Lipodissolve or Coolsculpting? Can I have both on my love handles?

Without a doubt, CoolSculpting.!  I believe that it is the most effective for love handles second to liposuction

Coolsculpting is an excellent form of non-invasive  fat reduction for
the right patient. Some applicators take 1 or 2 hours but the new advantage
applicators take only 35 minutes and have significantly less risk for delayed
onset pain (especially in the abdomen). Results are seen at 2 months and
typically 1-3 treatments will be necessary on each area to achieve ideal
results. The number of treatments depends on the amount of fat there and the
patient's goals.  There is not downtime and the results can be impressive
in the right patient.  We also use the Zimmer Z-wave for improved patient
comfort and added results. The best candidates are those who are in pretty
good shape with areas of stubborn fat that won't go away no matter what. In office evaluation is necessary to evaluate what procedure would be best for you.

My best,

Sheila Nazarian, MD, MMM

Beverly Hills, Board Certified Plastic Surgeon

Thank you for your question. I would recommend consulting with a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon for best treatment plan. I hope this helps!

CoolSculpting and Lipodissolve could both possibly give improvement to love handles.  You would need to be examined to determine if you might be a good candidate for either treatment.  The results after CoolSculpting can take 3-4 months to occur, so there would be no sense in having CoolSculpting done and then having lipodissolve the next day.  I would recommend having one treatment or the other and allowing the maximum amount of time to see results before deciding if you need further treatment or not.   

I recommend against doing lipodissolve as it is unregulated and hasn't been scientifically proven to be consistently effective.If you have Coolsculpting on your love handles, you want to let that area heal prior to have any further treatments on the same area the next day...certainly lipodissolve is not a good idea the day after coolsculpting as the tissue is still healing.In general, I suggest considering tumescent liposuction or Smartlipo or a similar internal laser liposuction procedure as opposed to Coolsculpting, an external laser liposuction procedure. Your results may be better with Smartlipo, Slimlipo and similar lasers or with tumescent liposuction.

CoolSculpting can surely be performed on the love handles in most individuals. An evaluation should be made by a board-certified dermatologist or plastic surgeon and then you can learn all the pros and cons of the procedure. CoolSculpting is FDA approved for this indication. Lipodissolve is a controversial subject and you need to be aware that at this time there is no FDA-approved lipodissolve product that can be injected at this time. Some still use their own concoction of products to treat fat; but this may not be safe in all hands and in many places this is not something that is standard of care at this time. But there is one product at the FDA right now which has been studied for submental (neck) fat reduction. We do expect to hear from the FDA on this product sometime in 2015. So most would recommend CoolSculpting now, and not combine this with anything that is not FDA cleared. I hope that helps.

Dear ph7amood:Thanks for your question particularly comparing CoolSculpting to LipoDissolve!CoolSculpting (CS) is a limited but effective treatment to reduce the bulge of the muffin-top or love handle. While the skin will not "tighten", it will shrink or accommodate to the new reduced fat volume. CS can "treat to transformation".
This concept is that you would continue multiple sessions of CoolSculpting up
and down, and around the trunk until you are pleased. Consider that CS reduces
the superficial fat under the skin up-to 20% of its thickness in limited
applicator size areas.  CS takes 8 or more weeks following
session to see your optimized results.LipoDissolve is a injectible liquid that stimulates absorption of superficial fat. It too is limited to the area injected and can have very significant consequences such as concave irregularities, infection, cysts and abcesses particularly if not done properly. It is not an US FDA approved medicine or technique. There is a similar  drug currently under testing and not yet available for under the chin named ATX-101. (See the below reference). It's off-label use will need months to years for its action and concerns to surface.  I recommend you defer from the use of these injectibles at all knowing that CS is FDA approve, tried and true. Depending on the amount of fat or contouring you wish to achieve, Liposuction maybe your best approach.Please consult with a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon with experience in the treatment options available to you for your best results. I wish you all the best!Happy New Year!

coolsculpting selectively freezes fat cells to induce programmed cell death. It is FDA approved to treat the flanks or "love handles" and has been an effective treatment for this area. You would probably be better off having the coolsculpting done and waiting to see the effects rather than having come concoction injected into the same area after the treatment.