Fraxel Repair: Stories

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Adverse Effects Fraxel Repair

  • Not Worth It
  • Cost: $4,000
  • USA

9 months after fraxel, my scars are still there,...

9 months after fraxel, my scars are still there, as are the hypo pigmentation, red lines and streaks and rough skin.  prior to this my skin texture was perfect, but not so firm at 48 and I was hoping for tightness.  The laser had little or no effect on the loose skin.   Needless to say my laser treatment has been horrible.  The laser company final changed their advertisement to say there is a small risk of scarring ABOUT TIME!!!!

I have heard from so many sad people that have gone through fraxel repair ,  this laser has too many risks, please look at other laser treatments first.

It has been 6 months of negatives. I have hypo...

It has been 6 months of negatives. I have hypo pigmentation, red lines and streaks, rough skin and scars.  In additions the laser had little / no effect on my face wrinkles.  I could not leave the house for 2 months without the stares and looks of pity.  It was horrific.

The laser company final changed their advertisement to say there is a small risk of scarring.   ABOUT TIME!!!!!!     I have heard from so many sad people that have gone through fraxel repair that have been left with negative issues. 


May 2009, it has been a year since my fraxel...

May 2009, it has been a year since my fraxel repair laser. So it is time for a final update.

- My experience was horrible. For 2 months I was horrific looking, for 7 months I had issues that could be covered up if I was in a dark room with heavy makeup on. The last few months, my skin has settle down but I have been left with permanent loss of pigment, minor scars, and I still have rough areas to the skin around my eyes. It was not worth it. There has been some improvement in the skin. (see photo)
- What I learned was that a responsible doctor is very important. The majority of people that had similar experiences to mine went to their doctors, and the doctors did not know how to treat them, and they have not faired well to say the least. My doctor was concerned and treated me well or I would still be extremely disfigured today. Everyone should be proactive with their doctors. Ask them, what happens if I have an adverse effect? Who will pay to have the face fixed if there is an issue? Do you have the knowledge to deal with adverse effects? Do I get a refund if things go bad?
- I am angry because the laser company has been marketing the product as no risk, no documented case of issues – even though I have been consistent in contacting them. The doctors who are referred to on their website also say the same think. And, the sales people have been selling it as no risk to doctors, who therefore feel comfortable buying it, even though they may not have the knowledge to fix adverse effects. After dealing with them for months and months with not even an * added to their website stating the risks, the media got involved. Since then there have been some positive reactions by the laser company. It is too bad it takes media hype to get a reaction from them; they should have acted in good will and done it on their own.

It took a long time, but I finally found the...

It took a long time, but I finally found the FDA report filed by the fraxel people.  It took so long because the product was mis spelled twice???  Curious, how do you misspell your own product.?  They typed Praxel instead of Fraxel.  HMMMM, even worse though is that they stated I had an incident but healed with no scars or hypo pigemnt issues,  COME ON,  I call them regularyly , and send them pictures....HOW DO THEY SLEEP??????  

Following is an email from the FDA. Dear Ms.Hoene,

There is a typo in the name of the device. It is recorded as ‘Praxel’ instead of ‘Fraxel’. That is probably why you weren’t able to find the report. You can click on the following link to see the report.

Updated on May 28, 2010:

I had Fraxel 2 years ago; it burned by skin and caused many nightmarish cosmetic issues (see earlier posts). But, now that seems insignificant! one year after fraxel I started getting a very painful facial rash that has not gone away and is only controlled by steroids. This is also happening to another women, bad enough it ruined my skin, now it is ruining my health! SO FRUSTRATED AND SAD!

Great review?

My Doctor: name not provided

He made sure I healed as well as I could. For me to recommend him after what I went through should say a lot.

Comments (406)

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Daisy26 12 May 2013
I am not happy to have cat like lines above my lip. This is from where the fraxel came down in its square. It is ugly and I can never be with out makeup. It is almost 3 months and still red and damaged
Daisy26 12 May 2013
I have scars from my fraxel. No one cares
FightingMad 9 Sep 2012
Not to be discouraging, Julie, but there's a forum where those who've been harmed by these devices participate for support. There are over 450 members, each member harmed by one cosmetic device or the other. As a group, Dr. Phil, Oprah, The Doctors, Dr. Oz, Public Citizen (Advocacy Group) and many, many others have been contacted by many people. They do nothing. To do something means or admit the devices they promoted on their shows means they could be liable. Oprah is the celebrity who sparked those who flocked to have facial Thermage (first generation) that melted so many people's faces back before 2005. That same device (derivative of it) is now used all over the body/face to intentionally melt fat, yet when Thermage did it back before 2005 everyone who was harmed was told it was impossible. Whatever. These celebrities won't help.

