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POSTED UNDER IPL REVIEWS

Face is Scared and Severe Hyper-pigmentation Due to Laser Treatment. Woodbury, MN

ORIGINAL POST

I had the worse laser treatment experience at Dr....

MVue
$1,200
I had the worse laser treatment experience at Dr. David Thao's office (Woodbury Plastic Surgery). After spending over $1200 my face is permanently scared and I have severe hyper-pigmentation due to the laser treatments I endured at Woodbury Plastic Surgery. The lack of customer service I received is well below par. I feel hopeless every time I look in the mirror.

Ladies, please before when you're doing anything to your face. There's no way to hide your face. Everywhere I go people always ask me what happened to my face.

On April 4th, 2014:
I had a consultation and treatment done at Dr. David Thao's office. I was treated by an esthetician under Dr. Thao's supervision. Originally, I went in for a facial since I didn't have any major skin concerns and have very sensitive skin. I'm in my mid 30's and have minor uneven skin tone and texture. The esthetician recommended laser treatments.

Finally, she convinced me to have a laser treatment and to purchase a laser treatment package. After, I was instructed to use sun screen and moisturizer on my face. The esthetician also recommended that I buy a complete whitening skincare line to use after 1 full week of recovery, which I went ahead and purchased.

Right after the laser treatment my faced was swollen, red, burnt, and painful. The esthetician assured me it was normal and that it would go away in a couple days.

On April 13th, 2014:
It's been well over a full week since my laser treatment. My face was still red and peeling. I noticed scares but thought it would get better after all the peeling. I was getting ready for bed and decided to start using the whitening skincare line for the first time.

The next day, I woke up and my face was in so much pain. I looked in the mirror and my face was swollen and red. I went straight to the emergency room. Unfortunately, they were unable to do anything for me and suggested I go back to see Dr. David Thao.

On April 16th, 2014:
I went back to Woodbury Plastic Surgery and spoke to the esthetician with my red, swollen, peeling and scared face. She said another gentleman in the office could assist me and answer any questions I had. His name was Phil. I brought back all the products that I had purchased and requested a refund. Phil said unfortunately their office doesn't allow refunds. I told him what happen after using the products and he still wouldn't give me a refund. He said, "what if you poured all the product out and filled the bottles with something else. How would we know?"

I expressed to Phil that the laser treatment made my skin worse and the products weren't helping. I refused to take the products back home with me regardless if they were going to provide me a refund or not. Phil said if I didn't want the products they would credit me another laser treatment, but not a refund. Even after I told him I didn't want another treatment.

I requested to see Dr. Thao but the office staff told me he was unavailable. I requested copies of my file, but they said unfortunately they couldn't do that either. I left their office dissatisfied and hopeless.

On May 5th, 2014:
I was back at Woodbury Plastic Surgery for a scheduled visit. This is one month after my 1st laser treatment. My face was scared and had developed hyper-pigmentation. I was seen by the same esthetician again. I told her I was dissatisfied and didn't want to go thru with any more laser treatments. I requested a refund for my two unused laser treatments. She said they were unable to give refunds and explained that if I didn't use my services they would eventually just expire. I'm not sure if this is the standard practice. Since this was my first time ever purchasing anything from a plastic surgery center.

The esthetician then said she's done these types of treatments on thousands of people and know it'll work for me. She told me the 1st laser treatment has brought the hyper-pigmentation closer to the surface of my skin and that I needed another laser treatment to get rid of it. After much debate (since they weren't going to give me a refund) and feeling like was had no choice (since my skin was in such a bad state) I went thru another laser treatment.

Right after the second laser treatment I had the same experience as the first. My face was red, swollen, burnt and I was in pain.

1-2 weeks later:
My face was even worse. The hyper-pigmentation was darker! I called Woodbury Plastic Surgery and talked to the esthetician. She assured me to give it some time and that it'll get better. I waited and waited and still no change in the condition of my skin. If anything it got worse.

On June 25th, 2014:
I finally was able to Meet Dr. David Thao. I had called previously and demanded to speak to a doctor. Dr. David Thao suggested that use a different whitening product. He also said these types of treatments don’t work for everyone. So he suggested we try a chemical peel. After everything I went thru and knowing how sensitive my skin was we did a patch test. Then I left the office.

