Beauty Treatment Gone Wrong: Disfigurement Caused by Fat-Zapping Procedure.

CoolSculpting, a medical device that freezes fat cells, has generated over $2 billion in revenue, but for some patients, it can result in severe disfigurement due to a side effect called paradoxical adipose hyperplasia (PAH). Allergan Aesthetics, the company that owns CoolSculpting, claims that PAH occurs in only 0.033% of treatments, but a New York Times investigation suggests that the risk may be considerably higher. The company has restricted patients from talking about the problem through confidentiality agreements and stopped reporting the side effect to federal regulators. Patients with PAH may require surgery to correct the disfigurement, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars and leave scars.