Tendon stem cells could revolutionize injury recoveryTendon stem cells could revolutionize injury recovery
  • Working out? Don’t bring your cellphoneWorking out? Don’t bring your cellphone
  • Your next text might lead to text neckYour next text might lead to text neck
  • Skip the antibiotics for mild eczema in childrenSkip the antibiotics for mild eczema in children
  • NUHS joins childhood obesity fightNUHS joins childhood obesity fight
  • That motorcycle helmet just may save your spineThat motorcycle helmet just may save your spine

Filed Under: General Health, News

Current Issue

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube logoYouTube logoYouTube

820 A1A N Highway W18,

Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082

Phone 904.285.6020

Fax 904.395.9118

CONTACT US »

Privacy Policy & Terms of Service

Copyright © 2021, All Rights Reserved

SUBSCRIBE TO THE MAGAZINE

Get Chiropractic Economics magazine
delivered to your home or office. Just
fill out our form to request your FREE
subscription for 20 issues a year,
including two annual Buyers Guides.

SUBSCRIBE NOW »

Latest Chiropractic News

  • Sherman College named school of national service by AmeriCorps
    Sherman College logo
  • New Mentor Program for Black Hemp Farmers Announced by CBD Leader Charlotte’s Web
  • Foot Levelers announces new orthotic training sessions, speakers
x