Echoing sentiments shared by Canadian supermodel Linda Evangelista just a few days previously, Dr. Cat Begovic says she wouldn’t use CoolSculpting on herself or her patients.
Every morning, the popular Beverly Hills board-certified plastic surgeon shares with her 1.2-million social media followers what surgical procedures she has lined up for the day.
Wednesday’s procedures included a “complex revision tummy tuck case” for a patient who “initially had paradoxical adipose hyperplasia after CoolSculpting.”
It’s the same side-effect that supermodel Linda Evangelista is suffering from—and suing over.
“I have tried to warn as many people and patients as possible through my videos, public interviews and social media to prevent them from suffering and disfigurement.”
Dr. Cat Begovic, September 29, 2021
Dr. Begovic says that prior to coming to see her, the patient underwent multiple liposuction and fat-melting treatments, none of which worked to resolve the paradoxical adipose hyperplasia (PAH).
PAH is “something that happens after CoolSculpting,” where, rather than destroying fat cells, “the CoolSculpting grows the fat,” she simplifies.
“Because I specialize in revision tummy tucks, revision liposuction and having operated on many patients who previously had Coolsculpting, I saw first hand how it can create extensive scar tissue, irregularities, and PAH (paradoxical adipose hyperplasia),” she notes in the post’s caption.
Begovic also says that according to recent studies, the rate of PAH occurring after CoolSculpting is “as high as .78 – 1%, which is 1 in every 100 treatments.”
That’s vastly higher than the oft-promoted “1 in 20,000” cases.
She is also calling out the device’s manufacturer over “very aggressive marketing.”
“Whenever there are new devices or products, I look past the marketing materials or financial incentives and instead focus on scientific data and research first, weigh the risks and benefits for patients, cautiously wait for long term effects and results, and finally experiment on myself first before ever using anything on another person.
“As I would never use Coolsculpting on myself, I would never use it on a patient,” she says.
As a “tireless proponent of female empowerment,” the popular plastic surgeon has previously brought widespread attention to breast implant illness, despite some practicing plastic surgeons denying it or, worse, disparaging women suffering from it.