Dr. Cukrowski is AMAZING, from dermatology needs to cosmetic, I rate her top notch in every area! I have been a patient of hers for YEARS, since she began at Midwest Center for Dermatology! She is fast, thorough, and never makes you feel uneasy with any procedure!
Dr. Cukrowski has such an art when it comes to cosmetic procedures! I value her professional opinion and and most importantly trust her. She is always so thorough and walks you through the treatment as she is doing it… I always feel like I’m learning something new during my appointment. I can’t imagine seeing anyone else for my cosmetics.
I'd never recommend Dr. C and I regret seeing her. I recently relocated from California to Michigan and needed a new dermatologist. I was interested in under eye filler. Dr. C injected filled into my tear trough. Once the swelling subsided, the filler was really obvious. It was placed too high and she used too much. I went back, unsure why I could see a nike swoosh under each eye. Was it an infection? I bad reaction? Or just too much filler? She convinced me to get even more filler to address the issue, which was a terrible idea. A few weeks later, I had lots of achy pain in the location of the filler and around my eye. Plus, the additional filler didn't actually fix the cosmetic issue - she only made it worse, giving me an overfilled and puffy appearance. I've since been to another dermatologist at the University of Michigan to dissolve her work. 3 filler dissolver sessions and $1,000 later, I no longer have facial pain but STILL have more of Dr. C's work to remove. I went to Dr. C to improve my appearance - I now regret visiting her.
I had the CO2 laser treatment on my face today to treat fine lines, dark spots and to help collagen growth. I am not sure exactly which laser was used, but I will find out so everyone can know. I had it done at Spa43 in Clinton Township by Dr. Cukrowski and Carol. I arrived at 9:45 am and signed forms, paid and then the fun began. Dr.C came in to look at my face and discuss with Carol how they would proceed with the treatment and then Carol (who is amazing) gave me a dose of Valium (thank God!!!) and then inserted metal disks in my eyes for protection...really not as bad as I expected. Next, she covered my face in numbing cream and then I waited. After about an hour the doc came in and gave me numbing shots in my gums (just like at the dentist) and numbing shots around my eyes, just the lower part. None of these shots were bad at all....really just kind of what you would expect. These shots really numbed me a lot and I am very glad. Then after about 5-10 minutes the doc came back in and began the treatment. There were three separate steps taken. First, an overall laser on my face for a deep treatment to stimulate the collagen. In all honesty, this was extremely painful. I think it lasted just a few minutes...I'm not really sure though. Second, there was a treatment to my eyes that was more intensive, BUT because of the extra numbing it was much more tolerable with the exception of the upper eyelids because there was not any extra numbing there at all(there really is not a way for numbing to be injected into the eyelid so it just is what it is....super awful, but hopefully good results). Then finally there was another overall laser to the whole face to treat dark spots and stuff like that. I don't want to admit this, but I feel as though it may help someone else, I was literally writhing on the table at certain points, I even tried to back away from the laser a few times (not that I was going anywhere). It was just extremely painful during times and at specific spots on my face. The doc kept going (which she should do) and did not lower the intensity of the laser (which I am definitely thankful for because I want to have a good outcome)... But overall, this procedure was really, really painful. I just hope it was worth it! During the entire procedure Carol used a cooling air on my face to help with the burning sensation which made things much more tolerable. Both Carol and Dr. C were very encouraging during the treatment and kept telling me things like "Ok, one more line across here"' or "This is the last laser and we're almost done" , stuff like that....which also helped. Afterwards my face burned like it was on fire...when I was home I put cold compresses on it and the burning subsided after about an hour and then I coated my face with aquaphor and tried to relax. It is not too painful right now but starting to ooze which is fairly gross...but part of the process. Here are some after thoughts...I was under the impression that my entire face would be numbed with injectable numbing meds...that would have helped A LOT....I'm not sure why it is not done at this office, but if I do this again then I will be sue to get more numbing treatment prior....even if I have to go to a different doc. And, they don't give any pain meds for the first day when you get home. I think that would have helped with those first few hours after the treatment. My PS for the TT said he gives pain meds to his patients after he does laser treatments....he is just too far away from me to get this type of treatment done at his office. While the treatment was extremely painful I feel okay right now, so I'm glad for that. I am hoping for good results from the treatment and then it will be worth it. I do have before pics and pics from today and I will post them tomorrow. I will keep up with daily progress pics as well. Anyhow, Carol said that tomorrow I will look somewhat "monster-like".....ugh!!!! As long as I look amazing in about 2-3 weeks then all is well! :-) Updated on 8 Jan 2016: Updated on 23 Jan 2016: About a week ago I noticed that I had developed a texture on my face that looks as though I pressed my face on a mesh screen. I made an appointment to see Carol to discuss this as well as the fact that I did not peel and had zero improvement in my dark spots. I am upset about all of these things but wanted to discuss the matter calmly to solve the problems. Carol began by somewhat making light of my concerns and saying I need to give it time, it had only been a little over one week, etc. I continued to press her on the mesh like texture and no improvement in darks spots and no peeling. She said she had seen this kind of texture before and it has always gone away with time (I hope she is right because it looks bad). Regarding the dark spots and peeling she agreed that I should have had improvement in the dark spots and admitted that I had no change and I should have peeled so I am scheduled to see Dr. Cucrowski on February 11th to discuss all of this. I believe they will work with me to give me the results I wanted, but I'm losing confidence in our ability to communicate. Also, not sure if anything can be done if this texturing does not resolve on its own. I am not sure what the final outcome will be, but I am definitely concerned. It seems like my skin is still healing so I am hopeful I will not have this texture permanently.
Waiting approximately 30 days after your Ematrix is enough time to now pursue having a VI Peel done. I would recommend the VI Precision Plus and also check with your provider on stopping topicals or anything exfoliating 3-4 days prior to your peel.VI Peels are perfect for addressing pigmentation, texture of the skin, pore size and acne if you are currently broken out.
