IPL: Stories

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A Rough Start....but Ended Up Well - San Diego, CA

I had IPL to deal with a lot of sun damage and...

  • 21 Sep 2011

I had IPL to deal with a lot of sun damage and discoloration I had.

I had a pretty extreme response - lots of swelling and the amount of pigmentation that came to the surface made it impossible for me to leave the house! It took about 10 days before I was healed enough that I could cover with makeup and not get a lot of sideways glances.

14 days post procedure, I am thrilled with the results. My sun damage is gone and my skin is smooth with invisible pores. I would definitely do it again, however I was completely unprepared by the amount of downtime I experienced. I would just caution anyone considering IPL to be prepared for that possibility.

There are also a lot of horror stories out there - I would only do this with a medical doctor who has a lot of experience working with IPL.

Great review?
Darrell W. Gonzales, MD

My Doctor: Darrell W. Gonzales, MD

My rating:

Doctor's Bedside Manner
Answered My Questions
After Care Follow-Up
Time Spent With Me
Phone or Email Responsiveness
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Called to check on me several times to make sure I was healing appropriately - had me come in for a follow up to ease my mind since my healing was slow. Definitely recommend him.

Comments (3)

nicolesandiego 11 Aug 2012
would you mind posting how much the treatment cost? Thanks!
NateTheGreat 21 Oct 2011
I had not considered it long - I saw my dermatologist a couple of months previously for my regular annual check and he talked to me about it then. I didn't do as much research as I probably should have. I have good communication with this doctor and I tend to trust what he tells me on face value probably more than I should. :) I saw him last week for a follow up and he is recommending one more treatment, but I am going to wait for a little bit. This time I will schedule it intending to have more downtime that the "typical" response. Thanks!
BrittB 19 Oct 2011

Hi Nate, 

I'm glad this worked out so well for you, but often wish patients would get a bit more warning of downtime so it does not catch them off guard like it did you. But your review is good so those researching will know about downtime, so thanks for that. :) How long had you been considering having this procedure done? 

Thank you for the post,

-Britt

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