The hyper-pigmentation from the patch test got even darker and I lost all hope that my face would ever return to its normal state.

On Sept 3rd, 2014:
I received a call from Mrs. Thao. She offered to refund me my money. This is after 5 months, countless hours of searching online for help, writing several reviews online and sharing my experience with friends and family that she finally offered to give me a refund. After everything that I’ve been thru I told Mrs. Thao I would need to think it over. I told her I would call her back with an answer.

On Sept 4th, 2014:
When I called back Mrs. Thao said she will no longer provide me a refund and that the offer no longer stands and expired as of yesterday. That’s odd, I didn’t remember her saying there was a deadline. I’m not sure why the change of heart.

I’ve written to the BBB and Woodbury Plastic Surgery chose NOT to respond to my complaint. They would rather take a lower rating. Please be aware they are NOT BBB accredited. I’ve also written a complaint to the MN Attorney General’s office. Now, I’m going to other clinics for their treatment recommendations to try and fix what Woodbury Plastic Surgery has caused. This is by far the worse service I have ever received by any organization.

MVue's provider

Umeng David Thao, MD

Umeng David Thao, MD

Board Certified Plastic Surgeon

MVue rating for Dr. Thao:

Overall rating
Doctor's bedside manner
Answered my questions
After care follow-up
Time spent with me
Phone or email responsiveness
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Replies (46)

September 7, 2014
I thank you for sharing your experience and pictures with the community.  I hope you are able to find some resolution and peace with this outcome. 
September 8, 2014
So sorry to read what you've gone through. I hope the skin will heal and the scars will go away. Thanks for sharing your experience with us; it's a real shame for that office to act that way. I hope they give you a refund cause of what they caused
September 8, 2014
Thank you for your support.
September 8, 2014
I think you have grounds for a lawsuit. Have you consulted a lawyer?
September 8, 2014
If this "doctor" is actually Board certified, then you should write a letter of complaint to the licensing authority. THAT will get his attention. For the amount of money involved, I'm guessing if all you really wanted was a refund, Small Claims Court could do the trick. You could handle that yourself. I always tell everyone NEVER to buy a package of any beauty treatment because you never know how you personally are going to react to it. In fact, you may not be "scarred for life". I got one of those iron-like burns on my neck after IPL - and it did eventually fade - but it depends on you going gently gently with your post-treatment regime - not even more aggressively! You needed to have investsed in a good post-treatment package like Skinceuticals. The "whitening" or "fading" must wait until well after the HEALING/calming has been accomplished. Any of these treatments amount to "controlled wounding". That is the whole premise upon which they "work". Even without a burn mark, your skin had been "wounded" - so it needed time to heal and respond. That's when you get the result that you actually wanted - such as a boost in collagen production. That's the body's natural response TO the wounding. It's a lot like exercising with weights. You know you should never do that every single day. You need to take a day off in-between for your muscles to "rest" and recuperate. It's in that cycle that you get the result you want. With these cosmetic things - the rest period might be 3 months or so - depends on the degree of the "wounding". In your case - I'd say 3-4 months of healing/calming treatment would be conservative.
September 9, 2014
Thanks. What's the site of the license authority? I don't care about my money, I just wanted my face to be better. I don't want others to have the same problem.
September 9, 2014
google it I'm sure you can find it easily enough I'm in MA and I just type in physician licensing just be sure you have the gov't website. Some states keep it in their Dept of Public Health some in a semi-autonomous body like a medical association.
September 9, 2014
Yes - and sometimes you can even discover when a particular doctor has had an issue with the licensing board. In my state, for example, I found out that two doctors (MDs) who now front medi spas in my city had issues. One was formerly a neurosurgeon; the other was in a plastics program and forced to resign from it. I do not know the details - and I try to be fair - it could be anything from a patient died, to the doctor had substance abuse problems, or maybe got a DUI. But I think it's the kind of info you ought to have when you are choosing a provider!
September 9, 2014
Please don't let these people get away with this. I think you definitely have grounds for a lawsuit.
September 9, 2014
I'm so sorry to see this. This is shameful. This doctor should be locked up for this. I'm so tired of seeing these new stories about damage posted here. These lasers are just bad news.