RESUMEN
Background: Cryolipolysis is a non-surgical procedure for subcutaneous fat layer reduction by controlled cooling. During the past few years, the use of cryolipolysis for non-invasive body contouring has increased significantly. Objectives: This retrospective study examines patient satisfaction, recommendation rate and patient comfort with the use of an FDA-cleared system (CoolSculpting Elite, Allergan Aesthetics, AbbVie Company, Irvine CA) for cryolipolysis at a single clinic and reports on the results. Methods: Between December 2020 and January 2022, 91 patients were treated with an FDA-cleared cryolipolysis system. To assess patient satisfaction, patients were asked to complete clinical questionnaires three months after their last treatment session. The following questions were asked: painfulness of the treatment, complications, satisfaction with the treatment, consideration of further treatment sessions, and willingness to further recommend the treatment. Results: Eighty-four percent of the 91 patients were female, and 16% were male. The average age was 45.5 years and the mean BMI was 26 kg/m2. Patients rated the treatment in terms of pain and discomfort experienced during the procedures on a scale of 1 to 5, with the value 1 representing not painful and 5 as extremely painful. 40% of the patients evaluated the procedure with 1, 38% with 2, 19% with 3, 1% with 4 and 2% with 5. With respect to satisfaction rates, 66% rated the treatment on a scale from 1 to 5 with 1, 18% with 2, 7% with 3, 7% with 4 and 3% with 5, with 1 indicating very satisfied and 5 indicating very dissatisfied. Thus, the overall level of satisfaction (the sum of scale values 1 and 2) amounts to 84%. Of 91 patients, 88% would agree to further treatment and 92% would recommend the therapy to others. All patients reported temporary tissue reactions such as swelling and redness which did not require any further treatment and were self-limiting. Serious or permanent complications did not occur. Conclusions: The results of our study show that cryolipolysis is a safe and effective method for non-surgical body contouring, providing a high degree of patient satisfaction and recommendation rate.
RESUMEN
Background: Cryolipolysis is an increasingly popular nonsurgical fat-reduction procedure. Published treatment guidance and adverse event (AE) management protocols are limited. Objective: A modified Delphi study aimed to establish global expert consensus on the use of CoolSculpting (Allergan Aesthetics, an AbbVie Company, Irvine, CA), a noninvasive cryolipolysis treatment system. Methods: A literature search informed survey topics for an 11-expert Delphi panel. Panelists completed an online 39-question survey. An interim panel discussion, with open-ended questions and yes/no voting, informed a second survey containing 61 statements, for which panelists rated agreement using a 5-point Likert scale. Topics included treatment outcome and responder definitions, patient evaluation and selection, treatment protocols, patient satisfaction, and AEs. Results: Panelists achieved consensus on 38 final guidelines and recommendations. They reached moderate to complete consensus on 4 statements on defining responders (ie, patients with a range of visible improvement) and 6 statements on patient factors contributing to treatment outcomes (eg, how well the applicator conforms to patient body region). Panelists defined minimum numbers of treatment cycles to achieve visible clinical outcomes for 12 body regions, with moderate to complete consensus on 31 statements. They achieved a strong to complete consensus on 7 statements about patient satisfaction (eg, importance of patient expectations, visible improvement, and before-and-after photographs). Panelists defined management strategies for AEs, with moderate to complete consensus on 15 statements. Conclusions: A modified Delphi process yielded multiple guideline recommendations for cryolipolysis, providing a needed resource for the broad range of clinicians who perform this noninvasive fat-reduction procedure.