In today’s selfie-crazed society, everyone wants to look as youthful and as fit as possible. Fat reduction is a constant trending topic that keeps the internet buzzing with questions about everything from quick diets to liposuction. This writer recently attended the Aesthetic Agent of Change event, which brought together leading Atlanta beauty evangelists — top plastic surgeons and dermatologists — to discuss today’s most popular trends. Ryan Olohan, the managing director of healthcare, Google; Mike Jafar, vice president of medical aesthetics body contouring, Allergan; Dr. Max Lehfeldt, Teleos Plastic Surgery; and Dr. Charles Boyd, the founder of B.O.Y.D. Beauty, brought their expertise to Westin Buckhead Atlanta Hotel to discuss CoolSculpting.
CoolSculpting is a noninvasive, fat-freezing body contouring procedure that is growing in popularity. It is an FDA-cleared, nonsurgical fat-reduction treatment that uses controlled cooling to freeze and ultimately eliminate stubborn fat.
I sat down with plastic surgeon Dr. Charles Boyd to gain insight on the treatment.
He’s been practicing since 2009 in Michigan; and he’s also licensed in several other states including Georgia, California, Florida and New York.
Boyd shared that in 2011, he was the first physician in Michigan to get CoolSculpting, “I went to Harvard for medical school and that technology came out of Harvard so I heard about it even as a student. Then, when it came to fruition, I was really interested. First thing is … does it work? That’s the first question that people have. And, is it true? Can you have something that truly eliminates your fat? Is it noninvasive and nonsurgical? Being a surgeon … those were my number one questions. And, I tested it on myself and my staff. In conclusion, it works. It’s noninvasive and it’s [a] permanent reduction, which is the key.”
Dr. Boyd explains that the side effects of the procedure can include temporary numbness and slight tingling.
The number of CoolSculpting treatments that a patient needs is also specific to each patient, Dr. Boyd adds, “If you are young and fit and just have a little stubborn area maybe just one treatment if it is someone who is middle age with a belly roll it may be six treatments.”
CoolSculpting generally costs $750 to $1500, depending upon the number of treatments. In response to a query about how the average person can afford the treatment, Dr. Boyd shared, “There are ways to do financing, payment plans and different ways to do it and in the long run I think it’s cheaper than the fat diets a lot of people do.”
There was a live demo of a woman getting CoolSculpting. The procedure normally lasts 35 minutes and the patient is able to multitask as long as he or she remains seated with the devices attached. After the live demo, the patient mentioned having a very cold sensation in the treatment areas that became numb.
This was so interesting to watch in person because you really get a sense of how quick and noninvasive it is. Head over to www.coolsculpting.com for more information.
