Anne M. Chapas, MD

Dermatologist recommended DefenAge and absolutely see a difference. Dr Chapas and her staff are exceptional. They take time to describe all treatments and follow up next day after any procedure. You never have to wait as they are timely with appointments, staff are so gracious. It’s a real pleasurable experience.

This reviewer received a free product from DefenAge in exchange for writing the review. This review is based on personal experience of the reviewer with DefenAge's product. DefenAge did not affect or influence the content of this review.

I have had a prominent venous lake on my lower lip for many years that was slowly growing and I wanted to have that taken off. I also have sun damage to my skin - had permea clear and brilliant laser for that and this was my second treatment (no before and after photos of the first treatment). I have prominent darkening under my eyes which has gotten worse in the last six months.

I'm posting photos of before and after today without makeup and with. The clear and brilliant permea really helped shrink my pores the first time I had it done but found it didn't do much for darkened pigmentation or redness. I don't find it painful. My face was numbed with topical lidocaine for a 1/2 hour before.

The restylane to tear trough hurt a bit despite the numbing. I think that I was under filled on the left side. The doctor really focused on my right eye thinking it needed more. I won't know for sure until the swelling subsides. It did lessen the dark areas under my eyes but didn't fully fix the issue and I knew going into this that I have hereditary issues with under eye darkness. I'm very bruised on the right side and not as bruised or swollen on the left - the left doesn't look much different to me. The doc used two syringes and this procedure cost the most at $1500

Right now I see very little change to my venous lake from the excel v treatment. That had to be zapped three times and it did hurt (they don't numb the area as it effects the outcome) but it was over very quickly and they put ice on it post treatment. It was pretty sore. She said I will need a second treatment. I was told to expect a scab and swelling. So far it is just discolored and slightly swollen.

Updated on 3 Apr 2015:
So yesterday, until later in the day, I was fine but at around 8 p.m. (9 hours after treatment) my face began swelling and hasn't stopped despite icing and sleeping with my head propped. I called the doctor this morning and was prescribed prednisone. Just took first dose and I'm hoping it will help because the swelling is effecting my eye sight. Nurse said that it should reduce the swelling within hours. I truly hope it does. I do not believe that this is the normal amount of swelling after this treatment and that I'm having a bad reaction. I'm posting a photo but unfortunately photos don't do the amount of swelling justice. It's so much worse...

Unfortunately, I wasn't prepared for this treatment. Someone I know well had it done and she experienced swelling and bruising but not like this. She didn't do anything special. When I was researching how to treat the sweeping I came across some things I wish I had known: Stop taking all meds that thin your blood prior to treatment (ibuprofen, aspirin, vit. E, etc) Make sure you get iced before and after treatment for a while and continue icing till you go to sleep. Take oral arnica and bromelain 500 mg bid before and after.

I slept with my head elevated and iced my face which didn't help me. I think my reaction is beyond what the above could help... which is why I called the doctor but I think there should be a basic standard for having this procedure done and that anyone getting it done needs to be aware of it.

Updated on 4 Apr 2015:
So it's day three. Yesterday I took 40 mg of prednisone at around 10:30 a.m. It definitely helped stop the swelling from continuing and by the end of the day it had gone down. This morning the swelling is better but still there and my face looks deformed. The swelling is softer and if I touch the area it feels like there is water under the skin. I'm supposed to take another 40 mg of prednisone this morning.

The Excel V to my lower lip venous lake is still a work in progress. My lip is very swollen this morning and I've been having mild shooting pains in the area of the venous lake on and off since last night. They are very mild.

Updated on 5 Apr 2015:
It's been three days and today the swelling is finally more manageable. Still puffy and uneven but I look more like myself than I have in days. I took prednisone day after procedure and yesterday which helped tremendously. I also started arnica and bromelian yesterday - little late but I think it helped too. Wish I had known about it before hand. Here's a pic with make up but without, my skin looks pretty good. The Clear and Brilliant treatments are wonderful - really shrink pores and even skin tone. I can still see the venous lake in my lip but it is much fainter. I still have strange zinging kind of pains in that area of my lip but they aren't bad. Lower lip is still swollen.

