Do Not Do Lipozap - Costa Mesa, CA

After much research I decided to do Lipozap (APPARENTLY NOT ENOUGH RESEARCH). My final reasoning for starting the Lipozap procedure was my doctor, Dr. {edited} was on staff as Medical Director, and I felt, if she's backing this procedure, it's gotta be good. I started Lipozap Treatments Feb. 07. Lower abs, upper abs and back bra line ($2800), The nurses and tech’s are incredibly thorough, and their customer service skills are comparable to any 5 star hotel. My first treatment was to my lower abs. They did not lie. The procedure was virtually painless. However by the time I returned home 30 minutes later it was all I could do to get through the front door. When I complained I was told the first treatment is always the hardest. My 2nd visit was to treat my upper abs and bra line. Again, little pain during the actual procedure, but, I was in so much pain on the way to the parking lot I felt as though I might pass out and seriously considered calling the paramedics. By the time I got home the tears were rolling down my cheeks. I stayed on my couch for 3 days, trips to the bathroom were my only exercise, as I couldn’t even bare eating. It was agony. The uncontrollable spasms in my legs curled my toes and made my right shoulder ache. I spent considerable time discussing my pain with the nurse who called to do the follow up. The following week I spoke with an Administrator. She stated ½ treatments would remedy the pain and swelling and made jokes about a man who'd gone snow skiing the day following his treatments. They did their best to console me. I asked for a refund but they assured me 1/2 treatments with longer intervals between treatments would remedy the situation. Treatment #3 & 4 were halved. However nothing changed. Pain, swelling, spasms. Again I spoke with nurses and Admin. The head nurse laughed and told me she'd had the procedure and not only finished her work day, but had even returned to work the following day with no pain and minor swelling. A few days later, still in severe pain I again asked for a refund. This time I spoke with the Retention Administrator who after discussing my situation for 45 minutes became thoroughly upset when I suggested getting my orthopedic surgeon involved, She went so far as to begin screaming at me. After calming her down, can you believe I had to calm her? She offered to refund a VERY small portion of my fully paid treatment. Now 3 months later, with no treatments since March, "maybe" I see some results. I've spoken repeatedly with Admin. Staff, they've REFUSED, even though their advertisements state, "Money Back Guarantee if not completely satisfied". Now the interesting thing is I've had major back surgery and this procedure is causing horrible swelling in my back culminating in severe spasms to my legs. To put it mildly, I hurt. The ab swelling has gone down but the lumps are still present, and my back still hurts. Since they won't return my money I had decided to continue treatment, however, yesterday (6/29) I had 1/2 treatment # 5. I feel like I was kicked in the back & yes, I do look like I'm 6 months pregnant. – I Would NOT recommend Lipozap. - TO MY WORST ENEMY! - I'm seriously considering seeking legal remedies. - Dr. {edited} has promised to call me this coming Monday with info. regarding re-imbursement. - As of today July 12th, I'm still quite swollen and very lumpy, I have yet to hear from Dr. {edited} or for that matter anyone on the staff including the young lady who has until this point made follow up calls. By the way Dr. {edited} is no longer on staff. Anyone know why? - Kinda makes you wonder................. Additionally I have suffered severe Urinary Tract Infections with each and every treatment. Nov. 16, 2007. Finally got in touch with Dr. {edited}'s secretary. She informed me the doctor had disassociated herself from Lipozap because they have not fulfilled their testing procedures and does not want to be associated with any treatment not FDA approved. After many phones calls I have now been told I will receive a form in the mail so I may request a refund. I was also told someone will in 4 to 6 weeks (ahhh 4 to 6 weeks???) to discuss whether I will be permitted any kind of refund. Even though I’m only halfway through treatment. A letter date Jan. 8, 2008 from MedAesthetica Clients Services gave me three options. #1 Transfer the rest of the Lipozap Treatments for credit on the VelaSmooth procedure. # 2 A credit in the amount of $262.50 toward other services such as Fotofacial, Lazer Hair Removal, Botox, Fraxel, etc. #3 A $262.50 Refund. I called {edited}, at MedAesthetica, I left a voice mail. She has never bothered to return my call. April 29, 2008. I still look pregnant, actually I look much worse than when I started Lipozap. I still have lumps even though last last treatment was July of 2007. We’re talking 9 ½ months ago. And bruising too. LipoZap was a HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE mistake! Anyone interested in joining the class action suit please follow the link below. Also take the time to look at the Better Business Bureau Report - RipOff.com, check out the articles on the Internet including the major news networks, CBS, NBC, ABC etc. Obviously I’m not the only one complaining! Here are the claimed problems with LipoZap that we are investigating:We have not been able to find scientific evidence that injecting “fat melting” solutions is safe, nor that shows that these injections work." I have seen Dr. {edited} at her office in Beverly Hills, and I do consider her to be my doctor. I had consulted her regarding Liposuction, however at the time, I could not afford the treatment. Dr. {edited} was professional, informative, friendly, and her prices, although to expensive for me, were very competitive. I did not bother to consult her to ask anything about Lipozap. I just assumed because she was the Medical Director, this would be a good thing. - Apparently, she had disassociated herself from MedAesthetica Medical Group because she DID NOT feel associating herself with using unapproved treatments or non-FDA medication. This was BEFORE I even went in for my consultation. MedAesthetica just didn't bother to remove the link to Dr. {edited}. It's my fault I didn't call Dr. {edited} personally until after the fact, by then I had already discontinued Lipozap treatments. Wish I had just saved up the cash and used Dr. {edited}'s services instead. I received the following from the Better Business Bureau today. Thought you all might be interested. Better Business Bureau 5-30-08 {contact information edited} In the absence of any response from the company this complaint despite our two requests to them, we are closing our file on this complaint. This unanswered complaint will become part of the information we report to the public on this company for the next three years. Should any government agency request our files on this company, your complaint will also be included. If you have settled this complaint directly with the company, would you please email us to let us know that, as well as any other comments you might have. Your help in doing this is important to ensure that our report to the public on this company is accurate. Thank you for using the Better Business Bureau. Complaint Complaint Classification: Credit/Billing/Coll. Complaint Description - Posted 4/30/2008 Lipo Zap Procedure DID NOT work as advertized. Painful. Lumpy. Bruised. And DID NOT disolve anything but my bank account. Complaint Summary I want my money back for the entire procedure as it did not do what they advertized. Resolution Sought Refund my entire payment Additional Information Date Problem First Occurred: 2/23/2007 Product or Service: Supposedly disolves fat. Model Name or Number: Date Purchased: 2/23/2007 Order Number: Amount Paid: $2600.00 May 30, 2008 It's been almost a year (June 2007) since I had my last Lipozap Treatment. I still have lumps and nodules which frequently send out painful bee string sensations. Discoloration is still present. I still look swollen and pregnant. My skin is lumpy. I'm making payments to Credit Care on a monthly basis, just to show good faith on my part so when we do finally get the class action suit settled (which unfortunately may be years) they’ll see I’ve fulfilled my part of the bargain - Lipozap refuses to return my calls, they also refuse to acknowledge the Better Business Bureau's inquiries. Lipozap customers may be able to fight soon for some type of justice? Heres a website if ya got suckered out of your $ from lipozap, or have pain. Here you go, here is a new website that warns about customers who tried and got lipozap treatments, or may be also for future patients? They do want to hear from former lipozap customers including what happened to them, and maybe if they want your money back, or an apology in case you still have pain? (I imagine). Here is the lipozap class action website. - http://lipozap-class-action-lawsuit.com/lipozap-sham.html and I quote "Here are the claimed problems with LipoZap that we are investigating: We have not been able to find scientific evidence that injecting “fat melting” solutions is safe, nor that shows that these injections work." Editor note: RealSelf members may contact you by clicking on your username, provided you have opted to receive private messages (a check box in your user account settings). Editor note: To make or request doctor recommendations, please visit our Doctor Recommendation Forums.

