WPetrosine

Just wanted to comment on Annie17's post. My first and only fraxel treatment was 4 months ago and I still have an itchy, excema-like rash that is worse at the end of the day, but the red bumps you describe are exactly what I got in the beginning and what I still get now on occasion in different areas. I was told in the beginning that I had what is called perioral dermatitis. This was a result of the combination of the laser treatment and the cortisone cream my doctor said it was ok to use on the rash I developed right after the laser treatment. Red dots didn't just appear around my mouth, but also all over my nose, chin, cheeks, above my eyes, predominantly in the t-zone. I thought it was an acne outbreak but the bumps wouldn't pop like a pimple. At first my doctor didn't even want to see me in his office. Said I should wait it out. I looked like I had chicken pox. When I finally got angry and said I wanted to come in to his office, he agreed to see me and couldn't believe what I looked like. He made me feel like I had been over-exaggerating about the red bumps. I still have several very enlarged sebaceous glands under the skin on my nose and forehead which look like mounds (which he said would eventually go down and have not). All these problems and he has no answers or solutons to any of them. I am still searching for the one doctor who will be able to help me get rid of this rash and these bumps once and for all. I have an appointment this weekend with a new doctor and I'm praying that he'll be able to help me. How stupid I was to ever get this procedure done. I traded perfect skin (except for constant oiliness and a few acne scars) for the dry, itchy, sagging skin I have now. What a deal. I have yet to let this issue go. I'm going to fight this to the very end.

I am so sorry to hear about your results. It is so unfair. I hope you sued the mnanufacturer or the doctor because they don't care; they're not the ones who have to live with the bad results! I'm sure most of the doctors are well-qualified to use the fraxel, but it seems like they don't care about the people who don't have perfect results. They just move on to the next patient. I hope you find a way to fix your problems that still exist. If you ever need a great doctor for fat grafting (as you were mentioning to someone else), there's one that I know of in California. He's supposed to be outstanding. People come from all over to see him. Let me know if you want his name.

Awalk- Can you please tell me how I go about filing an "adverse event" with the FDA? I've noticed that you've commented on a lot of people's posts and seem very informative. Not only do I need to find a doctor that can help me get back my pre-Fraxel skin, I want people to know the NEGATIVE side-effects of this laser. I had a fraxel treatment 3 months ago and I look like I have aged 10 years. I had a bad reaction which in turn caused what I was told was perioral dermatitis. Then the bright red acne-looking bumps from that rash went away, and I was still left with a burning, bumpy, itchy rash on my cheeks and chin that have not gone away, enlarged pores and sebaceous glands on my nose, white lines like stretch marks on my cheeks, hyerpigmentation on my cheeks, and sagging skin around my mouth (jowel area) where the doctor did a more aggressive treatment. I went back to my doctor and he told me I'm looking much better than I did the first few weeks after the treatment. He actually had the nerve to say that none of these side-effects were from the Fraxel laser treatment. The only issue I had before the treatment was oily skin and acne. This laser completely ruined my face and I want people out there to know what they're getting into. The Fraxel manufacturer's website doesn't list any side effects of the laser other than some swelling and peeling after treatment. It's such B.S.! Please help!

I'm reading your post from November of 2007 and it's now May of 2009. I had my first fraxel laser treatment done 3 months ago and I have had a horrible itching bumpy rash on my cheeks and it has not subsided. I also still have some slight swelling and sagging around my mouth where the doctor did a more aggressive treatment. Makeup and some lotions make the rash worse. I am experiencing exactly what you went through. Can you tell me if your rash ever went away? I'm scared my skin will never return to the way it was before the procedure.