Mark Swyer, MD

SCULPSURE = TORTURE DEVICE
In Spring of 2017 I went to one of the Sculpsure events held at North Creek Medicine in Everett, WA. They market Sculpsure as a practically pain free lunch-time procedure to reduce fat up to 24% (there is currently a class-action lawsuit against the Sculpsure company Cynosure due to these misrepresentations).
I ended up purchasing $6500 worth of treatment for my stomach area. This was a lot of money for me, but I was persuaded by the repeated mentioning of how drastic the difference would be and how much it would help my problem areas. There was no mention of the excruciating pain.
Before I went to get my first treatment, I took my own before pictures, excited about the results I was promised. When I got the treatment, I could barely make it through sessions. It felt as if I was being seared with burning hot irons and I was concerned that my skin would come off because of the burning intensity of the machine. The provider told me that it needed to be intense in order to work and that it was similar to labor pains and I should just try to block it out. I have not had children but the pain was the most excruciating pain I have ever felt, worse than kidney stones or laser tattoo removal without numbing (which I can handle no problem). I cried out in pain and my whole body shook as it responded to trauma it endured. Each round got increasingly more painful and on the third treatment if was so horrible intense I could barely stand it and thought I was going to black out. After I left, almost immediately, I noticed three giant dark purple bruises and welts on my flanks the size of my iPhone. I felt horrible.
Over the next few months, I called the business multiple times, trying to resolve this issue as I knew there was no way I could continue the treatments. I was told multiple different stories when I wasn’t completely ignored all together. These included:
At first I was told by the manager that she was horrified and had never heard of something like this. She stated that she was concerned that I might have a medical condition to cause something like this then hinted at getting a faulty treatment by the provider. She requested I go to the business and meet her in person, which I did. Even entering back in the room with the machine caused me to shake uncontrollably and panic because of the pain. I told her that there was no way I could possible endure the thousands of dollars of unused treatments I had left and would like a refund.
Eventually, I spoke to the provider that treated me and requested a refund. She told me that they could refund half of the money I spent for the remaining treatments I never received but would do nothing about the zero results treatment that I had already endured. I gave her my updated address and she told me they would send out a check through certified mail. I waited over a week before calling back and asking about the refund. At this point I was ignored repeatedly, put on hold, told I would get a call back, ect. They were extremely rude to me and stated that they would not refund me any amount because I had signed a consent form at the event and the doctor talked to his lawyer and was told he did not need to refund me. I was hung up on. I tried to call back and texted the manager (frustrated because it had been months now) and no one would respond to me. This entire time the doctor refused to talk to me or even acknowledge me. I was told by a provider that they would not refund my money because Sculpsure would not offer a refund and the "special event" pricing that I had signed up for was a "treat to complete" package.
I endured this horrible pain and waited the 12 weeks (when you are supposed to see maximum results) and took after photos. I had zero results. My waist went from 34 ½ inches to 35 inches. I paid over $6000 to endure traumatizing pain, be treated horrible by the doctor and staff and with zero results. Save your money so you do not have to suffer and endure something that doesn't work!