Mountain View Dermatology

 

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6

Susan B.

Boulder, CO

Ugly veins appeared in my legs not long after my second pregnancy. I was too embarrassed to wear shorts or a swimsuit in public until I heard about EVLT.

Dr. Richard Levine, of Mountain View Dermatology in Boulder, erased my spider veins and varicose veins in less than one hour. All I have to do is to wear a compression stocking for two weeks, which seems like such a little inconvenience for so big an improvement. After undergoing EVLT, I felt like I was given a do-over--the chance to show off my legs and their smooth, veinless appearance. It makes you appreciate simple treatments that make a big difference!

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189

Amanda W.

Boulder, CO

*** 3/7/07 ***

I came to Dr. Levine because someone recommended I try ClearLight to help my mild acne. After 8 treatments, and several burns, the treatments hadn't helped any. This included using a medication on the bad spots prior to the ClearLight sessions. [Sterilization claim redacted.]

Because of the poor results I was encouraged to try another 8 sessions, he said "sometimes it takes longer." Apparently, I'm gullible, because I listened to him, and bought a second session. I had the same results, no improvement and facial burns. I decided not to use the rest of my sessions, and asked Dr. Levine to let me use the remaining credit towards product. He offered to give me less than 1/3 of the credit.

He blamed me for the treatments not working due to a separate medical issue. Had he taken a medical history, he would have known about my medical background and acted accordingly. I'm not a doctor and never would have guessed to volunteer seemingly unrelated medical issues. He now denies that I got burned because he has no notes in his records that say so. I don't feel it's my fault that he or his nurses don't take note of my feedback.

Anyway, needless to say, he's no longer my dermatologist, and I would not recommend him to anyone.

*** 5/14/07 ***

The above review is entirely my opinion. I am leaving it almost as-is because I believe it is accurate. However, I am now under threat of litigation from Dr. Levine who takes exception to my opinions so I am clarifying the facts:

1) A female staff member administered each treatment. She would remove a baggie with the Levulan pen in it from a cabinet, apply the pen to my face, & put it back where it came from in the same baggie after each treatment. At no time was the pen sterilized in my presence & I never saw it put in a container indicating that it needed sterilization. If the pen was not sterilized, it could have been spreading bacteria between the faces of different patients. I acknowledge that the pen *may* have been sterilized out of my view & I invite Dr. Levine to clarify his sterilization procedures & refute the obvious conclusions.

2) Dr. Levine's attorney said, "you fail to mention that no credit was owing to you because you already had been given a 50% discount at the outset of these treatments."

I paid Dr. Levine $x for y treatments. Dr. Levine discounted these treatments with the promise that the new set of treatments would go better than the last & as a way to entice me to try again. When I was burned again & *still* had seen no reduction in acne, I stopped the treatments & requested a refund. I calculated this refund as the number of treatments remaining times the cost per treatment ($x/y * remaining treatments). Frankly, Dr. Levine should have offered a full refund. Instead, he calculated the *full retail price* of the treatments already given & subtracted that from the amount paid. In addition, he later added conditions to even this paltry offer & I have yet to see any refund from Dr. Levine.

3) Dr. Levine's attorney said, "your contention that Dr. Levine and his staff failed to investigate your medical history bears no relation to the truth."

I had a conversation with Dr. Levine on the first occasion that I brought the burns to his attention. In that conversation, which was witnessed by a female staff member, Dr. Levine took my history (although this same history was, I believe, already taken by a staff member at the start of my treatments). In this conversation Dr. Levine acted surprised that I was on a particular medication saying, "Oh, if only I had known that!" He said that that explained the burn & that I would no longer be burned if they adjusted the amount of time under the laser, used the Levulan pen less frequently during treatments, & allowed greater time in-between treatments. Believing him, I continued the treatments.

As an aside, I have since learned that the medication I was taking has no impact on ClearLight treatments.

4) Dr. Levine's attorney challenged whether I was ever actually burned since I continued the treatments. First, my family & friends will attest under oath to the burns on my face. In my most memorable burn, my skin was the color of a tomato for several days afterward. I brought the issue to his attention & the above conversation was the result.

Despite that conversation, I was burned again although the other burns were less severe. I brought each burn to the attention of a staff member who promised that with a small adjustment they wouldn't happen again.

In hindsight I should have discontinued the treatments after the first burn. However, the fact that I didn't is evidence only of my misplaced trust in Dr. Levine & his staff.

There's much more to this story, but only 5,000 characters per posting. If there's interest, I can post more details in the forum (including how his listing on CitySearch is now mysteriously missing & multiple bad reviews with it).

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