Christopher B. Zachary, MD

I am now 8 months out from my first Fraxel Repair treatment with Dr. Zachary. I´m an Asian female (37 years old then, 38 now) who had the procedure done for moderate acne scars on both cheeks. There was a perceptible difference in texture after a few weeks, then after two months, and my skin continued improving as the months went by. I am pleased with the results that I have obtained in just a single treatment. Previously, I had had 4 or 5 laser treatments by 3 different doctors over a period of four years before I saw Dr. Zachary in October 2016. None of the doctors were dermatologists - two had gone into aesthetic medicine after practicing in other areas, and one was a plastic surgeon. None had lasered with the intensity that Dr. Zachary had. Consequently, none achieved the level of results that Dr. Z did in a single treatment. The prior laser treatments cumulatively improved my scars about 40-50%. In one treatment, Dr. Zachary improved them by another 50%. So, in total, I would say I´m 75% whole - and my belief is that I would have gotten to this point a lot faster if I had just seen Dr. Zachary from the beginning. I was familiar with Dr. Zachary´s name as an expert in scar revision because I had read some medical journal articles that he co-authored. However, I was considering going to see Dr. Davin Lim in Australia for lasering when someone asked Dr. Lim online if he could recommend a U.S. doctor. Dr. Lim named Chris Zachary as well as another doctor in the Bay Area. I hopped onto this forum and after reading happywithrepair´s experience with Dr. Z, decided to make an appt. Earlier, I said that none of my prior laser treatments with other doctors were done as aggressively as my October treatment with Dr. Zachary. Specifically, none of them involved the use of local anesthesia (i.e., injections) - only numbing cream; none made me bleed quite the way this one did after the procedure (they are careful to bandage you up after lasering at UC Irvine); and none of them involved persistent redness that lasted as long as 3 months. It seems that these are prerequisites for effectively remodeling moderate acne scars. I won´t detail the entire procedure or what happened in the initial days post procedure. There are enough accounts of similar laser treatments on this forum to give you an idea of what to expect. Everything went smoothly; no complications. I had the procedure on a Monday and was okay to fly back to Dallas that Saturday. (Though the first few days post-procedure were rough and I was worried that I would not be able to get on a plane by the end of the week.) I didn´t use any bleaching creams prior to or after the procedure, and yet never experienced any hyperpigmentation / temporary darkening of the skin. That did occur after a few of my treatments with the other doctors, so I´ve since learned to be extremely cautious about staying out of the sun before a laser treatment. Although I was given a prescription, I opted not to take any anti-virals. I was fine. However, two moments during the procedure that made me feel very comfortable to be in Dr. Zachary´s care are worth mentioning. First, before he ever began lasering, the doctor took several minutes to carefully examine my scars. Now, I had my eyes closed / had eye shields in place, but I felt him turning my head first one way and then the other, as if he were thoroughly assessing the situation before him. It´s a moment of preparation that you wish every doctor who is about to work on your face with a high-powered device would take. The second moment, which may sound silly, was when Dr. Z demonstrated to me that he has common sense. This requires a little background. Of the prior three doctors who treated me, one liked to do her laser treatments while seated at the top of the patient´s head (like an aesthetician). I realized quickly enough that that was where she felt most comfortable, able to see both halves of my face without constantly re-positioning herself, and so I never asked her to do otherwise. I know that some people read text very well upside down; I don´t. Another doctor simply did what most do - he stood on one side of me and asked me to turn my face toward him when he needed to treat the side furthest away from him. And then there was the doctor who had the laser machine set up several feet too far from the table I was lying on, and she stretched and stretched that handpiece... After Dr. Zachary finished lasering the right side of my face, he stopped and I heard him say, ¨Okay, now, I´m going to go to the other side.¨ (Yes! Thank you!) And then this man walked himself over to the other side of the table, positioned himself so that he was at the right angle to best see the problem areas he was treating, and resumed lasering. So simple, so brilliant. None of my previous doctors used Fraxel or Fraxel Repair. But I don´t believe the brand of laser is more important than the operator. Dr. Zachary knows how to use the laser device of his choosing safely, yet effectively, to make a real difference in the appearance of scars - at least he did for me. Dr. Z´s nurse, Laurie, is wonderful, too. She really takes her time to provide the best care. I am scheduled to see Dr. Zachary for a second treatment on Tuesday (June 19). I´m looking forward to it as I´m confident that he´ll be able to take care of the remaining damage this time around.

I recently had xanthalasma treatment and I am very pleased with the results thanks to Dr. Zachary. He was very professional, kind, and has a very friendly staff. He fixed my severe case of xanthalasma located around both of my eyes with two sessions. I consulted with more than twenty dermatologists and plastic surgeons prior to Dr. Zachary, all of which refused to work on my case. Thank you doctor Zachary for giving me back my face and look again. I'm so happy with the results!

