POSTED UNDER IPL REVIEWS
She gave me 2nd & 3rd degree burns and blamed it on sun damage
ORIGINAL POST
I saw Dr. Wong to have 2 very small brown spots...
JuloAugust 11, 2015
$2,200
I saw Dr. Wong to have 2 very small brown spots removed. She assured me IPL was the only way to remove the brown spots. She also assured me that no one would be able to tell I had a treatment on my face. Not only did she give me 2nd & 3rd degree burns, she tried to cover it up and said the burns were because of the sun damage under my skin. I asked her why she said no one would be able to tell I had a treatment? She replied, "How was I to know you had that much damage under your skin?". I had to go back to work looking like a burn victim and she said just tell people you had a "beauty treatment". That's what I call empathy. I got 2nd opinions from 3 other doctors and they all said the burns never should have happened. Dr. Wong used too much power. They said they have never seen a result like the burns I got. The burns were bad enough, but the cover-up was worse. When I confronted her about what the other doctors told me she said she would give me a refund. I receive a letter from her that I will get a refund if I sign a confidentiality agreement. That's when I decide to sue her but her attorney is negotiating to run out the clock. You only have 12 months to get the case filed. Don't make the mistake I made and trust this women. BTW, her prices are outrageous. The other doctors told me they have their nurses do the IPL and have never had one burn.
Julo's provider
Replies (60)
August 12, 2015
I am so sorry this happened to you.....TY for warning us abut this Dr Wong.Hopefully you can successfully sue this incompetent dr!!!!
September 7, 2015
Hi Bridges,
Thank you for your comment. I did try to sue Dr. Wong but she had a lawyer provided from her malpractice carrier and I had to try to take her to small claims court. No lawyer would touch the case because there wasn't enough money for them to invest the time and energy.
Thanks anyway.
Julo
Thank you for your comment. I did try to sue Dr. Wong but she had a lawyer provided from her malpractice carrier and I had to try to take her to small claims court. No lawyer would touch the case because there wasn't enough money for them to invest the time and energy.
Thanks anyway.
Julo
September 8, 2015
This is exactly why these laser procedures continue. They know if your injured or damaged a lawyer won't take the case because its not worth it for them and the doctor and medical board will
say you signed a waiver that doesn't really state anything negative that you could end up with if the doctor botches it and/or the laser procedure goes wrong. And the medical board isn't going to throw one of their own under the bus. There's too much money in lasers to ban them. They know the bad stuff but they turn their heads for profit. Sorry Julo. It's very frustrating.
say you signed a waiver that doesn't really state anything negative that you could end up with if the doctor botches it and/or the laser procedure goes wrong. And the medical board isn't going to throw one of their own under the bus. There's too much money in lasers to ban them. They know the bad stuff but they turn their heads for profit. Sorry Julo. It's very frustrating.
October 17, 2015
March 28, 2016
Hi, Julo! I'm sorry to hear about what happened to you, and I hope you are doing better. I think you stand a better chance of having a lawyer help you if you move this out of small claims court. You can do that by not only suing for the money you spent for the IPL, but also sue her for the money you spent getting second and third opinions, as well as the money you spent with other doctors getting treatment for your burns. If that's not enough, try to sue for pain and suffering as well.
August 13, 2015
You should file a complaint through your state medical licensing board.
September 7, 2015
Hi Sophieg,
Thank you for your suggestion. I did report Dr. Wong to the CA Medical Board, but they said I signed the document saying I knew the risks. Oh well, just burn a patient's face and that's okay because I should have known. It's never the doctor"s fault.
Julo
Thank you for your suggestion. I did report Dr. Wong to the CA Medical Board, but they said I signed the document saying I knew the risks. Oh well, just burn a patient's face and that's okay because I should have known. It's never the doctor"s fault.
Julo
October 17, 2015
I think we all understand that mistakes can be made. But when you are wronged, and the person who wronged you refuses to assume responsibility or express concern for your well being, that is the point at which we say, "All bets are off and I'm going to make sure I help other ppl to avoid being the next victim."
