Is there or isn’t there skin tightening with nonsurgical fat reduction procedures like Coolsculpting.

Dr. Irwin
October 12, 2015
Hi Dr. Irwin, I hope you are well and I hope you will consider answering my question. I am a 55 year old male in good shape (6' tall, 195 pounds) with some subcutaneous fat on my flanks, belly and pubic hair area. I have talked so several doctors about surgical and non-surgical procedures to remove the fat but I have one major concern. My pubic area has the most fat, roughly an inch deep. The skin feels very lose and flabby to me compared to other areas of my body. My concern is that after liposuction I will have even loser and flabbier skin that will look worse than before the procedure. That said, one doctor recommended liposuction and mini-tummy tuck. However, the scars that I see from online tummy tuck pictures are very disturbing to me. Thus, I have not proceeded with anything because I am concerned that the end result will be worse overall. My question is, do any of the skin tightening approaches work reasonably well and provide long-termpermanent tightening (not 12-18 months)? Are there better surigical alternatives than a tummy tuck? For example, why not remove the skin from the both creases where my legs meet my hips? The scar would be practically hidden. If there is no good alternative, it seems my best option would be to NOT reduce the fat in my pubic area and focus on my flanks and belly. Your thoughts please? Sincerely, Concerned Man

Glad you wrote – lots of people have this question!   I’m not a plastic surgeon and thus can’t comment on other surgical alternatives.    Coolsculpting though for the flanks and abdomen has been in use for several years now.  And, most patients do see noticeable skin tightening with that procedure, even though the company does not advertise that or claim it as an indication.    You have to have enough fat to fit into the adapter heads.

I have personal experience with this since I had a similar problem with a small fat roll just above my C section scar.   Reducing the fat above it and with it some skin tightening with Coolsculpting did reduce that fat just above the pubic bone.    It’s not perfect, of course! 🙂 I’m agreeing that your last option seems like a good one to explore with an experienced dermatologist near you who does this procedures.

Hope this helps, Dr. I

Dr. Brandith Irwin, MD

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Hi, I’m Dr. Irwin. I believe that consumers deserve a medically trained and unbiased skin care advocate.

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