Updated on 29 Apr 2015:
Due to my successful chemical peal treatment with Dr. Zackary, Mr. Roger S. has asked me to provide more details about my recent experience to help educate the Chemical Peel Community.
Over the past five years, I had started accumulating a severe case of Xanthelasma around my eyes. I went to almost 20 different consultants to see how I could get rid of this nightmare and look normal again. When I finally found Dr. Zackary, he mentioned that I had to go through two treatments - one chemical peel and one laser treatment to achieve optimum results.
On October 30, 2014, I went through my chemical peel treatment. I had no pain or discomfort at all thanks to Dr. Zackary and his friendly staff made this journey a lot easier. I will mention, however, that it was difficult at times because I had to stay indoors and away from the direct sun for 14 days. I had to soak my eyes every hour with mixture of vinegar and water and cover the treated area with Vaseline to keep it moist. It was a very ugly and long process to go through - pealing the skin, releasing the yellowish fat, waiting for new skin to grow, and then finally healing. I was very nervous about this procedure and to be honest, after my first treatment, I started to panic. The initial results are scary and I immediately regretted my decision. Dr. Zackary promised me my results would turn out great and to just be patient. He was right, once I reached the healing stage I had phenomenal results and I couldn’t be happier with his work and my decision to do this procedure.
On April 9, 2015, I was cleared for laser treatment. Again, I had to stay home and away from the direct sun for 3 weeks, doing a mixture of vinegar and water every hour and applying Vaseline regularly. I am currently still in the healing process but I LOVE how I look! I currently still have a blush red color around my eyes (as shown in the photo) but this will go away completely after 2 months. I continue to apply sunscreen, wear sunglasses, and hat for shade to keep myself protected from the sun.
You can see my pictures before the chemical peel and after the laser treatment. Please keep in mind I am still in the healing stage but the results are still amazing! I have documented my treatment daily from start to finish, but there are too many photos to share on this site. If you would like more details about the percentage of the chemical strength and the strain of the laser he used around my eyes you will need to contact Dr. Zackary directly.
Words cannot describe how thankful I am to Dr. Zackary and I am so happy he has given me my face back, I can look like a normal person again! Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

Hi,
I felt it was important to write a review and share my story, as I had read so many before going in for treatment. Sorry, I will not be posting pictures, because I was private about my treatments. I had acne scarring on my cheeks - ice pick and rolling - left over from puberty. The scarring was a heavy secret insecurity I carried all these years. So last year, I chose to make the leap and get the Fraxel Re:Pair treatment. I had tried dermabrasions, IPLs, and chemical peels. NOTHING gave results like the Fraxel:Repair!! This week I had my fourth treatment (all have only been on my cheeks). I highly recommend local anesthesia if you are getting this done. It can be painful depending on how aggressive your doctor is going. The down time is definitely a week. The first night expect no sleep. You must sleep sitting up to avoid further swelling on one side and messing your pillow cases with blood or ooze. Sounds bad, but more than anything else its just annoying. The oozing lasted two days for me - not as bad as it sounds. Then the crusting begins, but easily washed away with water and little bit of vinegar. I am usually swollen all week. But, I swell up easily. So icing is required. Each time, I returned to work after a week. The redness, because I am Hispanic (tan), was visible for at least a couple more weeks. I used green makeup primer and liquid foundation to reduce the redness. Most co-workers thought I was either sunburned or wearing a lot of blush. When the redness disappeared I did have some hyperpigmentation. Darker skin is tricky and I was told this would happen. I was given hydroquinone for lightening. After a month or so of using I switched to vitamin C serum. Both seem to work fine with time. In my opinion, the improved scarring trumped any discoloration that was easily covered up with a little makeup. It will fade. Three treatments gave me 80% improvement. Whats left looks like large pores and I am HAPPY with that. You'll never get 100%, but you will get major improvement. After the 1st treatment, I saw major results within ONE month. In fact, I was so happy, I cried at my follow up visit. My skin is smooth, tightened, scarring is filled in. My confidence has picked up tremendously because of it! People I had not seen in months, and had no idea what I had done, were now complimenting my skin. I wish I had done it sooner. I am over the moon with the results. I would recommend anyone who has wished their scarring away, and thinking about this, to do it! Especially if you are in CA - Christopher Zachary is amazing. The overall experience was emotionally difficult (to see your face, swollen, red, and with light oozing), but WELL worth the results. As a bonus, it has made me look a few years younger =) I hope sharing my experience has helped answer someones doubt/questions. Thank you.

One of the worst doctors there is which is why he is in UCI. He has a heavy hand and is aggressive in his procedures. Lazy as well. When the procedure doesn't go well and you let him know, he cannot take criticism and will argue back. My face is now ruined, I am warning anyone contemplating to choose him as your dermatologist not too.