Liposuction might be giving way to freezing fat. You read that right: freezing fat. The beauty of freezing fat is that it is non-invasive. This fat reduction method does not involve needles, cutting of the skin, anaesthetics or other invasive procedures. In fact, one can read a book, surf the web on his smartphone or even play a video game while his fat is being frozen.
The Details of Freezing Fat
The official term for the freezing of fat is coolsculpting. It is also referred to as cryolipolysis. This procedure was been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration back in 2010.
Here’s how it works: The fat sections of the body are placed in a device that decreases the skin to well below the body’s natural temperature. Though the temperature does not drop down to the freezing point, it gets cool enough to eliminate fat cells. It is not possible to place every section of body fat in such a device yet it is fairly easy to put love handles in and freeze away the excess fat.
Most readers are likely wondering why freezing fat destroys fat cells. Medical researchers have determined that fat cells are highly susceptible to cold than most other skin cells. In fact, most skin cells are not harmed when exposed to uber-cool temperatures. Just under one-quarter of fat cells that are frozen will disappear in an hour’s time. These fat cells are metabolized and released by way of the body’s natural excretory processes.
The Benefits of Fat Freezing
There is growing support for fat freezing. Those in favor of fat freezing are enthusiastic about its painless nature, the fact that it does not require a recovery period and how quickly it can be done. It does not take long at all to freeze away fat. The patient can even watch a movie or read while the procedure occurs. His fat portions are plugged into a machine for about an hour.
Once the fat is frozen, the patient can return to work, school, home or elsewhere. The procedure causes minimal swelling that dissipates rather quickly. Fast forward two to three weeks and there is significantly less fat that before the procedure.
The Rise of Nonsurgical Fat Reduction
Though liposuction is still one of the most popular surgical procedures, nonsurgical fat reduction solutions like coolsculpting are not far behind. A whopping 425,000 nonsurgical fat reduction procedures were performed in 2015. This number will only continue to grow as time progresses.
As it stands, coolsculpting is one of the more popular procedures across the globe. In a few years, coolsculpting might even overtake liposuction as the most popular. Though men make up merely one-tenth of cosmetic surgery clients, they represent a disproportionately high percentage of those who seek coolsculpting. Some doctors report that upwards of 40 percent of those who have the fat frozen away are men.
Why Non-invasive Procedures are Trending Upward
If one were to survey doctors across the United States or the world, the vast majority would testify that interest in non-invasive fat removal procedures is soaring. All-in-all, 12 million non-surgical procedures were performed in 2015. In contrast, only 9.6 million surgical procedures were performed in the same year.
Aside from fat freezing, laser treatments to revitalize and tighten the skin are also in strong demand. Botox and other muscle paralysis techniques are quite popular. The allure of freezing fat and other non-invasive procedures is that anesthesia is not necessary. These procedures allow for rapid recovery, do not require downtime and pose minimal (if any) risk to the patient’s health.
