Fat 'freezing' procedure leaves NYC woman with severe burns: suit

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A Manhattan woman is suing a pharmaceutical company after she says she got third-degree burns and scarring from a slimming procedure for her belly, according to a new lawsuit.

Liana Silverstein says on April 19, 2017 she had a cryolipolysis procedure done with a CoolSculpting Device, which uses nonsurgical "fat-freezing technology…to reduce pockets of fat in trouble spots," according to its website.

After the procedure, the doctors at Laser & Skin Surgery Center of New York placed ice packs on her stomach that they wrapped in place before sending her home, the court papers say.

Silverstein developed second and third-degree burns and blisters on the areas where she was treated, according to a new Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit filed late Tuesday.

Photos included in the court papers show four large wounds across Silverstein's stomach.

The suit says the device was defective and that CoolSculpting's parent company, Allergan USA, Inc., should have warned patients and doctors of the risks of using the device including that after the procedure skin, "should not come into direct contact with ice."

Allergan, "underreported, underestimated and downplayed the serious danger of its CoolSculpting Device," the court document charge.

Silverstein and her husband, Arthur Backal, are suing Allergan for unspecified damages.

Last year, the pair sued the laser center, the doctors and staff who carried out the procedure as well as CoolSculpting: Zeltiq Aesthetics, Inc. for negligence. That case is still pending in Manhattan Supreme Court.

A rep with Allergan declined to comment. CoolSculpting did not immediately return a request for comment.