CoolSculpting vs. Liposuction: Compare Options for Meeting Your Goals
CoolSculpting or liposuction. How can you choose which is right for your body?
Choosing between the two procedures can depend on a few factors:
What are your personal goals?
What's your budget?
What side effects fall under the acceptable amount of risk you’re willing to take?
This guide will help you explore these questions and help compare CoolSculpting and liposuction to see which is the right fit for you.
Table of Contents
CoolSculpting vs. Liposuction: Let’s Compare
CoolSculpting and liposuction both permanently remove fat from targeted areas around the body. Both procedures have different safety concerns and come with different benefits and risks. Each has different price points and different results.
Each procedure is targeted towards different people, though neither is explicitly intended for weight loss. With a healthy diet and regular exercise, these procedures can be used to maintain your weight over time.
At Barnett Dermatology, we want to help you compare the potential coolsculpting vs liposuction results and risks so you can make an informed decision that best suits you. Dr. Bardett specializes in dermatologic and cosmetic surgery and has been practicing dermatology since 2009.
Here is a breakdown of some of the similarities and differences between CoolSculpting and liposuction.
Benefits
Here are some of the benefits of CoolSculpting:
Requires no surgery
Eliminates stubborn fat
Requires little to no downtime
It’s safe and effective
Minimal risk of complications
There are customizable treatment plans
It's FDA-cleared
Here are some benefits of Liposuction:
Removes remnant pockets of fat after gastric bypass surgery or extreme weight loss.
Liposuction has benefits beyond the cosmetic. It has been used to treat:
Lymphedema: A chronic condition where excess fluid is known as lymph collects in the tissues. This causes edema or swelling.
Lipodystrophy syndrome: This is an imbalance in fact accumulation. Fat collects in one area of the body and decreases in another.
Lipomas: These are benign, fatty tumors.
Gynecomastia: This is fat that accumulates under a man's breast.
It's FDA-cleared
Aggressive fat reduction (50% - 70% reduction) in a single setting
Treatment Process
CoolSculpting is a non-invasive procedure also known as cryolipolysis.
During the procedure, the physician trained CoolSculpting will use a vacuum applicator to selectively cool the skin.
When the fat cells are exposed to these critically low temperatures this crystallizes and kills targeted fat cells.
After this is complete, the provider will gently massage the area to break up the fat crystals. Over time, these fat cells are broken down by the body and removed through natural processes.
This procedure does not affect other cells in the body. This means there is no other damage to the surrounding tissue, and there should be no scarring.
Liposuction is a procedure done by a certified plastic surgeon.
They will make one or several small cuts around the area a fact. After local or general anesthesia or sedation, the surgeon will insert a thin tube called a cannula which is used to remove the fat.
Commonly Treated Areas
CoolSculpting targets the areas on the body with stubborn fat including:
Submental region ("double chin" area)
Thighs
Abdomen
Flanks
Underneath the buttocks
Upper arms
Back
Liposuction has a wide range of body regions it can target including:
Abdomen
Waist
Back
Hips
Buttocks
Thighs
Knees
Upper arms
Chin and neck
Results: Immediate or Delayed?
CoolSculpting results take time to show.
You can expect a 20% to 25% elimination of fat cells in the targeted area. The best results typically show in about two to four months.
Liposuction results are immediate.
During the surgery, those fat cells are immediately moved from the body. The body adjusts over time to the change and this settling process may take anywhere from six months to a year.
Number of Treatments Needed
The results from CoolSculpting are best seen after two to three one-hour sessions. This varies depending on your body and the targeted area.
Liposuction in a targeted area
Safety
In a meta-analysis (an article that looks at many different articles from different researchers to find patterns in the data) posted in the Aesthetic Surgery Journal, researchers found that out of 1,445 patients, only 12 (0.82%) reported complications.
They also found that cryolipolysis reliably decreases subcutaneous tissue deposits.
In one study published in the Plastic and Reconstruction Surgery journal, researchers found that cryolipolysis had no significant effects on lipid levels or liver function.
Side Effects
Each procedure has its own risk of side effects. And there are some pre-existing conditions that are not for each treatment.
It's important to talk to a qualified dermatologist or board-certified plastic surgeon to make sure that either CoolSculpting or liposuction is right for you.
For either procedure, it's recommended that you adopt healthy eating habits, and engage in regular physical activity afterward to maintain the effects.