August 13, 2015
I agree w/ Sophieg - report Dr. Wong to the medical board. Give copies of your photos. Not only did she fail to administer the tx properly, they way she dealt w/ it was horrible. She should've apologized, refunded the $$ w/o demanding a confidentiality agreement, and provided all f/u burn care free of charge. Too few doctors do the right thing. And then they wonder why people have such a low opinion of them. I also recommend sending a complaint and your photos to the FDA's adverse event database for medical devices. Sadly, just about every IPL device on the market today has never even gone through thorough testing before going to market. The industry has written new loopholes into the regulations that allow them to escape rigorous testing required for each new device by claiming the machine is like a previously approved machine. It's total BS! We are all guinea pigs. I hope you are getting good burn treatments now and I hope you eventually heal.
September 7, 2015
Hi IPLissues,
Thank you for your support. I did report her to the Medical Board and they said I signed that I knew the risks and that's that. They almost never call out a doctor because they think they could be next.
Julo
Thank you for your support. I did report her to the Medical Board and they said I signed that I knew the risks and that's that. They almost never call out a doctor because they think they could be next.
Julo
September 13, 2015
I am sure this doctor has lost business due to potential patients reading your review and running the other way. You saved other people from being damaged and going through what you went through. Other doctors will see the review and deduce that she's incompetent / poorly skilled and will be less inclined to refer patients to her. Also, maybe she will be more careful now, knowing if she gets more reviews like the one you gave, her practice will suffer severely.
September 14, 2015
And then they whine about the high cost of malpractice insurance. Well ya know, if they didn't leave harmed and injured patients w/o any other recourse, and focused more on that Hippocratic oath - "First, do no harm," they wouldn't get sued!
October 17, 2015
In some cases, perhaps this is so. But please take into consideration that Julo sought second opinions from other doctors in the area. Remember that these are Dr. Wong's colleagues. In each case the doctors gave her honest opinions and information. And all of them agreed that Dr. Wong was absolutely wrong on everything.
Doctors are healers. The majority have integrity. Occasionally one comes along like Dr. Wong who spoils it for the rest and puts the entire profession in a bad light. This is unfair but unfortunately it is the way it goes.
Doctors are healers. The majority have integrity. Occasionally one comes along like Dr. Wong who spoils it for the rest and puts the entire profession in a bad light. This is unfair but unfortunately it is the way it goes.
UPDATED FROM Julo
11 months post
Don't Let Dr. Wong Near Your Face! - Palo Alto
JuloOctober 19, 2015
I saw Dr. Patricia Wong to have 2 very small brown spots removed. She assured me IPL was the only way to remove the brown spots. She also assured me that no one would be able to tell I had a treatment on my face. Not only did she give me 2nd & 3rd degree burns, she tried to cover it up and said the burns were because of the sun damage under my skin. I asked her why she said no one would be able to tell I had a treatment? She replied, "How was I to know you had that much damage under your skin?". I had to go back to work looking like a burn victim and she said just tell people you had a "beauty treatment". That's what I call empathy. I got 2nd opinions from 3 other doctors and they all said the burns never should have happened. Dr. Wong used too much power. They said they have never seen a result like the burns I got. The burns were bad enough, but the cover-up was worse. When I confronted her about what the other doctors told me she said she would give me a refund. I receive a letter from her that I will get a refund if I sign a confidentiality agreement. That's when I decide to sue her but her attorney is negotiating to run out the clock. You only have 12 months to get the case filed. Don't make the mistake I made and trust this women. BTW, her prices are outrageous. The other doctors told me they have their nurses do the IPL and have never had one burn.
Replies (1)
October 20, 2015
Oh my goodness....I am so sorry!!!!!! Yes you need to sue! This is unforgivable. Keep us posted good luck honey!!!
I am so sorry this happened to you :(