Zeltiq and Zerona are both widely popular, and rather new treatments for non-invasive fat-reduction. Both treatments recently received FDA-approval and have garnered vast amounts of media attention and press. Unlike traditional liposuction, neither treatment is designed to reduce large deposits of fat. Instead Zeltiq and Zerona treatments are meant to be effective treatments for problem areas where fat is resistant to diet and exercise, such as love handles and belly fat pooch. Likewise neither procedure is a means of weight-loss and does not replace diet or exercise and a healthy lifestyle condusive to losing weight and maintaining a stable, healthy weight.
The reason for the popularity of both Zeltiq and Zerona is the fact that both procedures are non-surgical or non-invasive. That means patients looking to take off a little bit of excess fat or slim down those problem areas can do so without the incisions, needles, anesthesia, pain medication and recovery time associated with the surgical alternative of liposuction.What's the difference?
Zerona uses a low-energy "cool" laser to emulsify fat cells. Patients lie under a machine that passes a group of revolving lasers over the treated area. The laser doesn't affect the skin or other tissues and targets only the fat layer. The excess fat released by the emulsified cells are then passed through the body during its normal course of detoxification over a span of several weeks. It is reported to be completely painless and can be used effectively on essentially every part of the body where localized fat deposits exist including the waist, hips and thighs ("love handles" and "saddle bags"), upper arms, bra-line fat, inner knees, back fat and buttocks.
Zeltiq, which is actually called CoolSculpting by ZELTIQ works by means of Cryolipolysis, or cold therapy. Zeltiq can be used on the abdominal area, love handles (flanks), and back. The CoolSculpting device attaches to the patient and gently pulls the bulge or roll of excess fat into the applicator between two cooling panels. These panels emit intense cold that is precislely controlled to target the fat cells. The treated fat cells are chilled, causing them to crystallize and break down. These fat cells are re-absorbed into the body over the course of several months and gradually eliminated through the body's normal metabolic processes, similar to how fat from food is eliminated. The secret to the cooling process is that fat cells crystallize at warmer temperatures than other cells, so the process doesn’t produce a level cold that can harm other tissue such as skin, muscle, and nerves. The result is a reduction in fat bulges that is visible in most patients in about two to four months.Recently media reports estimated each Zeltiq treatment to cost between $1,500 and $3,000, and Zerona to cost up to $3,000 for a series of treatments.
If you are looking to remove unwanted fat from exercise and diet resistant areas of the body, you may be considering Zeltiq CoolSculpting or Zerona. If you're area's not in our list of Zeltiq doctors or Zerona doctors - don't worry - you can start by locating a plastic surgeon "in my area" using our provider directory and you can Request a Consultation with one or more plastic surgeons right here from our site.