They will promote these products but they will never tell how dangerous these devices can be. If you are in the US, file a report with the FDA on the MAUDE database. Write your congressmen/women, advocate for change and accountability within the FDA for these devices, challenge the US approval process, but don't look for anyone such as Dr. Phil to come to your rescue. Bringing about awareness and being willing to fight BIG business and the almighty dollar is the only hope anyone has who's been harmed and to protect those in the future from being harmed.

I'm sorry you're suffering. You are not alone.
Biggest Mistake of My Life 9 Sep 2012

***This post is against RealSelf Community Guidelines and has been removed****

Erwt 16 Aug 2012
Fraxel should be limited to hospitals only.
Too many money hungry charlatans have access to it.
Lorna33 23 Jul 2012
I've had such dramatic aging from my Fraxel treatment. I recently went over the clinics own before pictures, and post treatment pictures - and now my own pictures. I had a shock how bad the skin has become. I have nothing close to similar aging skin on my neck, hands, arms, legs anywhere except the Fraxel area. The doctor keeps denying it can cause any premature aging and blames it on 'sun damage' and normal aging. But i have never been a sun worshiper. I look like a chain smoker and a decade older than my age.
I've tried finding solutions to reverse my skin to a better condition. I was reading about Copper Peptides and the positive effect it has on skin. It seems quite slow though and can take over a year. Has anyone tried this and can give some feedback?
http://skinbiology.com/copperpeptideregeneration.html
Dazed 23 Jul 2012
Wow Lorna, my treatments have had the exact opposite effect.
Cherry Lane 13 May 2012
Happy Mothers Day to Mothers on the Board...... May your day be Blessed with Happiness!
Cherry Lane 11 May 2012
Thanks Dazed...... I try to stay in shape and think young. Two Grandchildren to raise I have to stay young... they leave me no choice!! LOL
Cherry Lane 23 Apr 2012
Thank you for the advice... I will check out the brest reconstruction community...... always nice to hear new stories and share experiences. At I may add at 61 this is quite the experience... so glad I have humor. Kudos for your Mom finishing her treatment..... may her health continue to improve. I waited my 5 years clear before moving on to reconstruct. 4 weeks out and still walking into things !! LOL. have a great evening and thanks for the advice...... love to learn and encourage! Cherry lane
Dazed 9 May 2012
Good for you Cherry. As a 64 year old, I think you are young.
Cherry Lane 22 Apr 2012
Well I can't say I would compare PS or having work done to better my self image would compare to Religion or God! LOl But I do understand how today's youth is different from my era. I am a 61 year old who just had breast reconstruction done after cancer and lumpectomy....so i do know how one would want self improvement. I no longe look at my chest and see cancer. But if I had not wanted reconstruction I would NO WAY endure the pain ...just to look better. Many have and I don't want to say it is NOT what they should or should not do. I my opinion PAIN and suffering happen enough in life and to self indulge it seems strange. Yes today's standards for beauty is so misleading....... everyone thinks they are suppose to look like the models in magazines. Not enough follow ups on TRUE results of injuries from Improvements to people. I just get sad when I hear stories from young girls that have been maimed and lost all there youth and self esteem on a botched procedure. I am very liberal and pretty much a to each there own theory......but I also think people that have been hurt should be not be ridiculed for life long damage . The industry should be held accountable and there should be a fund that one can turn to for repair and studies and tests. Geez even a hairdresser is suppose to do a patch test on the skin to see if there is a reaction to chemicals. Most no longer do it...... Why it is not enforced..... because the bald customer is embarrassed /humiliated and at times made to feel they were not truthful with the salon. Where does it stop ? When does the suffering and scrutiny end for the injured? I apperciate the fact that you want to do things for yourself and it is YOUR TURN....... LOL at 61 I feel the same way...... one is responsible for there own happiness. It is just some are so young to start this path. I have been married twice and buried my first husband.....both parents and sister.lastly my daughter. I raised one family and now at my age I am raising another one . Lifes test of time is not a meter for doing what is best.....it is just life. I am very happy you are honest with your friend and realize re:pair is serious and not to be taken lightly. I think this is what the people who were injured is trying to get the industry to admit. Especially when most were lied too or had thete identity literally taken from them. Living life behind closed doors and in your shadow of your past face is so alarming. To ME it is just not worth the risk unless it is medically necessary. But then that will never happen...... too much $$$$$ in the industry. I just wish there was a balance of integrity for the good results and the bad! No answers in the near future.