Hi Desa Roberson, So have you try to get the money back from carecredit or have you contact them to arrange for not making anymore monthly payment to them? How do you go about?

I did the same mistake. I signed up for 4 areas (upper arms, upper and lower abdomen and bra back line)It was close to $5K. The first treatment was horrible and painful, the pain subside after 2 days. The next treatment was for my arms, by the time I got to my car, I was in so much pain that I painted in my car. I called the nurse and suggested that I stay home and call her again in 2 hrs to follow up. To make story short it was too much pain. So I went for the 2nd treatment for upper and lower abdomen and the level of pain and discomfort was the same as the first treatment. I called the office and told them that I would like to cancel 2 out of 4 areas because I didn't think I could take the pain. I documented each time I called, they gave me different contact names to call but no one return my calls. Finally they told me that I need to send email and that my claim will be processed. Again, no response. I was persistent, bare in mind that I stopped going for the other treatments all together due to the poor customer service I was getting. So finally, I called CareCredit, I explained the situation, supply them with documenttion and copies of email I sent for the past 2-3 months. Next thing you know after 30 days, I got a mail from Care Credit telling me that since Lipo Zap failed to respond to them w/in the 30 day limit, they fully refunded all charges. The next day, someone at Lipo Zap called me, yes, a live person called me. This person gave me a guilt trip that I received some of the treatments and I should pay for it - I told him that was my offer to them in the first place had they listened to me in the first place. I said on my claim that I will pay for all treatments received and cancel 2 out of 4 areas but since they neglected to respond to me the whole matter was resolved by Care Credit. I told him that if he has something else to say, call Care Credit direct because I had nothing more to say. I feel pain around my arms and lumps in different places to this date but... nothing more I can do but learn my lesson.