Fraxel Destroyed My Face - Westborough, MA

Yes it does suck and NO it is not in my head. I did not say I had flawless skin, I said I had "nearly" flawless skin. Specifically, I had some very, very mild rosacea which amounted to a couple of broken blood vessels on my nose and cheeks. I was 57 years old at the time of the fraxel. I didn't have a wrinkle or a visible pore on my face. My skin was tight, shiny and translucent. I have had beautiful skin my entire life. I looked remarkable for my age. No one would ever have guessed my age. I had skin that many 35 year olds would envy. I never wore makeup, not even to cover up the mild rosacea. When I consulted Dr. Ahn about getting rid of my broken blood vessels he suggested and highly recommended a one time Fraxel Repair treatment which was frankly ridiculous. I had never heard of Fraxel but I trusted Dr. Ahn and took his advice. I tried to back out at the last minute but his nurse, talked me back into it and reassured me it was perfectly safe and that Dr. Ahn was the best. I had no idea what I was getting myself into and no idea how damaging this treatment is and was. It didn't take me two years to realize the damage. As soon as the swelling had subsided, I knew my skin was damaged. There were pinprick holes in my skin that were left from the laser tracks. I brought it to Ahn's attention a month after the treatment but he insisted that he did not see them. Since that time they have only gotten larger and more visible. The holes are now joining together and forming tiny lines. Not only that, the fraxel caused my face to lose volume which is also contributing to the sagging and aging appearance. And yes, Fraxel does destroy fat as well as collagen and elastin. My skin has aged five years in the last two. This is not natural aging. The Fraxel definitely damaged my skin and accelerated the aging process. As to your comment that this could all be in my head, if that is true then it must be in my friends heads also. They to have have noticed the changes. It is little comfort to know that most people have wrinkles as well as visible pores. I didn't. Even with my few broken blood vessels, I rarely ever wore makeup. I was blessed with beautiful skin and regrettably, I put my trust in the wrong person. The profile pic I am posting was taken just prior to my Fraxel treatment. I had no makeup on. You can be the judge as to whether or not you think my 57 year old skin was "nearly" flawless. I think it was. No, I have never considered LED light therapy. I don't know anything about it. I'll look into it. Thanks.

Okay, some of that makes sense and I have read about the holes happening to other people--also perhaps the laser DID trigger some sort of aging process--i will take you at your word, but aging IS inevitable for everyone, no matter how good they take care of themselves, no matter their genes or how much organic food they eat--it happens...so I guess what I'm trying to say is that looks aren't everything. Yeah i hate it when people say crap like this too, but its totally true that whats on the inside is more important. I mean look at your friends! Is their only value in their looks or do you like them for some other reason? What makes them enjoyable people to be around? I doubt it's their looks...I also doubt you suddenly, rapidly turned into an old hag, so try to remember that you are your own worst critic. Don't let this whole thing with your skin get you down too much or fill you with bitterness; don't obsess about what could've been if you'd done this or that; dont waste the rest of the next ten years trying to become young again because its not going to happen and it'll eventually just make you an empty person on the inside (which is worse than being aged or ugly IMO). Take it easy on yourself.

