Terrible Coolsculpting Experience - Cuyahoga Falls, OH

I received coolsculpting services on 5/27/2016 on my outer thighs and lower abdomen. On my initial consult I was examined by the Nurse practitioner and the financial consultant about the services. I openly asked about what my expectation of results would be and was assured by both that I am an excellent candidate and that I would be able to see a 25% reduction in the areas treated. I showed pictures to the financial consultant of my "problem" area in my wedding gown as well and was assured that area would be noticeably reduced by my wedding date in October 2016. (As this was my main reason for getting the coolsculpting) On the date of my procedure I spoke with a second nurse practitioner about whether she felt I am a good candidate for this procedure as I had read online that everyone is not a good candidate and that worried me. I expressed I would not want to spend the large amount for this procedure if I would not see noticeable results. I also expressed that I would not want this done if multiple treatments were going to be needed, as I was doing this specifically for my wedding, as well as the price of multiple treatments. I once again was greatly assured that I am a perfect candidate and they would not recommend it for me if I weren't. Said I was not overweight and had the type of "squeezable fat" that coolsculpting was made for, and that I would have great results with just one treatment. She also stated that they would "make it right" if I didn't receive the results they promised by either reimbursement or a repeat procedure. Therefore, I moved forward with the procedure. I experienced the swelling and tenderness as expected, and was one of the few who experienced the nerve pain that the procedure can cause. I was prescribed gabapentin for this and it subsided approximately 14 days post procedure. At my 2 month follow up comparison pictures were taken by the nurse practitioner. She pointed to the before and afters and said (from only one image) that there may be a slight change noticed. She asked me to come back in 1 month (3 months post procedure) to give it more time to work. I returned one month later 8/19/2016 and they obtained pictures again to compare. Both the nurse practitioner (different from the first 2)and the financial consultant agreed that there was just a subtle change in one or two of the pictures (thighs) and there was no change in the lower abdomen. As I spoke with Her she also stated that this does not normally happen and there aren't many people who don't see results like me. She told me she would contact the managers and talk with the nurses about my case and also a zeltiq consultant would be notified. She apologized that I did not get the ideal results as I should have. On 8/23/16 I received a phone call regarding my follow up her. She stated that all of the nurses and management, as well as a Zeltiq employee reviewed my before and after images and said that they all thought there were "subtle changes" noted. She said if I wanted more noticeable results I could pay and have the procedure re-done. They did not offer any sort of reimbursement nor a repeated treatment for my troubles. I expressed that I would have never paid $2700 to only get changes described as subtle, that are only noticeable if one had to analyze a before and after picture. I did not gain any weight. My clothing fits the same. My wedding gown fits and shows the same area that I had treated as it did before treatment. These are not the results that I was assured I would receive by 3 separate employees when I expressed my concern about the results I would have. I feel I was misguided and lied to by the staff at Ideal Image to get me to spend money. Especially when I directly expressed my concerns beforehand and asked about what to expect and was told by everyone involved that I would have a noticeable reduction in the treated areas. By both visual, percentage lost, and the fit of my clothing. Had I been told I would only notice subtle results only seen when comparing photos I would have never gotten this done.
Also, I used the ideal image credit card to pay for this procedure. They approved me the day of my consult and I was billed immediately with my first payment due before I had even had the procedure done. I do not feel this was appropriate either as I hadn't even received services yet, and could have still changed my mind. I should not have been billed until my procedure had been done.

The fact that up until upper management had to be involved, the staff I spoke with who viewed my before and after pictures all agreed that these were not results that should have been seen. Yet, once upper management was involved and said subtle changes are seen in some images they did not want to proceed with rectifying this situation.

I would not recommend this procedure to anyone. They promise unrealistic results and is not worth the amount of money.