Australian woman has blood oozing from her face and bruises after laser treatment

AsiaOne
Friday, May 13, 2016

Blood dripped from Australian Niki Richardson's face as she walked home, but the 46-year-old from Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, Australia, could do nothing about it. 

Fresh off an "erbium laser resurfacing" session at her local skin clinic, Ms Richardson went home with fresh blood oozing from her pores. Her skin was also inflamed and there were bruises under her eyes.

The invasive laser procedure was a process done to reduce the appearance of scars on her face, but the results proved just the opposite.

Two weeks prior to the treatment, Ms Richardson had a consultation with a laser practitioner as well as a woman she was told was the clinic's general practitioner.

She was then prescribed a heavy-duty painkiller called Penthrox to use during the procedure and asked to apply a bleaching cream two weeks prior to the procedure.

The procedure itself was a "nightmare" for Ms Richardson.

Ms Richardson was quoted by Daily Mail Australia as saying: "It was excruciating, I went into shock when it was being done. I had metal covers over my eyes – and (the therapist) asked me if I could feel the blood running into my eyes."

"I told her I couldn't feel it because the pain was so intense but I did tell her I could feel it splattering on my arms."

Lumps and Bumps Skin Clinic was the clinic responsible for Ms Richardson's treatment. Since then, they have relocated from Mornington Peninsula to Canberra, and removed Ms Richardson's review from their Facebook page. 

In a statement released on Wednesday (May 11), Lumps and Bumps Skin Clinic denied any wrongdoing, stating that the photos Ms Richardson shared in her review "look horrific to the everyday person however they demonstrate the normal healing process following such an aggressive treatment". 

Even now, Ms Richardson still claims to have severe inflammation 3 months into her treatment.

And she isn't the only woman dissatisfied with the Lumps and Bumps team.

After going public with her story, Ms Richardson said she has been contacted by a number of other women who claim to have had similar experiences.

One woman, 73, who also claims to have received treatment from the same practitioner, says she has been "left physically and emotionally scarred by her treatment". 

Friends of Ms Richardson and several other netizens have been offering support on her Facebook page.  

Since Ms Richarson's review, all reviews have been taken down from the Lumps and Bumps Skin Clinic Facebook page - their reason due to the "current false allegations" against them. 

mldas@sph.com.sg