Mar 26, 2009 5:40 pm US/Eastern
I-Team: Facing The Pain
It's a cosmetic treatment billed as a quick lunchtime
procedure with little to no downtime.
And it promises to make women look younger.
But some women say they spent thousands of dollars on the
beauty treatments which they say made them downright ugly.
CBS 3 I-Team Reporter Jim Osman reports on the women who
are now "Facing The Pain."
It's any woman's worst nightmare.
Paying for a beauty treatment that instead ruins your
looks.
"It's totally disfiguring," said Christine Hoene
who paid $900 for a Fraxel laser treatment. "You can't leave the
house."
The company website says Fraxel is marketed as a safe skin
treatment that removes years from your appearance and without the risks and
side effects commonly associated with other procedures.
"The first three days my face was as huge as a
balloon," said Christine who was panicked by her look after the Fraxel
treatment. "I was assured everything would be fine."
But she'd have to endure her new unflattering look for
seven long months.
"You cry and then you feel guilty for cying, it was
not a good time," said Christine.
The doctor who perfomed Fraxel on her footed the bill to
repair Christine's skin.
She still has issues with skin pigmentation almost a year
after the procedure.
"To me my eyes go to that," said Christine.
"That's the first thing I see all the time when i look in the mirror, I
see the imperfection from the laser."
Christine blames Fraxel's marketing stating no risks and
minimal downtime as the reason why she agreed to try the procedure.
"Its misleading," she said.
We heard the pitch when the CBS 3 I-Team producer went
undercover to an office in Cherry Hill,
New Jersey where they offer the
procedure.
The woman who spoke to our producer is not a doctor.
She told us there was no risk whatsoever.
"It would be great for, you know, like your finer
lines, your texture, overall everything," she said.
"If anything, it's great for your skin and it does
everything for your skin," according to this clinical consultant.
"You're definitely a candidate, it would be great for you."
The problem is a medical doctor at a Marlton dermatology
office told the same producer, on the same day that Fraxel could harm her skin.
Angela Walker who had the Fraxel procedure 2 years ago
wishes her doctor had told her that.
"My face looks probably 15 years older now, I have
wrinkles, it looks like I had acne scars," says Angela.
It's rare for Angela to leave the house these days except
to walk her dog.
She's that embarrased by her looks.
"I would rather lose a hand than to have my face like
this for the last two years," said Angela.
It's not clear why these womens' skin reacted the way it
did or if human error was involved in performing the procedure.
Dermatologist Dr. Vicki Cyrillo-Hyland of Bryn Mawr
Hospital says Fraxel can
be effective but the patient has to be a candidate for the procedure and a
qualified doctor needs to perform it.
"People have to ask more questions, know where the
doctor trained, how long have they been in practice, what side effects have
they seen and if they occur what would be done," said Dr. Cyrillo-Hyland.
Christine and Angela thought they had done their homework.
Now they're determined to warn other women so no one else
has to suffer the same fate.
"That was the biggest mistake I've ever made,"
said Christine.
As for Angela. "It's ruined my life."
Fraxel says in a statement the procedure has delivered
quote "safe results in over 500-thousand patients worldwide"
and that fraxel has quote a "strong
safety record".
A spokesman for Fraxel didn't comment on the specific
cases of the two women from our report.
He also didn't respond to our questions about the
procedure's marketing.
The F-D-A- says it is looking into the claims from the
women regarding the marketing of fraxel.
The F-D-A- says a dozen complaints have been filed
concerning fraxel.
Jessica Simpson: Then & Now
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