Take me at me word??? Why is that so hard for you??? You continue to insinuate that I am lying or this is all in my head. This site and many others are rife with fraxel victims describing the exact same damaging effects from their Fraxel Frankenstein mistreatment as I have just described. There are several scientific papers describing the damaging effects of Fraxel and that body of work continues to grow as do the victims damaged by this ill advised barbaric mistreatment. It is common and in fact very typical for the real damage to show up two or more years after the initial treatment. Many fraxel victims, never connect the dots (pardon the pun) that the Fraxel is responsible for their aging, dull and discolored skin. Please note that I joined Real Self in August of 2010 just 5 months after my Fraxel Repair treatment which was in March of 2010. Because my skin was nearly flawless to begin with, the damage was evident early on and has continued unabated since that time. You keep harping on the idea that this is the natural aging process. IT IS NOT!!! The Fraxel damage is obvious to any objective observer. No, I do not look like an old hag yet but at the rate my aging has accelerated and from the damage that I am observing, I figure that in the next five years, I will probably look 80. Please note in the picture above that I was closer to 58 than to 57. I was defying the aging process. Again, remember, I had no makeup on in that picture. I fully thought that I would look 50 or 60 when I turned 80. Now I expect that by the time I am 65 I will look 80. I find it curious that you are so eager to disparage the victim yet never once question WHY any doctor would recommend such a drastic treatment where the risks far outweighed any possible benefit. And by the way, Fraxel Repair was the wrong treatment for Rosacea. WHY would a doctor RISK permanently damaging nearly perfect skin in order to obliterate a few blood vessels? WHY??? The truth of the matter is that my Rosacea was extremely mild and a cream would have sufficed!! That is what any ethical doctor would have recommended. WHY, WHY, WHY??? Why when there are so many horror stories about FRAXEL do you attack the victim and not the procedure and the doctors performing it despite the well publicized damaging effects of Fraxel and similar barbaric laser procedures??? WHY???? I have an appointment with Dr. Ahn next week for a followup visit. I have little hope of gaining any satisfaction. I'm sure that he will deny everything just as he has in the past. I hope that I am wrong. I am desperate. My skin is permanently damaged but I think that at the very least he should do whatever possible to mitigate some of the damage that has resulted from my Fraxel Repair mistreatment. If Dr. Ahn refuses to do whatever is in his power to help alleviate some of the damage, I fully intend to report him to the Medical Board for malpractice. I hope it doesn't have to come to that. I hope that he will let his conscience and not his pocketbook be his guide. He can deny it all he wants but he knows the truth as well as I do. IT IS OBVIOUS AND IT CAN BE DOCUMENTED.

Look lady, I don't think you're lying at all and I NEVER ONCE implied that any of this was your fault (what I meant by "go easy on yourself" was that you shouldnt blame yourself), but i dont think this should be the end of your world...also, it seems unreasonable to expect to look 50/60 when youre 80...but yeah, you have reason to be upset and to put out the warning-of course! Alls i was trying to say is that your life is far from over so I think you should fight to live too. I mean ive read some of these faxel stories and am sufficently scared of fraxel b/c of them, but guess what? I have worse things than some freakin dots on my face! I mean, its not like I deserve them either. Believe me, I obsessed about my acne scars for a couple of years and all it did was make me an ugly and bitter person. I also became the most self-absorbed person ever and really unpleasant to be around (it's not like I became a bad person, but all I began to care about was my skin and the way I looked). And before you claim that your situation is different because you had such PERFECT skin and it was a barbaric laser that damaged you, i had nice skin too; I took care of it and did EVERYTHING i was supposed to. I'm also still young so I felt really bitter about that too... So i might as well have been perfect until I got to my mid twenties and suddenly had a bad bout of hormone fueled cystic acne. The cystic acne was traumatizing enough (I was used to being attractive) but the scars? Omg I was completely DEVASTATED by those. Never before had I EVER had acne scarring (suddenly i realized this was what i saw on other peoples faces--only worse) and now I felt like people treated me differently b/c of it. I didnt like seeing anyone because of it, and i became really obsessive about it. Between bouts of staring in the mirror and crying I'd do all these Internet searches trying to find out why I scarred, what i could do to prevent it, how i could fix it etc. i cursed my doctor over and over for not preventing it (how she was supposed to prevent it I don't know but I was really mad that I had done everything she told me to and was left with scarring). All i can say is, if this is the kind of crap you've been up to, the stress from this alone will rapidly accelerate your aging. It did for me. I mean you wanna talk about fat and collagen loss in the face? Stress is not conducive to collagen and elastin development, thats for sure; I am not even thirty yet but over the year that i became so miserable, i rapidly developed saggy skin, really prominent nasolabial folds and wrinkles under my eyes. I have no doubt that for me, this was directly related to the depression and stress of becoming, basically, the most miserable and obsessive person ever. So I'm not saying you shouldn't speak out and document your experience because it wasnt your review I was objecting to-- just your attitude--and by this i mean that i found it pretty upsetting to read that you think your life is basically ruined and over. That's how I used to feel and I basically let it devolve me as a person. Good luck with your appointment but don't forget to pay attention to what's on the inside too.

