During Sculpsure treatment, does lowering or increasing the intensity effect how much fat cells it destroys? Or does it matter?

Thank you for your question.  Pain is a very subjective thing - the exact same stimulus may be perceived as painful by one person and totally comfortable by another.  With SculpSure, the company trains its providers to adjust the power levels to the point where the patient feels a little discomfort, but not intolerable - more like a 4 or 5 out of 10 (not 8).  It  may be possible that the settings were as low as they can go and you were still feeling pain.  At my office, we always try to set the power to the point where the patient is at least feeling mild discomfort (2 or 3 out of 10), but occasionally, we have gone up a little more (4-5/10) in the belief that more energy delivered equals better results.  I say "belief," because there are no studies to show that this is true.  With that said, the good news is that you should expect some good results, given your degree of pain.  Pain after treatment is also variable, both from one patient to the next and also from one site to the next.  For example, when we first received our SculpSure device, we, of course, had to try it out on ourselves.  One of my staff did her tummy and also her outer thighs; I did my left abdomen and left love handle (now I'm a little lop-sided, lol).  Well, my love handle hurt quite a bit afterwards - for about a week; but my tummy did not hurt at all.  My staff member had the same experience, only the opposite - her tummy hurt and thigh didn't.  We all had great results though (you can see the photos on our Facebook page, if you're interested - see link, below)!  The point is, some bodies are more sensitive than others and some body parts are more sensitive than others, but from my experience, they all will respond to SculpSure.  It's unfortunate that it hurt you so much, but the silver lining is that you should have a great result - let's hope so!

Thank you for your question. I am disappointed to hear about your discomfort during the procedure. SculpSure is intended to be a painless procedure completed in 25 minutes. I suggest that you next consult in person with a board certified facial plastic surgeon for another treatment. Please also review the video on my page from a SculpSure patient!Best wishes,

SculpSure offers the ability to adjust the settings during treatment.  We expect some discomfort for patients. However, if the pain level was too high, it should have been communicated to your Dr. If you have any concerns, please consult your Dr.  The energy level doesnt typically make much difference in the results if you finish the full course. Best, Dr. Emer

The energy level is adjustable on the SculpSure device, so I would say it should never be painful for anyone.  The effective level is determined by the sensation that the patient feels during the treatment, so if you were experiencing pain, I would have decreased the energy level.  The fat destruction zone should feel like tingly, cramping or periods of deep warmth, but not pain.  

I am sorry that you found the treatment painful. Most don't. But yes, the higher the setting, the better your result. Glad that you are out of discomfort now. 

Thanks
for your question. SculpSure is not designed to be painful. How pain is felt
depends on each person’s threshold and is usually communicated to the person
doing the treatment. The levels are designed to increase and decrease so if
there is mild discomfort, it’s fleeting. The destruction of fat cells is why
SculpSure is successful; changing the levels doesn’t create a dramatic
difference. Best, Dr. Katz

One of the benefits of SculpSure is the ability to adjust the settings during the treatment.  Some slight discomfort is tolerated and even encouraged to achieve the best results.  If the pain level is too high, then the settings need to lowered.  Even if you rate the pain at a 8 on a 1-10 pain level, the discomfort is very short lived and certainly better then undergoing a surgical procedure (liposuction).  If you see the desired reduction in fat cells, I am sure you will feel that the treatment discomfort was worth it.

It is necessary to heat the fat, not the skin where the nerve sensation is. Sometimes it is not possible to treat the fat under the skin because of transference of the heat back to the skin from the fat. It sounds like the fat got heated higher than the 115 degrees needed, or the nerves are too sensitive. It is hard to say, but use a lower setting on the next treatment.

Thank you for your question. I am sorry you had such discomfort during the procedure. To be fair, some patients are a bit more sensitive than others, but the SculpSure apparatus has 10 possible energy levels - and it sounds like you should have been lowered a little. I encourage my patients to try and tolerate a smidge of discomfort if able - only to potentially see better results. Has this been studied officially? No, but there are anecdotes that if a patient can tolerate a higher setting then they achieve better results. With that being said, I will often adjust the energy setting if a patient is in pain, or at least deliver a cool blast (which both lowers the setting and simultaneously cools the skin) to ensure that the patient is never in frank pain. Some of my patients self pre-medicate with tylenol - just for their own peace of mind. As you said though, you're not in any pain after the procedure - and that's the best part of it. It really is very little downtime. In my experience, patients who tolerate a higher temperature setting may have some more tenderness when the area is touched (like a muscle soreness) for a couple of days, or even firm nodules that gradually dissipate after a month or two. Or, you may feel completely fine. Best of luck - you should start to see results in about 6 weeks with maximal effects at 3 months. 

Hello and thank you for your question. I am so sorry to hear that you had a painful experience with SculpSure. Every patient is unique, you do not need to use higher settings to receive better results. Not every patient is treated in the same way.  Patients may experience a slight tingling sensation during the procedure, but it is not usually considered painful. SculpSure fat reduction treatments deliver heat below the surface of the skin to safely destroy fat cells. The SculpSure uses constant cooling technology to keep the patient comfortable.