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POSTED UNDER Fractional Laser REVIEWS

Extremely Painful with No Result

ORIGINAL POST

Absolutely horrible experience. I think that had...

shannelope
$900
Absolutely horrible experience. I think that had I been prepared for what I was embarking on, I would not have such a harsh review. I am 35 years old and decided to get this procedure done because I don't like that my skin folds under my eyes when I smile and I have cleavage lines developing on my chest. I got about a 5 minute consultation with my Dr. and one page After-care document. It said that I would look like I had a sunburn for three days and then would be able to wear makeup. I was not prescribed any pain medicine or antibiotics prior to the procedure, and boy do I wish I had been. The nurse applied litocaine to my face and let it sit for an hour before starting. When they started it was agonizing. It felt like hot needles digging in to my face and I could smell my skin burning. My chest area was even worse. The procedure took about 30 minutes and upon leaving I looked in the mirror and realized there was no way I would be able to go out in public for days (which I was not told until the Dr. did half of my face). Driving home was agonizing, my face was throbbing and there was bloody track marks appearing. After 3 days my skin looked terrible, I emailed the Dr pictures and stated how concerned I was. He called me and assured me this was normal (although his instructions did not say this at all), by the third night I was losing my mind. My chest felt like there were fire ants crawling under my skin. It lasted from about 5:30 at night until 3:00 am when the 4 Benadryl I took finally knocked me out. By the 6th day the skin started to peel off and by the 7th I could wear some makeup. I am now 3 weeks out and see no benefit. The lines in my chest are still there as bad as they were before and the skin under my eyes has not tightened at all. The only thing I see different now is that I am still very pink, you can still see track marks on my face and my chest has a huge spot of hyperpigmentation. I had my follow up appointment and my Dr. said all was normal, so I went to a second Dr for another opinion. He agreed I am healing fine, but said that I should have had strict after-care instructions and would have had me take care of this in a different way and said I should have been prescribed pain meds and antibiotics. He also said that he does not believe that the Fractional Laser is effective and would have recommended a regular laser (although that sounds even more painful) for my face. He also said that even the non-fractional laser would not treat the lines on my chest and that never should have been performed on me.
My recommendation, if you do decide to do this procedure go into it knowing you need pain meds for the procedure and for the days following and you should have antibiotics. Also know that you will look like someone dragged a fork repeatedly over you skin - you will not be able to go in public for at least a week and (according to my second dr) the full healing process takes about 6 months.

shannelope's provider

cannot say

Replies (61)

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October 9, 2016

Thank you for sharing your experience. I hope you find support here in the community.

October 9, 2016
That sucks, sorry to hear you had such a negative experience. From my research, I get the feeling fully ablative ("regular") laser works for real resurfacing of fine lines and shallow scars, improves texture etc, but it's even riskier... Whereas fractional laser can go deeper in the skin to improve collagen production but treats less of the skin at a time so you need multiple treatments to see results. It's more of a long term process and takes a while to see results, if you do see any. If your skin is pretty good to begin with, fractional laser is probably not going to do very much at all.
Sounds like they didn't educate you at all about how this works! Which has bitten them in the ass ;)
Hopefully you'll heal up and get some mild improvement at least.
October 10, 2016
Thank you
June 8, 2017
Do you know if syneron co2 fractional laser works good for MILD INDENTED OLD ACNE SCARS?? HALO, ERBIUM. & PEARL FRACTIONAL are just some I've tried over the years, and about 7 to 10 days after any of these procedures, (when the skin healed & fluffed off" all the I indented scars are EXACTLY THE SAME!! I even did 4 microneedling & ( infanti microneedling ). Is it just more difficult to get rid of indented scarring that is NOT AS DEEP??? My scars are slightly indented, but have a shadow like effect to them depending what lighting I am in!!!! THA K YOU!!! I AM FUSTRATED..... :-)
November 6, 2016
i am so sorry that happened to you , i am 11 days out and i see a huge difference , i did alot of research and traveled many miles to go to the best , so far worth every penny. Again i am so sorry you had a bad experience.
June 8, 2017
Hi!! Which place did you go to that you researched, and why did you choose that place over any of the other p!aces you probably looked into??....what made you feel confident to go to place??....
November 7, 2016
I am speechless looking at your photos. I have had 3 fractional laser treatments over the past 3 months and never ever ever looked like that. Just some burning sensation for the 1st hour and slight pink for the next 2 or 3 days. But never so much that I can't go out in public. So sorry to hear about your experience.
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November 7, 2016
I had this done and didn't look as bad as you ( your chest really looks bad ) I think he went way to aggressive but I am almost 6 months I would my skin texture is better but still have many fine lines keep us posted and very sorry this happened to you keep us posted on your healing
UPDATED FROM shannelope
4 months post

5 months post op, worse than when I went in

shannelope
5 months post op and the results are in...my skin on my chest is worse than it was before. I still have all the same lines and creases, but now I also have hyperpigmentation and my skin is so sensitive to touch, light and temperature I am always have various shades of blotchy pink spots. I have been using lightening creams to try to blend it and even it out, but have not noticed any difference. The skin on my face is fine. But the purpose of the treatment was not to treat the skin on my face, it was primarily for my chest. The only reason I did my face is that I thought it was going to be a very light touch up. I did go to another Dr. For a consultation and he said that he would have never used the laser on my chest as it is ineffective....

Replies (4)

January 30, 2017
Sorry to hear this. I just had my 3rd treatment. Looked worse than you. I had no pain. Just a headache. They gave me antibiotics and pain meds. But never had to use. Maybe you should try a different doctor? Glad you got your money back though.
January 30, 2017
Thank you. I'm Way too scared to try it again
March 21, 2017
When you say your face is fine, do you mean it's healed or have you seen improvement?
March 7, 2018
you could significantly reduce the post inflammatory hyperpigmentation by getting treated with a q switched 1064 laser peel using ultra short pico pulse.