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POSTED UNDER ActiveFX REVIEWS

Extremely Disappointed with Results.

ORIGINAL POST

I had fine lines and wrinkles on my face,...

juladairApril 3, 2008
$2,000

I had fine lines and wrinkles on my face, especially around the eyes (Crow's Feet) and forehead (Frown Lines), loose eyelid skin, brown age spots, uneven skin tone and acne scars.

I had the Active FX procedure done in January, with high hopes. Unfortunately, it's now April and I see no improvement whatsoever. I still have the brown spots; in fact, I seem to have more than before the Active FX (like it brought some out that weren't visible before). The wrinkles are exactly the same, the acne scars are exactly the same, my skin tone is still uneven and my eyelid skin is still loose. Also, I experienced some extreme pain when I had my Active FX. My cheeks and forehead were not so painful but I had to be held down so I wouldn't move on the doctor when they did around my eyes and mouth. I try to always be an optomistic person and look at the bright side of things and so I hate to have to report this bad experience. The Doctors and their staff were very nice. But, I spent $2,000 and see no improvement at all.

Replies (71)

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laserdoc
May 3, 2008
Ouch! I'm the laser physician in Chelsea who did the procedure and invite Juladair to please return to the practice to get a free touch up on the areas that did not turn out for her. Higher settings can be used to get rid of fine lines and brown spots and further tighten the skin. Air conditioned cooling is now available for pain control. Hope to see you back.
juladair
May 6, 2008
Wow, my doctor is awesome. She saw this review of my ActiveFX and sent me an e-mail and asked me to come in for a touch-up that will hopefully address some of my issues. I thought I was SOL since the procedure doesn't always effect everybody the same. I figured I was just unlucky. This is great customer service and very much appreciated. Thank you Dr!!
jll
May 20, 2008
Please follow-up with if the touch-up made a a difference and if the 'air conditioning' made a difference with the pain. Thanks.
juladair
May 30, 2008
Hi Dr. My throat is exactly the same, unfortunately (still the bad white acne scars). The brown spots on my face are healed but are still pink. I'm hopeful the pink will fade. Makeup does cover up the pink spots much better than the brown spots though! As far as the pain ... much, much more tolerable this time. Thanks! ... Julie
LazerLee
June 15, 2008
So glad you are having more success with the #2 lasering ! And, very good of your MD. to ask you to come back in for more treatment ! I have good skin, some fine wrinkling, some light brown age spots, two AKs and one or two SKs. Also, I have large pores with some blackheads. Not my main concern, but pointed-out to me by the MD: some loose skin--I had a face lift 7 yrs. ago--and fine lines starting to appear around eyes, mouth, and on cheeks. I have taken good care of my skin since pre-teen. I am now somewhere between the ages of Madonna and death, and I am in excellent health Alittle more of my results from my #1 ActiveFX: I think the setting on the laser was at 159; some areas were swept over twice. Not one place, spot, area on my face looks any different; my skin problems were surfaced, and none were deep; why do I still have all my areas of defect ? How can Seborrheic Keratoses and Actinic Keratoses and Light Brown Spots start to drop-off/disappear ? The peeling has stopped; I don't think it will happen now.
aleeeeexannnndreee
July 13, 2009
hi iam 17 and about a year ago i had facial cellitis that lasted about 6 months scaring my face horribly that iam too embarrased what do you suggest iam 17 i want to have my skin back like all other teens please help me i dont want to cry myself to sleep anymore!!
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laserdoc
May 30, 2008
Hi Julie, That's great about the brown spots being gone. The pink will fade. Please be meticulous about sunscreen to avoid hyperpigmentation or repigmentation. As for the chin acne scars, they take many treatments to go away although they will fade a little each time. There is a new handpiece to the machine called Deepfx. It targets acne scars better, although I haven't seen outcome data yet. It's been available for about 5 months and I'm waiting to see if it really works before purchasing it. Active Fx's domain is really texture, tone, tightening and brown spots. It completely misses red lesions and only slightly treats acne scars. Please stop by and let us see you in another 3 months for after photos. I'll bet you'll be beautiful. Regards, Dr. H.
ACTIVE FX LASER NITEMARE
June 1, 2008
