After CoolSculpting is the numbness you feel the dead fat cells?

Question

I had coolsculpting done a little over a week ago so I know I'm still healing. However, I still feel numb in my abdominal area and I'm assuming that it's the dead fat cells waiting to be eliminated. Just wanted to know if that's the case.

Kimberly Butterwick, MD · Answer

You won’t feel any sensations related to your fat cells collapsing and being eliminated after CoolSculpting. The numbness arises because the cooling applicators affect the outer sheath of your nerve fibers temporarily. Fleeting numbness and itchiness are common post-procedure sensations. They should resolve within a week or two as the nerve sheath begins to regenerate. This can rarely take 4 – 8 weeks, but is never a permanent problem. Please find a board-certified dermatologist to administer your CoolSculpting to get the most uniform and beautiful results and have all of your questions answered.

Michael I. Echavez, MD · Answer

It is fairly normal to have temporary numbness after a CoolSculpting treatment.  CoolSculpting works by freezing the fat cells to destroy a portion of them.  This cooling causes the nerve endings in the skin to become temporarily affected, causing the numbness.  It can take a few weeks for the numbness to completely resolve.

Lana Long, MD · Answer

You asked a good question.  The fat cells undergo a slow death,cryolipolysis, after a Coolsculpting treatment and are slowly eliminated from the body.   The numbness is likely caused from tiny nerves regenerating and not the actual fat dying.  Mild numbness and mild itching are frequently seen after Coolsculpting and can last several weeks.  Lana Long MD

James Silberzweig, MD · Answer

Numbness over the area treated with CoolSculpting is an expected occurrence that lasts 1-3 weeks. The most likely cause is temporary injury to the nerve endings in the skin. There is no correlation between the amount of numbness and treatment effectiveness. Amount of numbness can even vary from one side to the other.

Robinson Facial Plastic Surgery - Alpharetta · Answer

The sensation you feel is paresthesia (or numbness) from the nerves that were temporarily inflamed during the procedure as well as the lipolysis of the fat cells. The feeling is comparable to a frostbite scenario. This can peak 7-10 days after the procedure and could take 4-6 weeks to dissipate. With time, your sensation should return to normal.

After CoolSculpting is the numbness you feel the dead fat cells?

Answers (5)

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