Former supermodel Linda Evangelista is seeking $50 million in damages after she says a procedure call CoolSculpting left her “brutally disfigured.”
CoolSculpting is the brand name for a nonmedical procedure to rid the body of fat that doesn’t respond to diet and exercise. According to WebMD, scientists came up with the method after studying what happens to fat during frostbite. They found fat freezes at a higher temperature than skin, so a device can chill fat without harming surrounding skin or tissue.
During the procedure, also called cryolipolysis, the device holds a fatty part of the body between two paddles for anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour and 15 minutes. The paddles quickly cool the fat, destroying 20-25% of it. Your body’s immune system will slowly clear out that dead fat cells over time.
There are no needles or incisions involved, and the method was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2010.
So, what went wrong in Evangelista’s case?
For some people, the treatment can have the opposite of the intended effect. This is called paradoxical adipose hyperplasia, and causes fat cells to increase instead of decrease, and to form firm masses under the skin.
According to a research published in the medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons in 2018, PAH occurs in 1 out of every 4,000 treatment cycles, resulting in a 0.025% incidence.
The only way to remove these masses is with surgery.
According to a Wednesday post on Instagram, Evangelista said she was not made aware of this risk.
“PAH has not only destroyed my livelihood, it has sent me into a cycle of deep depression, profound sadness, and the lowest depths of self-loathing. In the process, I have become a recluse.”
The former model said she has undergone two “painful, unsuccessful, corrective surgeries,” that have left her “unrecognizable.”
In her lawsuit, Evangelista said she underwent procedures in 2015 and 2016 to reduce fat on her thighs, abdomen, back, flanks and chin. Filed in New York federal court, the lawsuit claims negligence and misleading advertising and alleges the company failed to warn customers of the possible side effects.
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