Cherry Lane 22 Apr 2012
I must also comment that my Granddaughter will need palstic surgery AGAIN on her leg. When she was hospitalized a blood tranfusion...given by a nurse infiltrated and caused compartment syndrome..... she was 13 months old and had a skin graft and plastic surgery to keep her leg looking somewhat normal. still has scar from knee to ankle and had to learn to walk again. So I am NOT JUST negative on plastic surgery for beauty's sake. I am forever Thankful Plastics helped her. When things in life are given to you ... you do the best you can to excel and survive.....it is just harder when you have lost faith as some people have. Thanks for your time! Cherry Lane
Dazed 22 Apr 2012
My analogy was walking into a forum and basically telling everybody that they shouldn't do what they want to do. I am 64, and I know this is my only turn on earth so I am going to grab everything out of life while I still can. I had a hair transplant and it made me look 10 years younger, and feel 100% better.
Dazed 22 Apr 2012
All I can say Fraxel Re:pair has been a great help to me. People are free to make their own decisions. You have taken your own bad experience and condemned a whole field of medicine. What do you think the guy what just had a face transplant would think about Plastic Surgery. How about the Bern Triplets who are being treated with a laser very similiar to Re:pair. Youth & beauty is what people will always seek. You cannot go against evolution, and people instinctively look at attractive people and turn away from unattractive people.
Cherry Lane 23 Apr 2012
NO! I am not taking my OWN bad experience and turning it into negatives for the whole field....obviously I have STATED plastic surgery and modern technology is GREAT in many case's. The only valid point I am TRYING to get across is that results for ALL is not always positive. I suppose we both have our own opinions on this subject.... does not make one right or one wrong. It does make it available to the GQ public that one size does not fit all! I don't feel that one person can tell everybody to do what YOU seem to think they want to do.... based on your experience. These treatments just like any other medical procedures for enhancement or correction and must be sold to the patient...... literature in every office showing a positive outcome in all brochures. The doctors (some) will tell you there is a small risk..... but never do they say...OH by the way you may be permanently disfigured or scarred or subject your immune system to infection by doing this quick little touch up or pick up. They sell you on the idea that you are perfecting a percieved flaw or changing something you may feel uncomfortable about. Insurance will not cover these procedures ......WHY.... too much risk? Spend your own money to.be at risk........insurance wants no part of the plan.
As a Mother if I KNEW the risk involved in ANY medical procedure I would have to weigh the need for this against the risk. I look at my daughters beautiful unmarred skin and still can't imagine WHAT kind of Doctor would even start or recommend any laser for her. Her skin was flawless...... but she was told this would prevent her aging and even out her skin tone. It did just the opposite and destryoed her skin ...her....pysche.... immune system and her future. One can argue..... oh it was only one person.... that is not that great of a risk. Well to each there own...... her son is Motherless and we lost a very good person in this world. I recieve many letters and posts from others who are feeling hopeless in getting repaired and want it all just to go away. There is no quick resolution to beauty or health or self image. I run two miles a day and it makes me feel 100% better about myself..... I write everyday and I meditate everyday..... feels great. I also do work for charities and do random acts of kindness whenever possible and it makes me feel 150% better about myself. Life is not about ME ME ME ...how I look ...It is about what you give to others and how you enjoy and live life to its fullest and not everyone feels they need a facelift / fraxel/laser/othet cosmetic enhancement to make one feel whole or complete..... this must come from within your soul...... the packaging is only temporary. I pray things continue to work to your advantage with your quest to be 100%. But..... also understand that some young girls are reading these posts and looking for advice and WHAT works for you may not work for them. I feel education is of the utmost importance in the teaching of youth to better there self image. I feel that youth and beauty is NOT what REAL people seek..... truth and honor and success is what people seek. These virtues are part of evolution also and anyone who turns AWAY from an unttractive person....JUST because they are just unttaractive without getting to KNOW the person.....Well to me it only makes THEM ( the rejector) the unattractive one. You can stack it up and pack it up until you are 80...... but aging is part of life you will turn eighty and unless you want to fix every....spot ...wrinkle or dot... time will tell.....if one lives that long. Good Luck and God Bless well wishes for you and your health always.
Cherry Lane
Megan P (Community Manager) 23 Apr 2012

