March 27, 2006
Spa Lasers Could Pose Dangers
Susan Koeppen Goes Undercover To Shed Light On Potential Risks
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Play CBS Video Video Laser Spa Risks Laser treatments at day spas are a booming business, but there can be serious injuries and side effects from these medical procedures. Consumer correspondent Susan Koeppen reports.
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Scars on Jordan Miles' back after laser treatment (CBS/The Early Show)
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Dr. Heidi Waldorf , a New York dermatologist, says she treats patients who've been injured at laser spas. (CBS/The Early Show)
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News Tools Contact Susan Early Show consumer correspondent Susan Koeppen is ready to help you. Just e-mail her!
Though the spa that inured Miles has gone out of business, Koeppen says, Miles still lives with the scars every day. She's too embarrassed to wear bathing suits, tank tops or even sun dresses.
"I feel like I would look like a freak at a sideshow," she says. "This has been a totally life-altering, life-changing experience for me."
Doctors have told Miles the stripes on her skin are permanent.
Koeppen and her producer called the spas where they went undercover for reaction to what they later learned.
The owner of the spa that guaranteed they wouldn't burn said the spa has a good record, so it was fair to say they wouldn't burn.
And the owner of the spa that told us there was no risk said its customers have never had any complications.
Both spas said they have doctors who check people carefully before every treatment.
Koeppen tells The Early Show co-anchor Hannah Storm that anyone considering getting laser treatments done at spas needs "to ask a lot of questions. First, ask if there's a doctor on the premises. If there is, ask if you can see him or her. Also ask who will actually be doing your treatment. It might not be the doctor. What kind of training has this person had? And are there referrals? Ask to speak to others who've had it done.
"As a rule of thumb, should you try to see a dermatologist for any kind of laser work?" Storm asked.
"Doctors say, go see a doctor if you're going to get this done," Koeppen noted. "It's a serious medical procedure, and you should treat it as such."
Is price an indictor of the likely quality of the treatment you'd get?
"You do get what you pay for," Koeppen responded, "but don't be fooled if a spa is charging you a lot of money. Eric Light said it might be that the spa has a lot of rent to pay, so they're going to charge you a lot, so price doesn't matter."
For much more on the dos and don'ts when considering cosmetic procedures at spas or salons, click here. That advice was prepared by the American Society For Dermatological Surgery.
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