There are diets that are impossible. I mean really impossible because the effort is impossible, it simply doesn’t work, or at the very least, it stops working beyond a certain point.
To those of you who are starting to despair, there are some really cool medically proven tricks to help you get rid of that muffin top or slim down those thunder thighs. Cryolipolysis and liposuction are medical fat reduction procedures. The main difference is cryolipolysis is a non-invasive procedure that gets rid of fat cells in the area treated without surgery, whereas liposuction is an invasive surgical procedure. We speak to Consultant Plastic Surgeon Dr Chia Hui Ling about the differences between these treatments.
WHAT IS LIPOSUCTION?
Dr Chia: Liposuction involves surgically removing fat from the body and therefore frequently involves general anaesthesia. Small incisions are made in the skin to gain access to a fatty bulge. After some prep work on the area, a cannula is inserted into one of the small incisions made and suction is turned on. The surgeon sculpts the area by moving the cannula through the fatty tissue which gets sucked from the body into a plastic canister.
During VASER Liposelection, ultrasonic waves are used to break up fat, making fat removal more efficient and therefore theoretically reduces the downtime of the procedure. VASER also allows for sculpting very close to skin, resulting in a nice skin tightening effect at the same time. Typically 1 to 4 litres of fat are removed during a day surgery procedure (That’s quite a lot given that fat isn’t really that heavy!).
WHAT IS CRYOLIPOLYSIS?
Dr Chia: Cryolipolysis applies extreme cold temperatures to skin using a special clamping tool to destroy fat cells in a given part of the body. Oddly enough, at certain temperatures, fat freezes without affecting other tissue (such as skin, vessels and blood). Treated fat cells undergo programmed cell death, and are naturally eliminated by the body through the liver. There is no downtime and you can return to normal activities immediately although some people may experience mild bruising of the treatment area which normally goes away within a few days. Each treatment takes approximately 60 minutes. The Coolshape treatment is even able to treat 2 areas simultaneously, a real time-saver!
CRYOLIPOLYSIS VERSUS LIPOSUCTION – WHICH IS FOR YOU?
Dr Chia: Both treatments are comparable in terms of fat reduction. However, more often than not, more than 1 treatment is required for cryolipolysis whereas one liposuction treatment is enough to achieve good results. In Vaser Liposelection, there is also a moderate skin tightening effect. There is no downtime for Coolshape whereas liposuction surgery comes with some downtime – expect some swelling initially, so results will not be immediately apparent and final results can be seen about 1 to 2 months post surgery. Up to 25% of fat cells can be eliminated with a single treatment of Coolshape, which sounds pretty good given that this is completely non-invasive. Coolshape results are best evaluated approximately 8 to 10 weeks post treatment. For this reason, treatments should be repeated only after 8 weeks. Coolshape is best for those who are near their ideal weight, but are unhappy with their body shape, whereas liposuction is probably more ideal and efficient for those who need to lose more fat in a short period of time.
By Megan Thomas