Do radio frequency treatments actually kill fat cells or just shrink them / cause them to leak?

Question

Hello. I am confused about whether or not radio frequency targeted to “kill” fat cells such as Emsculpt Neo , Exilis, etc . actually kill the fat cells or just cause them to leak. I’ve heard different things from different doctors. I know Coolsculpting kills the fat. Does radio frequency measure up to Coolsculpting in killing fat cells forever or is it just temporary shrinkage? Thank you. :)

Drew Varano, MD · Answer

Coolsculpting works by cryolipolysis getting to -12 C which causes cell death by apoptosis 22% of the covered tissue.  . Radio frequency is heat based intended to tighten skin and not necessarily cause fat cell death when used in many instances  . When RF gets above 70C this can cause lysis of adipose (fat cells) to break apart when done invasively ( under the skin) within seconds  . Exilis doesn’t get to temp of 70C  and the heat is intended to tighten skin. If it got to 70 C it would burn the skin since it’s non invasive . If a lower temp of heat is applied for a longer period of time this can cause fat cells to shrink but I’m not aware of the percentage or degrees of adipose death, it’s not very effective for fat loss compared to other non invasive options. Emsculpt neo works by electromagnetic muscle stimulation to increase /hypertrophy muscles . It’s second function is  to heat the adipose tissue to 43–45°C uniformly over a longer period of time 30+ minutes . Adipocytes exposed to temperatures in this range begin to lose their cellular viability and enter into the apoptotic process, Consequently, the apoptotic cells lose membrane integrity and are digested by immune cells, As a result, the number of fat cells in the treated area are reduced but to a lesser percentage than  a single coolsculpting round.

Do radio frequency treatments actually kill fat cells or just shrink them / cause them to leak?

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Do radio frequency treatments actually kill fat cells or just shrink them / cause them to leak?

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Everything you need to know about Exilis

Our mission is to create a world where every investment in modern beauty is Worth It.