Thomas McMeekin, MD

Assisted me with damage that was caused by another doctor. I was burned by a laser by physician in Buffalo and traveled to Rochester to have Dr. McMeekin assist with the ongoing redness. He used the V beam and was very caring also definitely not condescending or judgmental as some docs can be when repairing damage caused by another doctors ineptness. Highly recommend.

So I have a port wine stain on my face and neck. I started treatments when I was 3 weeks old. I switched doctors at 5 years old due to no change and scaring left from the doctor. I was with the second Doctor till I was 16. My birthmark would fade and come back but never gone. I was told it would be gone at 5, then at 12 and then sometime after 16 but there was never any signs of improvement. At 16 I gave up on all of it and went through a rough time in my life. When I started college I decide to look for another doctor that could help me. He has been great, I am on my 6th treatment with him tomorrow and my birthmark has faded so much that it's hard to see in photos now.

Before my new and final Doctor I had over 200 laser treatments without any changes but with only 6 it has faded at least 55%.
So I'm writing this so people won't give up in finding a treatment. If what you are seeing doesn't please you then find a different Doctor that can help. I almost stopped in trying and I'm glad I didn't. Also the cost of treatments is unknown to me since I have had so many but my new Doctor I do not have to pay a sent for the treatments.
Also I have never covered up my birthmark with makeup since it is was makes me me and the idea of hiding g something that has made me the person I am today just doesn't seem right. But I don't want to live with it for the rest of my life so hopefully in a couple years I won't have to worry about meeting new people and wonder what they thought.

Updated on 29 Aug 2016:
I have only had the Pulse Dye Laser used on me. The difference was in the strength of the laser and the technique used. My first 2 doctors didn't have it figured out but my last Doctor some how made all the difference. I noticed with him I had a lot more bruising after treatments, they would be dark purple and wouldn't lighten for 10 days but before it would be slightly darker and the bruises would fade quickly. Also I was told never to use ice before my treatments since it shrinks the blood vessels, I know it hurts more when not using ice but that is the price we must pay.
-Hope this helps!

Here are photos from 2011-2016. As you can see it has lightened a lot. Some days it does look darker and in photos it can look like nothing's there even though I know it's still there. I don't wear makeup unless it's after a treatment and I'm bruised but that's mainly for everyone else so they aren't shocked when they see me. Also I don't like photos and these were all I can find that shows the color differences well.

Updated on 23 Aug 2017:
So big moves, I've moved to Tennessee and will be living here for a year. I was keeping up with my treatments, 11 so far with my newer doctor. It's lightened a lot but because of my age it takes longer for it to be as light as I would like. I'm trying to get an appointment with the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. I'm hoping going somewhere that there are a lot of specialists in vascular and plastics. I'm wanting to see if there is a more aggressive approach than the lasers I've been using for the past 22 years (since medicine is always advancing). Also, I had a lip surgery done a few years ago, issues occurred and it wasn't stitched up as well as it should have. So I would like to get that fixed as well. But I'll update you guys on what happens.