i had active fx a 2 months ago in chicago by a well known plastic surgeon. this surgeon is opening his own stores for the skin. i went to this doctor trying to repair acne scars and to smooth out my skin. i was under the impression i was going to receive a deep fx treatment, later finding out this doctor had just trained for deep fx treatments by the distributor a month after my procedure. which is on record. if i had this knowledge in no way would i have allowed this procedure. also the doctor went over my face twice in some area s, from what i researched and spoke to other professionals this is a mistake. the fx lasor is designed to skip natural pigment, using this fx twice would not accomplish this goal. the procedure was horrible !! i would never recommend !!! i was given 3loratab for pain, and doc used paste that was supost to dull the pain, he did not use paste on entire face, slight area on left cheek and slight area on right. i asked if this paste should be spread all over, doc stated this paste was not pliable and it was essentially used to dull needle injections. in my opinion something was done incorrectly. i endured the most horrible pain in my life, mind you i had suffered 3rd degree burns as a child, that was a cake walk. the pain was so horrible i wanted to die, and the doctors assistant had to hold me down from uncontrollable body tremors. even know this was horrible pain i thought of stopping mid procedure, but then wondered what my face would look like then, so i went on.. my face has not improved at all, acne scars seem more apparent ( much worse ) and now suffer from hyperpigmentation because the docs office sent me home with the incorrect spf (15) for my face.. after seeing doc asked what he thought, he found no noticeable improvements but went on to lecture me on sunscreen because i have brown spots all over !! at this point i did not know i was using sunscreen 15 so i put up with lecture, after going back home thinking i applied this sun screen religiously how could i have hyperpigmentation ?? that nite i noticed the 15 spf and was deeply upset. because i found after all treatments a sunblock is required or sunscreen of 60 or higher. during this follow up i asked doc if he would redue procedure he stated no. i am so deeply depressed because of all this then to be treated in such a manner by doctor. i am in the process of building a web site for all to know about the talents of this doctor and to warn others. and have every intention of following up with legal and lic actions ... to anyone considering this procedure research !!! ask for photo s of other procedures which i did not do and remember, just because a doctor has credentials does not make his hand from god.. look foward to hearing from you ............ pete
LazerLee
June 23, 2008
Pete, what is your latest comments/opinions on your experience ? Please write more of what is current on your ActiveFX procedure. Thank you !
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laserdoc
June 1, 2008
Dear Pete, You raise some very important points about this procedure: understanding what is to be done and expectations about outcome. Since the procedure is only one year old, we doctors learn more each month from patients' feedback. You should really tell the doctor in a detailed letter exactly what your experience was. I suspect he'll call you in and offer to help. When I saw my patient's note on the blog, I was mortified and contacted her immediately. We worked together on correcting the problem areas at no charge to her and with better pain control that we had established one month after her procedure, and, I believe, parted on good terms. About 30% of patients get hyperpigmentation from the procedure and summer is definitely more pronounced. Get a good hydroquinone cream (hopefully from the doctor and medical grade) and bleach it out. It works very well and truly goes away between 6 and 12 months. We give our patients a factor 30 sunscreen with 17% zinc oxide at the time of the procedure. One final point: the collagen building continues over 6 months, so you'll get more results (and filling in of acne scars) over the next several months. Keep an open mind and watch as the months go by, being certain to use the sunscreen, hydroquinone and hopefully a retinol to help the skin. Good luck!
ACTIVE FX LASER NITEMARE
June 3, 2008