Dear Hardandfaster, I'm sorry for the pain and trauma you have experienced at such a young age. I can't even begin to imagine having to confront these issues at your age. I applaud your courage and fortitude. Thank you for your advice. I know it is well intended. I am very early in the grieving process as the damage continues unabated and my face seems to change daily. I have no idea how bad this going to get. I am only now coming to the realization that there is nothing that will ever reverse the damage that has been done to me. Yeah, your right, I have come to a crossroad in my life: Except it or die. I'm not sure at this point which path I choose to follow. Thank you for your comments. I will ponder what you have said. I wish you peace, happiness and healing. God bless you!

I would like to comment on what you have said that it's all in fraxelvictim's head. Me too is a victim of this fraxel laser. It ruined my face, like fraxelvictim, I used to have a very smooth face, but after fraxel, my face became rough, more discolorations, enlarged pores, more wrinkles, more scarring, very sensitive to heat and sensitive on some facial creams. It's not in the head, it really damaged the skin. I aged a lot after fraxel. I wish I didn't do fraxel. It's too late, the damage has been done but I have to move on with my life and hope that nobody will experience what I or the other people had been thru.

Thank you, SA. I'm very sorry to hear that you also are one the growing legion of fraxel victims. It sickens me that they know the damage these machines are doing and are still using them and destroying peoples faces and lives. As for the poster saying it was all in my head, you really have to wonder what the motivation or "agenda" is when someone comes out of the gate and attacks someone like that. It is interesting to note that "hardandfaster," joined RS just after i posted my story. She posted here a total of 5 times. Four of the posts were attacking me. All five of her posts were made in the same month. She hasn't been back to post anything, anywhere, since. I have always found this very suspicious and in fact, very telling of the source. I have had similar attacks by at least one other person within the same time frame. Very curious, indeed. Nothing like victimizing the victim over and over again. There are just no levels to which some people will not stoop.

I believe you, because something similar happened to me a plastic surgeon's office with fillers! She RUINED/disfigured my face and they do not post my review!

Who are you and what laser product do you sell?
It was incredibly presumptive of you to tell her it might be in her head, I guess mine must be in my head too and the tactless people that make comment on it must be seeing things.
Why don't you try it, a whole face lasering, then you can choose your insights?

Yes! Many years out now and my face is still very sensitive to heat.
For a long while after laser I couldn't even sit next to a lamp with a shade on it without it feels like it was at a temp of hundreds of degrees. Plus I has to wear a hand towel tucked into my collar for my dripping melting face. It was disgusting, still is tho it doesn't drip anymore.
Everyone that's had it; make sure you wear the strongest sunblock you can find everyday even if you're inside and sun is coming in window.
And don't let the doctor sell you more stuff like any glycolic acid or hydronic acid as mine did (even then they continued to squeeze money out of me), it will continue to thin and worsen your face. It's the last thing you could do. Don't add acid to laser or your skin will be paper thin and will remain so incredibly tender. Use a gentle daily moisturizer.
When I used my sable makeup brush it felt like I was using a wire brush. Washcloths felt like 60 grit sandpaper and would give me abrasions that would scab. I still have to use the softest wash cloth I can find and will still get red abrasions if I'm not careful. They aren't to the point of scabbing anymore, usually.
BTW; During the initial months "healing " time, the dr. had me use the back door and go right into an exam room so as to avoid other patients seeing me in the waiting room. Finally I realized they weren't going to make me better because i could get better. That day I left thru the front door and stopped in the waiting to let them all see my face. I told them the doctor did this to me.

My apologies for the misplaced remark. I am here looking for the best procedure and I am a bit frustrated, I don't know what is the best treatment . I was looking at the Fraxel Repair then I saw your post and got defensive, sorry, I shouldn't have. I have 3 kinds of Acne scars and really look bad, I have cried many nights for 15 years - now at 40 I don't cry about it any more but still I really feel bad and would like to do something about it. I will post pictures soon.

Sorry to hear about your experience.

