My daughter had laser hair removal on her thighs at Aptos Medical Arts a few years
back. As she has a dark complexion I was very aware of the possibility that people
with darker skins can experience burning or scaring with laser treatments.
I had learned that improved laser machines had been developed for darker skinned patients. When I took my daughter in for an appointment, and expressed my concern, I was assured by the nurse, Dr. Frattiani's wife, that they had the latest, state of the art and proper laser equipment for hair removal for dark skinned clients. When she did the laser on my daughter's thighs, the result was very dark red marks following the first treatment. Those red marks faded to brown spots. It took three years for the brown spots to fade. I took my daughter to a dermatologist (Dr. Frattiani is not a dermatologist but rather an osteopath. ) I was shown two laser machines and asked which machine was used on my daughter. The one that was used was the wrong one, and intended for light skinned clients. So Aptos Medical used the wrong laser machine! Had I taken my daughter elsewhere, to a dermatologist, she most probably would have been treated with the correct laser machine and would not have had to endure three years of dark spots on her thighs. I deeply regret that I choose Aptos Medical Arts for this procedure. I choose
them as I live in Aptos and they were close. I thought it was a medical
facility and not a spa so I thought it would be done with proper care and
by qualified professionals. I felt that the nurse was not honest with me
about the equipment they had. She assured me that she had used this machine on dark skinned people with no problems. I should have asked for references.
Dr. Frattiani and his wife are well meaning, but I feel that they are more
of a small business operation than a real medical office. Doing this procedure on
my daughter, without really considering the damage that they did, was
based on a profit motive and not on sound medical professionalism and concern.
I thank God every day and every night that we did not do laser on her face.
At least it was on her thighs which she kept covered for three years. She was
in college at the time.
My daughter had laser hair removal of her face at a later time, by a dermatologist,
and walked out of the office with her face looking totally normal. No redness
at all....and reduced facial hair with each treatment. There was no down time
or recovery time and her face did not have any redness, scarring or marks
at all. My advice, if you want hair removal, go to a qualified dermatologist. read more