CoolSculpting at Halley Medical Aesthetics: Abdomen and Thighs Fat Reduction
You know, not many of us are blessed with good genes, especially as we age, we see less and less of good genes manifesting. Sometimes, no matter how hard we exercise or diet, we may have pockets of stubborn fat that refuse to disappear.
For me, they are found in my thighs, buttock and lower abdomen, a typical pear-shape, some people call it.
So I heeded Dr. Terence Tan’s advice to do a CoolSculpting treatment to address these trouble spots, particularly the lower abdomen and outer thighs. CoolSculpting technology has been around for several years. It is a brand name for a procedure that is technically known as “cryolipolysis” or fat freezing.
Cryolipolysis cools the adipose tissue (body fat) in a non-invasive manner, resulting in the breaking down of fat cells without affecting other tissues. The fat cells in the treated area die in a natural way and are dissolved by the body eventually. Fat freezing can be used to get rid of the stubborn fats on our double chin, abdomen, love handles, buttocks, thighs, bra area and arms. As for me, it will be the abdomen and thighs.
CoolSculpting is approved by the US FDA in 2010, and is a popular, non-invasive fat reduction treatment. According to Dr. Terence Tan, who is from Halley Medical Aesthetics, our body stopped producing fat cells at age of 5. While the numbers of fat cells will not increase, the size of each cell will. This is the reason why children who were fat before 5 will be fat in adulthood as well. Basically, they already have a lot of fat cells and each of the fat cells is very big in size too. This problem with child obesity is very real.
CoolSculpting is not for weight loss though, rather it is for people who want to get rid of certain flab in our body parts which exercise and diet cannot address well. Because adults don’t produce fat cells any more, so the number of fat cells destroyed and removed from the body will be permanently gone (hooray!).
That means, if ever we gain weight after this treatment, it is because the remaining numbers of fat cells in our body have expanded in size, not number. I heard most patients can see noticeable results in 3 months, though some may be as early as few weeks.
And THE day has come, when I received my treatment.
With Dr. Terence Tan
I was greeted by the ever-friendly Dr. Terence Tan when I arrived Halley Medical Aesthetics clinic at their new outlet in Orchardgateway. As mentioned in my previous post, they have shifted to Orchardgateway. The new location is within the Orchard shopping belt with Somerset MRT station right below the building.
Treatment on The Right Lower Abdomen
A protective gel pad was placed on the right side of my abdomen and the CoolSculpting applicator was then used to clamp the excess fat. The clamping of the stomach felt like the machine was sucking my tummy (imagine a strong vacuum cleaner head). I felt some suction pressure. After about 10 minutes, my body got accustomed to the suction, I felt more at ease. Gradually, I was able to read, check on my phones and even catch a cat nap while the treatment of 60mins went on.
While the CoolSculpting applicator was doing its job on my right abdomen, Dr Terence Tan and his team were working on my left outer thigh. Unlike most clinics which may only have 1 machine, Halley Medical Aesthetics clinic has 2 CoolSculpting machines (DualSculpting) so these 2 machines are paired together to target multiple areas thus cutting down half the total treatment time. The clinic also carries all the applicators including the CoolMini (for treatment in the double chin, knee fat and bra fat), so no matter where our problem areas are, they have the right applicators for us.
Treatment on The Outer Thighs
Dr Terence Tan used the CoolSmooth Pro applicator on my outer thigh. It was a different kind of applicator from my tummy. This one does not suck in fat, but lie on top of my troubled thigh. To ensure the applicator sits nicely on the troubled spot, Dr Terence Tan and his assistant drew the exact position on my thigh where the applicator should lie, then they used bits of stick-on foam, cooling gel patch and Velcro to strap the applicator securely. The foams are guides to ensure accurate positioning of the applicator while the cooling gel patch protects the skin during treatment.
On the outer thigh area, the treatment time is 75mins. I did not feel any discomfort on my outer thigh treatment, possibly because the thigh is one of the least sensitive areas.
When 75mins was up, the applicators were swapped to treat on the opposite sides – the left lower abdomen and the right outer thigh. This time round I was more prepared, so I was able to get myself relax quickly.
How does it look like immediately after the treatment
Tummy:
My once roly-poly roll of fat was sucked up and condensed to a hardened piece of what I called ‘pork belly’ after the suction cup was removed. The staff spent the next 1min massaging that piece of ‘frozen fatty meat’ to help minimize the swell and aid in the lymphatic drainage of the now-dead fat cells.
No, the tummy did not flatten instantly. From what I know, it takes 12-16 weeks to see results (depending on individuals). So meanwhile, I patiently wait to see the new me.
Outer Thighs:
As the outer thigh is not a sensitive area, I didn’t feel discomfort except numbness, which was fine for me. There wasn’t any physical bulge as far as my naked eyes could see.
First 3 days after the treatment
My tummy became bigger than before (because of the suction). The tummy area was tender, sometimes a little itchy. I could not squat down nor exercise because of the tenderness, but I still went on with life as usual, except wearing loose fitting clothes, and being extra careful sitting or sleeping. The numb sensation on the outer thigh lingered. It wasn’t anything disturbing, I just felt a bit unusual.
First 1 week after the treatment
The tummy size remained the same, but the tenderness has decreased. I still feel itchy at times, which I think is a common symptom of the healing process. I could squat down and was back to low-impact exercises like climbing the steps and working out on the elliptical machine.
While my tummy became more comfortable, the outer thigh however started to ache. It was like a combination of muscle ache and ache from bruises. There was no sign of bruises though. The lingering discomfort did not affect my day-to-day life. However, I was not able to lean on my sides because I would be pressing onto my thighs.
First 2 weeks after treatment
Hooray! The tenderness on the tummy and the discomfort on the thigh have subsided so much that I could sleep a lot better and I have also resumed my mid-intensity exercises like jogging and #BBG. The tummy still looks big although it is smaller than immediately after treatment, but my life is almost back to normal.
First 4 weeks after treatment
It was an amazing week as I observed my tummy shrank in size in an accelerated speed compared to the first 2 weeks. My thighs also shrank as far as my naked eyes could see. Overall I am pretty happy with the progress of my lower body
Are you curious about how I will look 3 months later? Me too! I can’t wait to fit into this pretty cheongsam effortlessly. So, stay tuned!
Youtube link
Meanwhile, if you are considering CoolSculpting, here are 2 video clips I found which are very educational:
Meanwhile, if you are considering CoolSculpting, here are 2 video clips I found which are very educational:
Halley Medical Aesthetics
277 Orchard Road #03-15
Orchard Gateway Singapore 238858
T: 6737 8233
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