Dear Lasordoc, Thanks for you're correspondence, and have a few more questions about ACTIVE FX if I may ? In you're opinion, since I was given an SPF15 sunscreen after my FX treatment, instead of the appropriate 60SPF or sunblock. Could this have caused my hyperpigmentation ? And now must I be worried about CANCER ? Also, is it typical to use the FX Laser twice in one area ? I have olive skin and was told this treatment would be most beneficial because it persicely skips over the pigment, leaving a percentage of you're pigment untouched. Could this is anyway, may have contributed to my hyperpigmentation ? I noticed having a stinging sensation, along with bloodshot eye,( for 6 days) along with blurred vision in right eye, and still have slightly blurred vision in right eye. IS THIS TYPICAL ? should I been given eye protection ? I had upper eye area s done along with lower eye region ( entire face & neck treated ) Also, when you perform a procedure, what are you're methods of blocking pain ? After taking 3 LORATABS, having the so called TOPICAL paste applied, and sensory numbing. Why was the procedure so horribly painful ? How much of a role does the TOPICAL creams play in numbing the face ? And should the topical paste been spread evenly all over my face ? Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions, and I must give you the respect you deserve. Because you stand behind you're work !! And obviously have compassion, and the acknowledgement that every human face has its own importance & value Sincerely Pete B.
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laserdoc
June 4, 2008
Pete, I don't think the spf 15 sunscreen contributed to the hyperpigmentation as 29% of patients get it anyway. The fact your skin is olive makes you a more susceptible than lighter skin types. Thankfully, it does not cause cancer. Be sure to get a bleaching hydroquinone cream from you doctor to undo it. It will take about 3-6 months to get rid of the hyperpigmentation. Don't worry, I've always seen it go away. Keep the sunscreen going daily. Some doctors will use the laser twice in specific areas. I do it for patients with a brown spot or scar they want treated more aggressively or if they want more skin tightening in an area. It gives a better result and shouldn't make you pigment more. Your eye concerns me. It should be looked at. There should be eye protection for the procedure, usually goggles or intraocular metal shields (if the lids are being treated). The numbing cream can cause a chemical burn if it gets into the eye, which happened to one of my patients. A metal eyeshield or goggle could scratch the cornea. Do get it checked to be sure it's fine. My patient with the chemical burn took about 1 month to heal and I had ophthalmology follow her to be certain. Then we changed suppliers to get a cream that could not run into the eye. To block pain, there are several methods. We do give 2 lortabs, 2 ativans to sedate the person 1 hour before the procedure. Then we either apply numbing cream to the entire face for an hour or use injectable nerve blocks instead. (Plastic surgeons tend to use nerve blocks as that is how the profession practices and they find the pain relief superior). I also use an air conditioned hose to blow onto the face while I'm treating. That has helped immensely for pain control. We always ask our patients their pain level on a scale of 1-10. Before we got the air conditioned hose, they typically said 8. Now it's 2-3. I can't believe the difference and only sought it out after a patient told me how terribly it hurt. Patient feedback is so important so that we can improve. (I had the procedure done myself before the air cooling and had level 8 pain. It felt like I was being branded. But I loved the outcome so much that it was worth it). Thanks for your kind comments on my work. It's a passion and nice to know that patients appreciate the communication. Good luck!
(unregistered guest)
January 8, 2009
Dr. Howlin, May I ask what topical anesthetic you changed to that doesn't run into the eyes? I am having a similar problem w/eye irritation in patients w/ the BLT we use. Thanks!
Wbevie
June 3, 2008
I am 47 years old and an x heavy smoker. I quit the nasty habit 7 years ago. I was also raised in south Florida and my face skin has taken the toll along with the aging process. I have loose skin around my jaw and neck, fine laugh wrinkles (one side more than the other), laugh wrinkles around eyes and my forehead has deep wrinkles. I also have the lovely wrinkles between my brows but not as bad as I've seen in others. My question is why should I waste money on many, many treatments of laser skin resurfacing, etc. etc instead of a one time face lift that would take off 10 years of age and THEN go in for some laser treatments. After the face lift, I would need wayyy less laser. Something to consider out there people. :-) I have a consultation with my plastic surgeon who offers all these things. I'll let you know what he says. By the way, I've already had my eyes done by him 7 years ago and he did an excellent job.
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