“Adverse effects fraxel repair”
Fraxel Repair: NOT worth it
Pain: Painfree
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.
Updated on Feb 1, 2009:
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.
Updated on May 6, 2009:
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.
Updated on Jul 7, 2009:
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.
http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfMAUDE/Detail.cfm?MDRFOI__ID=1370589
May 6, 2009Comments and replies (192)
59 posts
25 Aug 2009
Hi I am 11months post fraxel repair and am still trying to find a solution to the post inflammatory hyperpigmentation I was left with. Hydroquinone does not work. Everyone keeps saying that if you develop hyperpigmentation it is temporary or reversible... Mine and others I have been in contact with seem to have long term issues with this side effect. I had milky white skin before i had this procedure. Where do I go from here? Any ideas???
314 posts
25 Aug 2009
Putting penetrations into the skin 10x larger (or more)than a laser (1/10 the size of a hair), with densities which are poorly known, and then applying a topical, gets better results than a microscopic penetration, with very known densities and applying Neocutis? So I can take my Erbium laser (because the needling is non ablative), turn down the density, apply PRP, and get better results than the re:pair? It seems to me that making larger holes in the skin can lead to more potential risks of scarring. How many treatments are needed? Respectfully, your before and afters are extremely poor quality. I would think that the new infusion technologies might get the products into the skin as good or better than with needling. Those infusions, by the way, have shown only mininal lasting results.
8 posts
28 Aug 2009
Cchaya,why did you need the fraxel restore after all those fraxel repairs? Did you have the Fraxel restores 1st then the FXL re:pairs? any tiny dot laser marks left? if anyone experienced this after effect,please post what you have done to improve this skin texture problem,i am looking for a post from a gal that said she experienced this,& fraxel rstore was used from a fraxel repair & made the worse. anyone else have this problem?????Please Post here. Thank You
unregistered guest
2 Sep 2009
I had an aggressive Fraxel Re:pair treatment on my chin 2 months ago for acne scarring and so far things are going pretty well. I am still slightly red, but it is coverable (is that even a word?!) with makeup. The improvement in the scarring so far is much more than I expected, and I literally have to turn my head on different angles to see where some of the scarring once was. I know I have to wait 3-6 months to really make a judgement re. smoothness, but it is looking pretty good so far. The only thing I have noticed is 3 little track marks; 2 are quite minor, but one looks like a little scar. From the photos I have been taking myself, those indentations have become a little less pronounced, and I'm hoping they will resolve more over the coming months. I will ask my Dr about them at my next app in October. Either way, I think a couple of small marks like that are worth the trade off for the improvement I seem to have had so far. I'd echo all of the Dr's claims that this is a hardcore laser, not for the faint hearted, and definitely to only ever be in the hands of experienced medical personnel - even then, things can go wrong. I also agree it was unethical for Fraxel/Reliant to still claim the laser was super-safe once they knew of cases like those documented here. I really wish the best of luck to those struggling with adverse effects. This laser definitely does work, but I'd suggest doing lots of your own research as well as asking your Dr lots of questions. You also really need to ask yourself if you are willing to take a risk with this laser, because it is a painful, scary procedure, even if the outcome is positive.
1 post
26 Sep 2009
I had the Fraxel Eye Repair. NEVER EVER Would I have had this novice derm doctor and the doctor in charge do this to my eyes. I have hyperpigmentation, rough skin, redness. PLEASE DO NOT EVER WASTE YOUR MONEY AND FACE ON THIS PRODUCT> IT MAKES THINGS WORSE!!!!!!
314 posts
26 Oct 2009
I wanted to give an update about fractional CO2 laser resurfacing. I just returned from a laser meeting at Harvard in which Dr. Rox Anderson, and several of the premier laser surgeons and dermatologist were either presenting or present. Dr. Anderson and his colleges discovered laser hair removal and fractional laser technologies. There were representatives from all over the world. The emphasis for treating wrinkles, scars, and for photodamaged skin was fractional CO2 laser resurfacing. This is currently the gold standard, particularly for acne scars. There was uniform agreement about this. The only 2 laser which were discussed in any depth were the Fraxel re:pair and the Active Fx. In regards to stem cells, Dr. Henry Chan, a professor from Hong Kong stated during a personal conversation that stem cell treatments were "not mainstream medicine" and that there were some problems which some people were experiencing with nodules which were very difficult to treat. Needling was also mentioned but only as a procedure which didn't work.
2 posts
27 Oct 2009
hi. I'm female of 26 y. o. About 11 months ago I've done A frexel Repair procedure on upper and under eyes area. I've just wanted to get rid of a surgical scar, which i had for an about 5 years.Getting Fraxel done was on of the bad, bad decisions i've made. My skin was in a good conditions prior that, except for scars, But after i've got hyperpigmentation, and my under eye area looks like it belongs to someone who is a in mid 40's. For last 3 months i've tried tons of product to bring elasticity back. Even thinking about that makes me just mad
1 post
19 Nov 2009
I got erbium laser resurfacing on october 8th and before that i wasnt really breaking out at all for years and i was trying to get rid of acne scarring i had.. anyways i have been breaking out daily now real bad since having the resurfacing.. its awful and i paid 3500!