Safeman, Thank you for your apology. Please believe me, I am not lying. I wished I were. Unfortunately the damage I describe is very real. The pictures do not reflect the true extent of the damage. The camera could not pick it up. If you still do not believe my story their are plenty of others on here that have been injured and damaged by lasers. Many of them much worse then I was. You are lucky to have found this sight before doing Laser. At least you will know what you are getting into and the chances you are taking. If you are intent on doing laser, look at the reviews and look for someone who is 2 or 3 years out and see if they are still satisfied with the laser treatment they had. Many of these reviews are posted days and months after the treatment when the face is still swollen which makes things look better. With fraxel the damage can take more than a year to appear. My doctor told me that it was perfectly safe and no worse than a sunburn. He lied! Have you tried derma rolling for your scars? I have heard several success stories with that. You should check it out. I'm sorry for the pain that you have experienced due to your scarring. Please proceed with caution so that you don't make matters worse. Thank you again for your apology. Best wishes

What was the reason for omission? Wasit because she said the doctors name?
If so that would be a shame we need to know who to go to or not based on true reviews.

^with this "doctor" who destroyed my face and ruined my life.

ceruleanlake- I also have VBeam damage. How long ago was your laser treatment with Dr. Ahn? Did your skin heal / get better?

Hi ceruleanlake, I'm sorry to hear that you have been damaged. These machines should not be allowed on the market. Every day more and more people are having their faces and their lives destroyed. It is truly heartbreaking. I am five years out from my mistreatment. I'm sorry to report that NO, my skin did not heal. When did you have the VBeam and what kind of damage are you experiencing?

Ceruleanlke, I just saw the comment above and realized you were injured by Ahn! OMG! When did this happen? What is the damage? Ahn tightly controls his ratings. When something negative appears, suddenly a whole lot of postive feedback miracuously appears to raise his ratings back up to the top and push the negative ones down to the bottom. I have noticed this happen not only here but on all the other MD rated sites. Boy, he is one lucky guy. What are the odds?

It was almost ten years ago now, and I had to go to another doctor which took five treatments to finally fix. The treatment at Dr. Ahn's office was too aggressive for my skin, and they obviously want people to have to keep coming back. It looked like I had polka dots on my face!

what treatments?

What kind of treatment did you have to fix the problem?

I had to have more laser treatments to fix it, but this time I went with a new doctor and the Sciton laser.

:-(((((

Damn them for doing this to us!!!

Hi, did you have fraxel repair or restore?

Repair. Once.

Im sorry to hear that. I had fraxel restore two days ago and im very nervous after what i read on here. im not sure where your location is but there is a good derm in nyc cameron rokshar maybe he can help you in some ways. He initially worked on the laser.

Thank you for the name of the NYC derm. I'll keep it in mind. Maybe it will benefit others as well. I'm in MA and I just learned that that the the inventor of the fraxel laser technology and a world renowned laser doctor Dr. Richard Rox Anderson, is located and Boston and practices at Mass Gerneral. I may try to contact him at some point. I'm just too depressed right now to do anything. I feel like it's hopeless and even if there were a treatment available it would be really expensive and I wouldn't be able to afford it anyway. Don't worry. Stay calm and take good care of your face while it's healing. It will probably turn out just they way you hoped. There are more people on this board claiming satisfaction than not. Good luck and best wishes for a speedy recovery.

I hope you you feel better soon. Lets just all be thankful for having our other health.

Thank you! I would suggest that you research Biafine cream. I think it might be a good precautionary measure for you to take as you are healing. The Biafine cream is used for burns including radiation burns. It calms the inflammation which is what ends up causing the damage. It is made in France and has been used with good success for over 25 years. It requires a prescription here in the US but you can find it on ebay for a really good price.

My brilliant doctor recommended that I slather Aquafor (like vaseline) on my face. I know a lot of doctors recommend this to help with the drying and flaking of the old burnt skin but it is the wrong thing to do. I believe it causes more damage by keeping the heat in resulting in more inflammation and scarring.

No! Practically impossible due to the release form you sign before any cosmetic procedure. I really hope there will be a class action lawsuit against the laser manufacturers one day. They are destroying peoples faces and they are aware of it. The FDA is just as complicit.