I'm a bit worried about having nodules/lumps where the restylane was injected as I can see the unevenness of my skin in the area where she placed it but I won't know until the swelling is completely gone. Hoping it is not an issue!

I am a 43 year old woman, relatiively fit, healthy and with the bellyfat which makes me kinda crazy since it won't budge with diet and exercise. I didin't want to do the traditional liposuction since it is so aggressive and expensive. I came upon the Cool Sculpting and decided to go ahead with it.

Many reviewers spoke of the procedure being painful but I did not experience anything more than slight discomfort, especially after the initial suction of the fat into the applicator, which was somewhat shocking and took my breath away for a moment. After that passed I layed in the clean and warm room reading my book and even took a nap. So overall, the office experience was fantastic.

Afterwards, the abdomen was numb and tingly to the touch for maybe two months, it was really minimal and I didn't feel any sensations unless I touched the area. There was also minor bruising but nothing to write home about. That eventually passed and I was fine. At the same time that this process was working, I was also exercising and dieting, I was very motivated since exercise and diet didn't reduce the bellyfat at all before.

The procedure was done in August so it's over the three month period. I have thrown away all my old jeans and bought ones 2 sizes smaller! And, I feel like the reduction is still progressing. So I say, be patient, for some of us, it really can take longer than 3 months. I'm really happy I had this done. It was cost effective, didn't impose upon my life or work schedule (I went to work the next day with no pain).

I have to admit that the pics I'm posting are not as dramatic as I see myself in the mirror. I look way better in jeans and feel more confident and yes, younger!!!!
 

Dr. Chapas has been my dr for many years and always is ahead of the curve on techniques and the newest tools. She suggested this new-to-market filler as it has several advantages over resty & juvey. She understands my concerns and only reco's what she knows will work for me; as opposed to some practicioners who will push you into doing things that you don't necessarily want. I will not let anyone else touch my face except her.

Tired of shaving.

I did my research and went to one of the best laser practices in New York, and I think it was worth it. Here's how it went:

My doctor met with me to review the procedure and ask me if I had any questions before we got started. After the doctor left, a nurse photographed me for my "before" shots. Then she took me back to the treatment room, where I washed my face. She covered my entire face in a numbing gel, which felt kind of like vasoline. She also gave me an injection in my butt of a pain killer she said was like an extra-strength advil. It didn't hurt at all, I couldn't even feel it. She also gave me my first dose of some type of steroid, to help with the swelling. She gave me a packet with two more doses to take the next two days.

Then I waited an hour, while my face numbed. It was a strange sensation; I really couldn't feel my face. It was fine, though, I just sat and read.

After an hour, my doctor performed the Fraxel procedure. She handled the laser while a nurse stood by following the movements of the laser with cold air. The doctor made a first pass over my face to hit the deeper layers, and then a second pass for the more surface stuff. It didn't hurt really at all, but felt strange, like someone rolling a sort of prickly ball-point pen all over my face. It was not really comfortable, but I can't honestly say it hurt at all. The doctor explained what she was doing as she did it.

When each side of my face was done, the nurse applied an ice pack, which I held there while they did the other side. After the whole face was done (both passes), they had me sit in front of another light machine (I forget the brand), which the doctor said would help minimize any redness.

When the whole thing was done and I had put my sunblock on, I looked a little splotchy and a tiny bit swollen, but not like a freak or anything. Like a very mild sunburn, plus moderate puffiness. Honestly, if I had needed to I could have put on make-up and gone to work, and likely no one would have glanced at me twice. But my doctor said it was better to keep icing it for a while to reduce the swelling. So that night I just iced it for a while, chilled out and went to bed. For the first couple hours my face felt a bit hot, like a sunburn, but I had no pain whatsoever. My face continued to be a tiny bit numb until the next morning.

