Linda Evangelista, the supermodel made famous in the 1990s, said she had become “brutally disfigured” and “unrecognisable” after a cosmetic body-sculpting procedure that had turned her into a recluse.
“Today I took a big step towards righting a wrong that I have suffered and have kept to myself for over five years,” she wrote in an Instagram post Wednesday.
“To my followers who have wondered why I have not been working while my peers’ careers have been thriving, the reason is that I was brutally disfigured by Zeltiq’s CoolSculpting procedure which did the opposite of what it promised.”
Evangelista, 56, said after the fat-freezing procedure she developed paradoxical adipose hyperplasia, a side effect in which patients develop firm tissue masses in the treatment areas.
She said the cosmetic procedure left her “permanently deformed even after undergoing two painful, unsuccessful, corrective surgeries.” She said she had not been told of the 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,” she wrote. “In the process, I have become a recluse.”
Although Evangelista’s Instagram post mentioned a lawsuit, it was unclear whether one had been filed or where.
According to CoolSculpting, the procedure has been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of visible fat bulges.
According to the website of Allergan Aesthetics, a global pharmaceutical company whose brands include CoolSculpting, the procedure may cause an enlargement in the treated area about 2-5 months after treatment, requiring surgical intervention for correction.
Neither Allergan Aesthetics nor the FDA immediately responded to a request for comment Thursday.
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