The pad of fat on the inner side of the knee and just above the kneecap is small, stubborn and on the list of areas our patients ask for. The knees are not among the areas CoolSculpting is FDA-cleared for in the US, we found no published series on the knees, and we say so plainly. In our practice the knee fat pad is treated with the small applicator, and the manufacturer's 2022 expert panel gives two to four cycles for the lower thighs and knees. Usually no time off work, at Cool Clinic, 130 Harley Street, with the price in writing at a free consultation.
Why this area
The pad is a firm, pinchable pocket that the small applicator draws in, and cooling it to the temperature at which fat cells break down leaves the skin and the joint beneath unharmed. The body clears the cells over the following weeks and the line of the knee sharpens. The clinician keeps the applicator on the pad, off the kneecap and the tendons and never behind the knee, which the label excludes. In our practice the inner thigh just above is often treated in the same course.
What the evidence is
No clearance names the knees, and we found no published series on the knees. The evidence is the device's mechanism, the same at every site, and the expert panel's two to four cycles, which is opinion rather than trial evidence. The clinician shows you at the consultation what is realistic for your knees.
The session and after
One cycle per knee, 35 to 60 minutes, intense cold and pulling for the first minutes and numbness after. The area is red, firm and often bruised for a week or two and numb for one to three weeks, and in our experience the knee may feel stiff for a few days. The result can start to show from about four weeks and is judged about eight weeks after the last cycle, when we take the after photograph.
Who it suits
A pinchable pad at the knee in someone slim elsewhere whose weight is steady, with a body mass index of 30 or under in our practice, as for the cleared body areas. Loose skin above the knee is skin rather than fat, and the clinician says so at the free consultation and names the treatment that tightens it. The thighs page covers the inner and outer thighs, and the full guide the rest.
Not sure you are suitable? Ask the clinician, it is free
Book a free consultation
Call Cool Clinic on 0207 043 1117 or use the form below. The clinician pinches the pad, counts the cycles and gives you the price in writing.
