Meet the Nurse Practitioners: Morgan O’Kane, MS, CRNP

In “Meet the Nurse Practitioners,” we sit down with our CRNP’s to gain insight into the high-level of care they provide to patients daily across Anne Arundel Dermatology practices.

In today’s feature, we talk CoolSculpting with Morgan O’Kane, MS, CRNP.

Morgan O'Kane, MS, CRNP
Morgan O’Kane, MS, CRNP

CoolSculpting Start-to-Finish

AAD: What’s your approach and process with CoolSculpting? What is your level of involvment with the treatments?

Morgan: Prospective patients are first scheduled for a complimentary consultation, so I can get to know them and their goals. Establishing a partnership with my patients to align our visions and achieve the desired cosmetic goal is important to me. I enjoy being part of my patients’ evolving aesthetic journeys! The consultation also serves as an opportunity to provide procedure education, perform a customized treatment assessment and answer questions. From there, we move forward with scheduling a treatment day.

At present, I am the primary CoolSculpting provider at the 703 Giddings Ave office, from initial consultation to transformation completion. But I am proud to say that Sarah, cosmetic RN, and Kristen, cosmetic coordinator – have been certified by CoolSculpting University!

Personal Experience

AAD: Have you had CoolSculpting yourself? What did you think?

Morgan: I have had several CoolSculpting treatments done myself. In fact, I share my personal transformation photos with nearly every patient that I consult for the procedure. With no downtime, I did my treatments on my lunch breaks during a full day at the office. I love CoolSculpting and my results! It’s why it is easily my favorite non-invasive, non-surgical body contouring treatment option available in today’s cosmetic marketplace.

Patient Experience

AAD: Tell me about the patient experience during a treatment. Is there any prep? How long does it take? And does the coldness hurt?

Morgan: In addition to the consultation, patients receive pre and post procedure informational literature so that they are ready on their actual treatment day. 

Our current location is a shared space with some of AAD’s dermatology surgery teams, so the atmosphere is a balance between comfort and clinical vibes. Patients should dress comfortably and bring their own entertainment to use during treatment. I am also happy to provide the white noise of the machine fans to allow them to rest easy!

Treatment times vary per individual treatment, but they are usually cut in half compared to other offices because there are two machines at our location. To give you some idea, the standard applicator cooling time is 35 minutes. The suction applicator is placed on the body in the desired area.

Some patients describe the initial cooling process as warming. Other patients describe a pinching, cramping sensation from the intensity of the cold temperature for the first few minutes, after which it typically subsides for the remaining treatment time. And with Sarah’s (RN) help, CoolSculpting treatments can often be bundled with other services – like injections and HydraFacials – during the same appointment time.

Advantage of CoolSculpting

AAD: CoolSculpting is often compared with more invasive fat-reduction procedures like liposuction. What are some of the advantages of CoolSculpting?

Morgan: Unlike liposuction, “non-invasive” means that CoolSculpting does not require the introduction of instruments into the body. The entire process is conducted externally from the surface of your skin.

“Non-surgical” means that not only does CoolSculpting not require an incision or use of an operating room, but there is no anesthesia required either. So, patients can drive themselves to and from their treatment appointments without concern for grogginess, nausea, or other undesirable side effects of anesthetic medication. We don’t even need to use topical numbing cream!

I get this question a lot when comparing liposuction and CoolSculpting. Because liposuction removes nearly all of the fat in the desired treatment area, it can appear as though weight is gained in other areas. Some patients tell me stories of friends of theirs who had liposuction to, say, their abdomen and now appear to have “fat legs” or “fat arms” since they’ve  gained weight postoperatively. This is because their weight gain has only been in the areas that still have fat cells untreated by the liposuction. Each CoolSculpting applicator permanently destroys a percentage of fat in that treatment area and recontours the body by redistributing a small amount of fat cells from the surrounding tissue. Because there are some fat cells that remain in the areas treated by CoolSculpting, if a patient should gain weight after this procedure, the weight gain will appear more natural and uniform throughout the body.

Results

AAD: How long do results typically take to become visible? Do some cases require multiple treatments?

Morgan:  Some patients start to see their results in as little as three weeks! Every patient comes in for 3-month follow up appointment to evaluate the “peak” of their results at that time, but results may continue to improve even further beyond this time. Every contouring goal, every patient, and every body area is different. Some only require one treatment. Thicker areas may require two or more. Lifestyle behaviors (like diet and exercise) definitely impact results and number of treatments required to achieve each patient’s desired results.


Morgan sees patients at our Annapolis – Giddings Ave location. She strives to apply her extensive knowledge of skin care products and procedures to improve her patients’ overall appearance and confidence. She is now offering the following Cosmetic Services:

  • Microneedling – a highly-effective, minimally-invasive procedure that uses your skin’s own natural healing ability to reduce the look of sun damage, fine lines, scars, and more.
    Botox – an easy, minimally-invasive injection that safely and effectively reduces the appearance of deep lines and wrinkles, frown lines, crow’s feet around the eyes, and more.
    Broad Band Light (BBL) Therapy – an advanced treatment that improves the appearance of sun spots, age spots, rosacea, spider veins and capillaries with little to no discomfort or downtime.
    Dermal Fillers – a volume-restoring technique that plumps thin lips, enhances shallow contours, and improves the appearance of scars, facial creases, and wrinkles.
    MicroDermabrasion – a non-invasive procedure in which tiny crystals remove the top layer of dry, dead skin, targeting uneven pigmentation and clogged pores.
    ViPeels – an exfoliating technique in which a chemical solution regenerates new skin that’s smoother and less wrinkled.
    Cool Sculpting – the only FDA-cleared, nonsurgical fat reduction treatment that freezes and reduces stubborn body fat.

Request a consultation with Morgan O’Kane, MS, CRNP today!

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