Sorry if this seems a bit out of place in the context of this conversation, but cherry lane, since you mentioned you have been through reconstruction I wanted to make sure know we have a breast reconstruction community as well. The ladies in that community are so amazingly supportive of one another. You should pop in & take a look, and share your story if you feel comfortable doing so. I think you will really enjoy the ladies in there. :)

We found out my mom had stage 2 nearly a year ago. Thank goodness she is done with her cancer treatment now, but it will remain a subject that is very near to my heart.

nadiahoney 22 Apr 2012
Dazed, who was yr doc for repair? The docs on many forums seem to think ulthera ain't worth it....and so do many patients, so looks like I am back to square one. I don't want to wait til I'm so far gone I can have a lift, and have to hate my face in the meantime! Also how much was yours?
Dazed 22 Apr 2012
My doctor is in OKC. Mine were $5000, $3000, $1000, $800, $800. You have to know that the $5000 one took place when there were only 35 machines in the whole US.
Cherry Lane 22 Apr 2012
Why are some people just not satisfied with what they have...... I would not want to take even a slight chance that something could go wrong and I would not get the results I was hoping for. I feel that when one coninues treatments OVER and OVER they are just not accepting of aging or imperfections. I believe once you start the plastic surgery/fraxel repair or restore or IPL that you would be better off to use ones money on mental therapy to accept yourself for WHO you are instead of trying to create the perfect face..... perfect for whom? I admire the fact that some women are complete with aging and accepting the normal process that comes with age. I am all for self improvement and modern technoloy....... but to a degree. Continuing with procedures OVER and OVER is not a healthy frame of mind or a mind set that will improve with procedures. WHY? WHY the pain and suffering for the cost of beauty and what one thinks mentally is beauty. Beauty is from the inside! Yes... I have had a BAD experience with someone and Fraxel/lasers...... but even with that being said.....I just wish SAFETY and HEALTH and acceptance was the most valuable of all treatments. Once destroyed there is NO going back!!!
Dazed 22 Apr 2012
Cherry, you are certainly intitled to your opinion, but you have to understand the type of forum that you are posting on. Telling people on here to just accept things as they are is tantamount to going on a religious forum and saying you hate god. Like it or not, we are a youth and beauty oriented culture, and the better you look the better you feel. I am certain you have had a bad hair day and it has effected how you feel. Cosmetic surgery can certainly be taken to the extreme, but I have been treating one thing and now I want a lift because of aging. Multiple Fraxel Re:pair treatments are needed for optimum results. I have retired from one job and I am working on a second retirement, and I am maxing out retirement contributions. I know what is needed for me. I have a 32 year old girlfriend who wants Re:pair and I am advising her against it because she does not need it. She already looks like she is in her 20s. Re:pair is serious business, and it is not to be taken lightly, but it has really improved my life. I have been married 3 times and raised 3 children, and I always did everything for everybody else, this I do for myself.
Dazed 21 Apr 2012
I know from a previous post that you are looking for tightening, and I am not sure CO2 will provide the benefits you are looking for. I had it done in 96 and I was not impressed.
nadiahoney 21 Apr 2012
I am now leaning more towards something that lots of people hated, the traditional, NON-Fraxel CO2. It rips of everything! Scary. But apparently you don't do too high a level and it's the "best." Well good luck to all of you, but I am scared off of Fraxel now. Funny because I was pretty sure that was what I wanted, but no way now.
Cherry Lane 19 Apr 2012
Thank you for the report on the difference of the Fraxel Restore and Fraxel repair and ablative and non inblative. Maybe if this was given BEFORE any treatment one could choose what is best for there skin type And one could ask for references and who will be doing the work. As they stated more education is needed and some have no reported injuries. Not all will report injuries due to embarassment and shame.. To me it is still NOT worth the risk.... but I am glad for others who have had GOOD results.
Dazed 19 Apr 2012
An informed decision is the only kind that anyone should ever make. Doctors are going to sell you what they have so you have to go in with knowledge. I did a lot of research before picking Re:pair. I know a 32 year old woman who looks great and I have advised her not to do it.

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