fat freezing

This is the latest in body sculpting procedures. The technical name is cryolipolysis – cryo meaning ‘cold’, lipomeaning ‘fat’, and lysis meaning ‘destruction’.  It was discovered by paediatricians treating children who left an ice block resting against the inside of their cheek for longer than usual. The result was that the fat cells under the skin died although the skin was undamaged.  Further research showed that this could be used to target subcutaneous fat that was felt by its owner to be unsightly.  The treatment was thought to be safe and less invasive than liposuction.  The dead fat cells were eventually removed by macrophages in the body’s immune system.

 There is one catch. In something like 1% of people undergoing the treatment, the effect is the opposite and the fat cells actually increase over a period of a couple of months. No one knows why.  This adverse reaction is called Paradoxical Adipose Hyperplasia or PAH.  Paradoxical because it is not what you would expect, adipose because it relates to fat, hyper because it is excessive and plasia meaning ‘cellular growth’.