Rochester Doctors

How Long Does the Coolsculpting Procedure Last and How Many Treatments Are Needed?

How long does the coolsculpting procedure last and how many treaments are needed??? I'm interested on having it done on my stomach. Thank you

Results are permanent.  With little exception the human body does not develop any new adipocytes (fat cells)  after about age 17.

CoolSculpting gently cools the skin to a temperature just above freezing and it causes the fat cells to rupture and dissolve away.   This dissolution process starts immediately after the treatment. Patients report a noticeable reduction in unwanted fat usually starting at about week 2 to 3 with a maximizing the dissolution of the unwanted fat somewhere between months two and three.  The procedure takes about one hour.

In our practice and we have performed over 500 treatments we see that patients report a significant and satisfying in unwanted fat in 80 to 85% of cases. I would say in the successful cases2 of 3 patients need only one treatment.  About one third of these patients will elect to have a second or 3rd  treatment at the 2-6 month point.

Charles Crutchfield, MD

Minneapolis Dermatologic Surgeon

Painful Itching After CoolSculpting - Is This Normal?

I did the procedure on my lower and upper abdomen 3 weeks ago. Still painful and itchy, is it common? Please help.

Pain after cool skull thing is normal. I actually see two types of discomfort after the treatments. In about 5% of patients they will experience an intense tingling discomfort the last about 15 minutes after we remove the handpiece. Patients have described this similar to your leg up falling asleep but slightly more intense. The most important thing is to let patients know that it will disappear in 15 or 20 minutes. As long as patients are aware of  this ahead of time it is not problematic.

The second is a slightly more mysterious discomfort. About 5% of patients have a longer-lasting irritating discomfort in the treatment area. This has been reportedin my patietns  to last anywhere from 1 to 4 weeks.

Fortunately we have developed a treatment protocol with prescription medications that can virtually immediately eliminate the discomfort  in a small percentage of cases in which it occurs.

Charles Crutchfield, MD

Minneapolis Dermatologic Surgeon

Is It Ok for Someone Other Than a Doctor to Do Injectable Fillers?

Of course injectable fillers are available from a lot of unqualified/under-trained providers, so I thought going to a dermatologist or facial plastic surgeon was the way to go. However, I'm getting the impression that some of them have Physician Assistants, maybe even nurses, doing the injections. To me, it seems if I'm not being injected by the doctor I'm still putting myself at the same risk by having an inexperienced injector as if I went to a medi-spa. Would love to hear your candid thoughts

The most important thing about receiving any cosmetic treatments utilizing injectableagents is who is at the other end of the needle.

Botox, Dysport, Restylane and Juvederm are our FDA regulated treatments and are only available to licensed  physicians. Different states will have different regulations as to what tasks a physician may delegate to his staff.

A board certified dermatologist/ENT/Plastic Surgeon has had  extensive training in the anatomy physiology, and repair of skin. When you receive the treatment your goal should be to receive the highest quality treatment from a doctor with the most knowledge and experience.

You may be offered lower prices from a strip mall medi-spas who have no actual medical director on-site. In cases like this you really have no idea of the experience or training of the person offering the treatment.

When it comes to your face demand only the best.  When I was in medical school I remember a plaque on the wall of a shoe repair business I frequented the plaque said the bitterness of poor quality lasts much longer than the sweetness of low price.

Not only should you insist and expect that the physician perform your treatment you should ask three basic questions 1.  what is the medical name of what you're injecting into my face?  2.  how does it work? 3. what are the anatomical sites  of where you're injecting it?

If the person doing the injections can't tell you what the scientific name of what they're using is, the mechanism of action of how it works,  and 3.  where they're injecting it,, thenthey shouldn't be doing it.

Charles Crutchfield, MD

Minneapolis Dermatologic Surgeon