Linda Evangelista has gained a brave face after revealing all about a failed cosmetic fat freezing procedure that left her ‘brutally disfigured’.
The 56-year-old Canadian-born supermodel was pictured In New York city on Wednesday for the first time without a face mask after the fashion star defiantly said she was ‘done hiding’ last week.
Linda, who has a 15-year-old son Augustine from the former Francois-Henri Pinault, has rarely been seen since she suffered paradoxical fatty hyperplasia in 2016.
But dressed casually in all-black sunloungers, the 5′ 10-inch former cover girl made no attempt to hide her appearance as she stopped by the trendy Chelsea Market in Manhattan a week after her bombshell news.
Pictured: Linda Evangelista was first seen without a face mask after the brave supermodel said she was ‘done hiding’ after a fat freezing procedure that left her ‘permanently deformed’ (Pictured on Wednesday in New York)
In her shocking interview, Linda explained that she had withdrawn from the public eye after a cosmetic procedure designed to reduce fat cells left her ‘permanently deformed’ when in fact she caused her cells to increase and the protrusives began to appear all over her body.
The 1990s fashion star – whose former French businessman is now married to Salma Hayek – revealed she had ‘stopped eating’ because she feared she was losing her mind when she noticed the bulges on her body.
The outing comes after the publication of an interview Linda did to People Magazine, where she said she was ‘done hiding’ after a CoolSculpting procedure which she said had ‘brutally disfigured’ her.
Reason: 56-year-old Linda was dressed casually in all-black sunloungers as she stopped by trendy Chelsea Market in Manhattan a week after her bombshell news
Visage: The supermodel appeared to have no makeup until she stepped out this week
Stepping out: The star was seen performing tasks in New York and dressed casually after giving a bombshell interview last week
Brave face: The 56-year-old Canadian-born supermodel was pictured in New York city on Wednesday for the first time without a face mask – after the fashion star claimed she was ‘done hiding’
In the article, Linda also posed in her first photo shoot after revealing she had been left ‘permanently deformed’ by the rare side effects of a cosmetic procedure she underwent six years ago.
In September, Linda revealed why she had withdrawn from the public eye when she claimed she had been ‘brutally disfigured due to a rare side effect of the CoolSculpting fat reduction procedure’.
According to Linda, she underwent seven sessions of the procedure to ‘reduce’ her fat cells from August 2015 to February 2016, but instead the procedure has ‘increased’ her fat cells, a danger she insists she was not warned about, so legal action is now being taken.
Struggle: The 1990s fashion star revealed she ‘stopped eating’ because she feared she was losing her mind when she noticed the bulges on her body
Speaking to People, the Vogue icon described in detail how she ‘stopped eating’ and thought she was losing her mind when bumps began to appear in her chin, thighs and bust – and how she is now ‘afraid to run into someone she knows’ after decades as a catwalk sensation. She also posed for photos that show growths on her bust and legs.
She said: ‘I loved being on the catwalk. Now I’m afraid to come across someone I know. I can’t live like this anymore, hiding and being ashamed. I just couldn’t live in that pain anymore. I’m finally ready to talk.
During a cryolipolysis procedure, also known as body sculpture, a device that is usually set below freezing temperature is applied to fat deposits, which causes cell death in adipose tissue. Then the body can pass the dead fat cells.
WHAT IS PARADOXICAL FATTY HYPERPLASIA (PAH)?
Paradoxical adiknown hyperplasia is a rare, undeclared unwanted effect of cryolipolysis.
Cryolipolysis uses cooling to damage and destroy subcutaneous fat cells without damaging the skin to reduce the amount of fat in the treated area.
This PAH phenomenon has a reported frequency of 0.0051% of the 1.5 million CoolSculpting procedures performed worldwide. Many doctors see multiple cases in their surgeries.
PAH causes a gradual expansion of the treated area. This occurs when the stimulus (freezing of fat cells) activates a reaction process in adipose tissue that thickens and expands fat cells instead of breaking them down and allowing the body to process and remove them.
It is known that PAH occurs only after cryolipolysis or CoolSculpting treatment for contouring the body.
PAH usually cannot be confirmed until about 6 months after the procedure, with patients complaining that they are getting bigger in the exact form of the applicator, as shown below.
