Liposuction vs CoolSculpting - Which is best for me?

You may have already heard of liposuction and CoolSculpting. Both are popular treatments designed to permanently remove fat cells from the body, leaving you with a sleeker, more contoured, physique. 

However the expert surgeons here at the Cadogan Clinic believe that liposuction treatment is a far more effective way of helping you to reach your body goals.

But what is it that makes liposuction a superior treatment? Here we will explore the differences between liposuction and CoolSculpting.

What are liposuction and CoolSculpting?

Liposuction and CoolSculpting are not weight loss treatments, but are commonly used to remove stubborn fatty deposits which a person has not managed to lose through diet and exercise.

In liposuction, the patient is given a local or general anesthetic before a tube is inserted into the treatment area. The fat cells are loosened before being sucked out by a vacuum. Parts of the body which are typically treated with lipo are the buttocks, hips, thighs, abdomen, chin, upper arms, breasts and knees. There are a number of different liposuction techniques, including Lipomatic, MicroAir, BodyJet and MicroLiposuction. All are highly effective in ridding the body of unwanted fat cells.

CoolSculpting involves a special tool that cools fat cells down to a freezing temperature. This is supposed to turn the cells into a crystal-like structure which will eventually shatter, allowing the body to flush out the shattered pieces over the following weeks. However this is not always the case. Weight loss is often negligible and, in severe cases, CoolSculpting can have the reverse effect of causing the fat cells to grow.

Here at the Cadogan Clinic, we believe CoolSculpting is an ineffective treatment and as a result we do not offer it at the clinic.

Benefits

The obvious benefit to liposuction is that it eliminates fat cells, resulting in more definition in the treatment area. As long as you eat sensibly and maintain a healthy lifestyle, you will be able to maintain your slimmed down, contoured, body. Once they are gone, fat cells do not grow back.

Liposuction removes a far greater amount of fat cells than CoolSculpting, therefore the results will be more noticeable. Patients who have had liposuction report high satisfaction rates after treatment. 

CoolSculpting is a non-invasive procedure, meaning it involves no anesthetic, incisions or downtime afterwards. As a result, you can find CoolSculpting offered at high street beauty clinics by practitioners who are not medically trained, which may increase the risk of side effects or a substandard result.

CoolSculpting usually requires more than one treatment and it may take several months before you notice any results. These results can vary wildly from patient to patient.

However liposuction takes just one session and all patients can expect to see a notable difference to their bodies within one to three months. Liposuction is therefore a much more reliable method of fat removal, achieving better results across the board.

Longevity

Once fat cells have been removed from the body, they are gone forever. They cannot grow back. But both liposuction and CoolSculpting should not be viewed as a weight loss method and should not be considered an alternative to exercise. 

You can enjoy the results of your liposuction for many years to come, but you will need to exercise and eat healthily in order to maintain the result.

Risks

CoolSculpting comes with a list of potential risks and side effects. The official CoolSculpting website warns that during the procedure, a person may experience “sensations of pulling, tugging, mild pinching, intense cold, tingling, stinging, aching, and cramping” at the treatment site. 

Common side effects after a CoolSculpting procedure include “temporary redness, swelling, blanching, bruising, firmness, tingling, stinging, tenderness, cramping, aching, itching and skin sensitivity”.

One rare, but significant, potential side effect of CoolSculpting is paradoxical adipose hyperplasia. This severe side effect causes fat cells in the treatment site to grow larger rather than smaller. When this happens, it can cause immense emotional distress to the patient. Should this side effect occur, it can be successfully treated with liposuction. 

Paradoxical adipose hyperplasia is not a side effect that is associated with liposuction. Liposuction treatments will never increase the size of the remaining fat cells.

Liposuction side effects are limited due to the relatively straightforward nature of the procedure. But the procedure does come with side effects and bigger risks attached, which include numbness, embolism, edema, allergic reaction and infection. However, side effects and complications are extremely rare when the liposuction is being carried out by highly-trained and experienced surgeons, like the team working here at the Cadogan Clinic. CoolSculpting can be carried out by practitioners that have no medical training, which increases the likelihood of side effects occurring.

Costs

As liposuction is a more major procedure, which produces superior results, it is not surprising that it costs more than CoolSculpting. A liposuction procedure at the Cadogan Clinic starts from £3,950 for one area of the body. Two areas of liposuction costs £6,000 and three areas of liposuction costs £6,900. In comparison, for CoolSculpting you can expect to pay from around £650 to £800 per session. However it is worth bearing in mind that you will need more than one session of CoolSculpting so the final cost of your CoolSculpting treatment may be considerably higher than anticipated. And as CoolSculpting produces inferior results to liposuction, you would be far better investing your money in a treatment which produces fast, effective and long-lasting results.

Liposuction vs CoolSculpting - the takeaway

We don’t offer CoolSculpting at the Cadogan Clinic as we feel the treatment is significantly less effective when it comes to achieving meaningful results. If you are looking for significant outcomes, then liposuction is the best treatment and the only one you should be considering.

The Cadogan Clinic is considered to be the home of liposuction in the UK. Our founder, Mr Bryan Mayou, is the surgeon responsible for introducing liposuction into the UK more than 40 years ago. More than four decades later, we now have the country's leading team of liposuction experts working here at the clinic, who have more experience than anyone else in the various techniques available. We perform more liposuction surgeries than any other private clinic in the UK.

Book an appointment with one of our liposuction experts at our Chelsea clinic to find out more about your treatment options.