Linda Evangelista Shares What Really Happened To Her Body After Plastic Surgery Gone Wrong

Plastic surgery complications are extremely rare. As with most surgeries, plastic surgery complications are more common in certain people. And one of those who experienced severe side effects after a plastic surgery gone bad is Linda Evangelista.

Following a fat-freezing procedure she had undergone from August 2015 to February 2016, Evangelista is now have spoken out about what really happened to her body in the reality. CoolSculpting, an FDA-approved procedure, is being marketed as a less invasive alternative to traditional liposuction. But what happened to her is something that nobody wants to ever experience.

In an interview with People, Evangelista shared that the results of the procedure have left her feeling lost. She explained, “I loved being up on the catwalk. Now I dread running into someone I know. I can’t live like this anymore, in hiding and shame. I just couldn’t live in this pain any longer. I’m willing to finally speak.” She added, “He told me no amount of dieting, and no amount of exercise was ever going to fix it.”

In a separate interview with Page Six, she shared that four months after her final session, she was diagnosed with Paradoxical Adipose Hyperplasia (PAH). This is a rare side effect of CoolSculpting where the fatty tissue expands instead of contracts in response to the procedure.

In return, Evangelista filed a lawsuit against CoolSculpting’s parent company, Zeltiq Aesthetics Inc., in September 2021. According to the supermodel, she was not informed of this “risk” prior to treatment and has since been unable to find work as a result. That is why she is suing for $50 million in damage.

On her Instagram, she once wrote:
“Today I took a big step towards righting a wrong that I have suffered and have kept to myself for over five years. I have been left, as the media has described, ‘unrecognizable.’ 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.”

By sharing her story and her body, Evangelista hopes to give hope to other women who may be going through something similar. She said, “I hope I can shed myself of some of the shame and help other people who are in the same situation as me. That’s my goal. I’m not going to hide anymore.”

CoolSculpting spokesperson explained to People that the treatment done on Evangelista, “has been well studied with more than 100 scientific publications and more than 11 million treatments performed worldwide” and that side effects, including PAH “continue to be well-documented in the CoolSculpting information for patients and health care providers.”

Paradoxical adipose hyperplasia (PAH) is a rare complication of CoolSculpting. It gets its name from the unexpected, paradoxical result – overgrowth (hyperplasia) of fatty (adipose) tissue. This complication, which can appear 8 to 24 weeks after the procedure, is when the treated area becomes hardened and visibly enlarged.

The term “stick of butter” refers to the shape the affected tissue takes, which reflects the shape of the CoolSculpting applicator.

Paradoxical adipose hyperplasia isn’t dangerous, but it won’t go away unless you do something about it. Patients usually have to wait six to nine months for the fat in the area where they had PAH to soften so that liposuction can be done safely. Otherwise, there is a risk that PAH could come back.