Coolsculpting®/ Cryolipolysis™

Zeltiq Cryolipolysis / Coolsculpting: an astonishing technique, based on an innovative technology.

Developed very recently (2005) by an American team from the University of Massachusetts (Dr Dieter Manstein and Dr Rox Anderson Massachusetts Institute of technologies, MIT) this technique aims to crystallise the fat contained in the vacuoles of fat cells (adipocytes) in order to trigger their "suicide" (apoptosis). The clinical studies were conducted at the Wellman Center at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, a teaching hospital affiliated to Harvard Medical School.

This enormous laser research centre is the source of many technological innovations based on light.

These include (among others):

The development of the first pulsed dye lasers, making it possible to treat angiomas.

The first hair-removal laser

Fractional lasers, which marked a turning point in the treatment of facial and extra-facial rejuvenation.    

Based on the observation that exposure to cold could cause a resorption of fat cells, researchers at the Wellman Institute developed Cryolipolysis, at the cost of around ten years of research and numerous studies.
 

Simply applying ice is not enough to achieve Cryolipolysis.

To be effective, and reduce the thickness of fatty tissue by more than 1 cm without damaging other skin structures, a very precise cooling gradient must be applied. This is kept 'top secret' by the manufacturer, who has registered numerous patents. Cooling that is too brutal will be dangerous (risk of cold necrosis), and too little will be ineffective.

In fact, Coolsculpting is not really based on the application of a cold source, but on a "heat extractor" type system.

This means that, for a very precise treatment protocol, the fatty tissue is cooled considerably, while the surface temperature of the skin hardly varies at all. And yet, numerous studies, validated by the *Food and Drug Administration, show that: **in a single session, the thickness of the adipose panniculus is reduced by about 1/3 of the "aspirated" bulge, in a very reproducible way, within about 2 months.

* Link to FDA

** Link to scientific publications

What effect does Coolsculpting have on fat cells?

Following a very specific 1-hour exposure to the cold, managed by the Zeltiq device, the treated area will undergo apoptosis of the fat cells, triggering their natural death!  In fact, our