When I woke up the next morning I looked great. Hardly any swelling, and just a mild redness that I easily covered with light makeup. Plus my skin texture looked amazing. I went to work as usual.

That was 10 days ago. I will say, I can already see a reduction in my pore size, and some slight improvement in my acne scars, although it's not as extreme as it seemed the day after. I think the day after there was still a tiny bit of swelling, which made my scars seem more improved than they really were. I am looking forward to my next sessions, however, to see more improvement.

As for downsides, I would say I was not prepared for how rough my skin would feel. To look at, it's a bit smoother than before, but to touch it feels a little sandpapery. A couple of days after the procedure were worst in terms of touch -- my face felt like actual sandpaper. You couldn't see it, it was only if you ran your fingers over my skin. Strange. I also had some peeling at about day 2 or 3 through 5, and my skin continues to be a little bit flakier than usual. I just exfoliate in the morning and at night, and it's fine. The other main downside is that I broke out with small pimples all over my face, probably from that numbing gel. They are very small and surface, though, so easy to cover.

I assume the texture will smooth out as the healing process progresses. If it doesn't, I would question whether the procedure is worth it, on balance. I guess it depends on whether you care more about how your skin looks or feels. However, it's a little less rough each day, so I have confidence it will return to normal eventually.

I will post how my progress continues as I complete more sessions.


Updated on 7 May 2009:
I just finished my third treatment -- here are the updates:

The second and third treatments went much as the first in terms of procedure -- chat with the doc, numbing cream, painkiller shot in the rear, steriods, then chilled for an hour, then the fraxel, then sat in front of the light machine briefly.  I tolerated it so well the first and second times that for the third treatment the doctor pumped it up to the strongest level.  The doctor and the nurse kept saying how tough I was, but I swear I just could hardly feel anything -- just some strange prickles, like static.  I guess the numbing cream and the painkiller work really well on me.  The worst part was that I was very cold and shivering from the cold air they blow on your face.

As for results, I am very happy.  I have seen very noticable improvement in my deepest scars.  What were deep, jagged ice-pick scars are more like small indentations now.  They are still there and visible, but much better than before.  I have not seen very noticable improvement in my shallower, more surface scars, but my doctor said those will take longer to show improvement.  She said most people don't see full improvement until two months after the last treatment.  So I have a few months to go.

Side effects were much less with the second treatment than the first -- I'm hoping the same will be true for this third time.  I think my mistake the first time was that I was basically afraid to touch my skin for the first couple of days, so the top layer of skin got rough and flaky since I wasn't exfoliating or anything.  The second time I used my exfoliating cream and all my usual topicals from night 1, and my skin never really felt too rough.  I also didn't break out the second time, probably for the same reason, that I didn't stop my normal skin care routine.  Two weeks after the treatment it was really smooth.

The only thing that annoys me a little bit is that although the redness goes away after a day or two, my skin continues to look slightly rosy in color (almost like I just stepped in from the wind) for a while longer.  This fades consistently as the days pass, but just when my skin is normal again, it's almost time for the next treatment.  So I guess I won't enjoy my fully normal skin color until after all my treatments are done.  However, no one notices it but me, so I guess it doesn't matter much.


Updated on 11 May 2011:
Update: please don't do this to your skin. While the some of my acne scars were improved, overall now my skin looks rough and uneven, like someone who has spent their life in the sun. I have aged at least ten years. I noticed the wrinkles and papery skin soon after my treatments had ended, but thought I might be imagining it. NO. My skin has wrinkles like you wouldn't believe now, far beyond the natural aging process. I am so disappointed that I did this to myself, and paid for the privilege. Please don't do it, it's not worth it. I thought my doctor was great when I was being treated, but she never warned me that this could happen.