Some short-term side effects of CoolSculpting may include:
Erythema
Temporary swelling, bruising, or redness
Discomfort or a tugging sensation a the procedure site
While very rare, CoolSculpting may lead to paradoxical adipose hyperplasia (PAH). This causes fat in the treated area to grow larger. This appears to be more common in males.
Liposuction, while relatively safe, does have more potential side effects than CoolSculpting:
Pain
Swelling
Bruising
Infection
Infections are rare, however, because liposuction is a more invasive procedure, the risk of infection is much higher. A severe skin infection can be life-threatening.
Uneven skin
Your skin can appear bumpy, wavy, or withered due to uneven fabric. If your skin has poor elasticity or abnormal healing, this may be exacerbated.
Fluid accumulation
Seromas, which are temporary pockets of fluid, can form under the skin. This may need to be drained with a needle.
Numbness
You may feel temporary or permanent numbness in the treatment area. Liposuction may also cause temporary nerve irritation.
Fat embolism
This happens when pieces of loose fat break away and become trapped in a blood vessel. This fat gathers in the lungs or it may travel to the brain.
Heart, lung, and kidney problems
There is a shift in fluid levels in your body as fluids are being injected and suctioned out. This may cause potentially life-threatening kidney, lung, and heart problems.
Lidocaine toxicity
Lidocaine is the aesthetic often injected during liposuction to help manage pain. It's generally safe, but in rare circumstances, toxicity can occur. This may cause serious heart and central nervous system problems.
Internal puncture
Rarely, the cannula may puncture an internal organ. This may require emergency surgery to repair that issue.
Is CoolSculpting as Effective as Liposuction?
How effective CoolSculpting and liposuction depend on:
The patient and their lifestyle
The area being treated
Is the procedure being used for stubborn areas of fat or weight loss?
Both procedures remove fat cells permanently, however, liposuction can remove a larger amount of fat per session compared with CoolSculpting.
For CoolSculpting, people may notice the full effects after a few weeks, while others may take a couple of months. The effects of liposuction are immediate, however, it can take the body months to adjust to the new contour after the procedure.
The overall recovery depends on the number of fat cells removed and the area targeted. You should be able to return to your normal activities immediately after the procedure.
The recovery after liposuction is much longer, with the body needing about two weeks to fully recover. Similar to Coolsculpting, the size of the treated area affects the recovery time.
If a small area was treated you may be able to resume work within a few days.
Larger areas may take around ten days to recover enough to resume most normal activities.
You should avoid strenuous activity for around four weeks post-surgery.
CoolSculpting vs. Liposuction: 3 Factors to Consider When Deciding Which Is Best for You
Your Goals
CoolSculpting is used to treat stubborn pockets of fat on the body that have not been removed through diet or exercise. If you are uncomfortable with the idea of surgery, CoolSculpting is a non-invasive means of reducing fat.
Results take time to show, with the best results showing after two to three months.
Liposuction is better suited to those who have a larger area of excess fat on your body contour or if you're looking for a more dramatic change in your body contour. Liposuction is also a procedure that can be performed with other surgical procedures such as autologous fat transfer.
Autologous fat transfer is when you look to remove fat from one area of the body and re-inject it into other areas such as the:
Breasts
Buttocks
Face
Price
When comparing liposuction vs CoolSculpting, cost can vary from the number of treatments or the surface area you wish to treat.
The cost of CoolSculpting varies between $2000 and $4000.
This cost involves a personalized treatment plan design for you by your dermatologist depending on:
Your budget
Your personal goals
The number of sessions to reach these goals
According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the average cost of liposuction is $3,548 as of 2019.
Recovery Time
As a non-surgical procedure, CoolSculpting has a fast recovery. You should be able to return to your normal activities immediately following the procedure.
Some decide to do CoolSculpting on a long lunch break and can continue their work immediately afterward.
Because liposuction is a surgery, the recovery takes longer. You can typically return to work and continue most normal activities within a week after the surgery.
Many side effects such as ...
swelling,
bruising,
and numbness,
... will ease over the next few weeks or months after the procedure. The higher amount of fat cells removed, for example, in a larger area of treatment, the longer the recovery will take.
Barnett Dermatology: Your Trusted Choice for CoolSculpting
As a second-generation dermatologist and with years of experience, Dr. Channing Barnett, M.D. is ready to answer all of your questions about CoolSculpting.
She is board certified by the American Board of Dermatology and has particular expertise in dermatologic and cosmetic surgery. Dr. Channing Barnett values maintaining the healthiest skin possible by using minimally invasive procedures for maximum skincare results and long-term benefits.