SOURCE: WIFH.COM
But Linda has developed paradoxical adipity hyperplasia – a rare, previously undeclared adverse effect of cryolipolysis, which has been reported in 0.0051% of the 1.5 million CoolSculpting procedures performed worldwide.
In this state, the treated area becomes larger than smaller in the weeks after the procedure. It can leave a “painless, visibly enlarged, hard, well-distinguished mass” under the skin.
Linda told how within three months of her treatment she noticed that bumps were forming on her body, with the target areas growing rather than shrinking – before hardening and becoming insensitive.
Moving on: After saying she had ‘stopped hiding’, Linda was seen dealing with her day-to-day life in New York
The operation is no stranger: in June 2016, Linda underwent a full-body liposuction procedure, which she claims she paid for. She underwent liposuction again in July 2017
Out with a friend: The star was seen carrying flowers as she strolled with another woman
She said: ‘I tried to fix it myself, thinking I was doing something wrong. I got to the place where I didn’t eat at all. I thought I was losing my mind.
She visited her doctor in 2016 on a visit that made her “roar” and ask “what I’m doing wrong” before she was diagnosed with PACH and told that the condition could not be corrected with diet or exercise.
In September last year, it filed a lawsuit against CoolSculpting’s parent company, Zeltiq Aesthetics Inc, for $50 million in damages. Linda says she’s not able to work after the procedures.
Devastating: Supermodel Linda Evangelista posed for her first photo shoot after revealing she was left ‘permanently deformed’ by the rare side effects of a cosmetic procedure she underwent six years ago
The star claims CoolSculpting offered to pay for liposuction to repair the damage caused by PAH after her doctor contacted them.
She claims that on the eve of her liposuction, Zeltiq said she would only pay for the procedure if she signed a confidentiality agreement – which she refused. Zeltiq declined to comment to People about these allegations amid the current case.
Mailonline has contacted Zeltiq for comment.
In June 2016, Linda underwent a full-body liposuction procedure, which she claims she paid for. She underwent liposuction again in July 2017.
Linda said she had to wear belts, a chin strap and compression clothing for eight weeks after liposuction to prevent PAH from returning – but said the condition had returned after her second liposuction.
Rare adverse effect: The interview comes five months after Linda broke her silence on her health problems with a statement
The model says she can no longer bear to be looked in the mirror as she ‘doesn’t look like me’ and details the pain of friction caused by bulges.
She said: ‘If I walk without a belt with a dress, I’ll have friction to the point that I’m almost bleeding. Because it’s not like soft fat, it’s like hard fat. [I can’t] put my hands on the side. I don’t think designers will want to dress me up with what “sticks out of my body.”
Linda admits that her identity as ‘Linda evangelista, supermodel’ has now ‘disappeared’ due to the condition and she no longer recognises herself.
A CoolSculpting representative told People: “The procedure has been well studied with more than 100 scientific publications and more than 11 million treatments carried out worldwide.” They added that rare side effects such as PAH “continue to be well documented in CoolSculpting information for patients and healthcare providers.”
The interview came five months after Linda broke her silence about her health problems with a statement.
AFTER LINDA’S PROCEDURAL TRANSFORMATION
2019 year
Linda’s last appearance was on social media two years ago. Her face was largely hidden from hats in a duet of images she uploaded, with her transformed image barely visible.
In another image taken while riding, Linda wore a mask over her face, as well as a hat and sunglasses. As well as keeping her face partially hidden in the images, Linda did not allow any of her body to be seen in the images.
2017 year
The star’s observations in 2017 led to the biggest change in her appearance, fresh after undergoing the unfortunate treatment the previous year.
She was seen in New York and Tokyo, during which she had a fuller face and looked a little puffy as she showed the aftermath of the side effects she has since complained about on social media.
2016 year
According to her statement, Linda was due to undergo CoolSculpting in 2016.
One of her rare sightings was in April of that year, when she was seen again in Tokyo. During the appearance, she was seen looking different from her appearance the previous year, in which she was seen looking more slender.
Dressed in all black, the supermodel arrived restrained and went makeup-free for the outing.
2015 year
A year before Linda put on her CoolSculpting, the star looked more like herself on the runway as she stepped out on the red carpet at the Met Gala in May.
In June, she was seen again on the red carpet, this time at the Fragrance Awards.