Reviews on Baywood or Bayview clinic in toronto??

[-ToadStooL-]

Just wondering what laser clinic would be better?

Sunnybrook hospital dermatology laser clinic, or Bayview/Baywood laser clinic, both in Toronto?

Anyone been there? Any good/bad reviews?

[francois]

I want to get an answer for this question as well.

[Chelsey]

I went to the Baywood Clinic and was treated by Dr. Chan. I had a total of 4 Vbeam sessions, spaced about a month apart, the last one being in July 2006, and I've been quite pleased with the results. Prior to this I had dozens of IPL treatments, four Genesis treatments (various clinics, none in TO). Some treatments worked better than others.

I liked Dr. Chan and overall I think Vbeam worked well for me, considering I'm a pretty stubborn case. Knocked down some flushing and burning sensations. Like IPL, it takes a month or two after the last treatment to see optimal results. Back in July of last year, a full treatment cost $450.

Hope this helps!

[francois]

Hi Chelsey,

I have seen Dr. Chan recently but I dont really think Vbeam would be the best treatment for me. I dont have broken vessels on the surface of my skin but rather permanent redness on cheeks which I believe is the deeper vessels. So I thought lumenis will work better.

Actually I have an appointment(consultation) in couple of hours with Dr. Lisa Kellett. I heard she is good. I think I will make my decision after the consultation.

Which other docs have you seen in To?

[Chelsey]

Dr. Chan is the only person I've seen in TO. I don't have broken vessels on the surface of my skin either and have deep flushing as well. I found the Vbeam to be helpful for that, but I've never had Lumenis One treatments so can't comment on which would be better.

I saw Dr. Lisa Kellet about eight years ago for a consultation for IPL treatments. At the time she preferred to start off with Pulse Dye and then would treat resistant cases with IPL and I wasn't interested in Pulse Dye. I ended up going to the States for treatment.

I know she's recently started her own business and is now using the Lumenis. Check out the Rosacea blog for reviews. They were very negative when she used to do IPL treatments (very expensive, not effective) but she's had two very positive ones for her Lumenis treatments.

What did you think of her?

If you look at the posts in this section, there is one by arb161 that mentions a Dr. Kevin Smith in Niagara Falls, On. I haven't checked him out but I'd be interested to find out what kind of machine he uses.

[francois]

Hey Chelsey,

The reason I was reluctant to get treated by Dr. Chan is because she really didnt pay so much attention to me. She diagnosed me by asking questions about the history of my disorder rather than examining my skin closely.

She was weird when I told her that I was a foreigner (visa student) and she made me sign a lot of documents so that I agree not to sue her anywehere outside Ontario if something unexpected occurs.

On the other hand, I read on some boards that Vbeam addresses more of broken vessels (talengencias), where as Lumenis(IPL) can go for deeper vessels.

But yes, I also heard that people with deeper flushing was succesfully treated by Vbeam like in your case.

Dr. Kellett told me that she doesnt even do the treatments herself but her physician.

I really dont feel like being treated by any of the two doctors. None of them thinks that pre-flushing, or multiple passes or individual settings are important. But I would never pay Dr. Kellett $500 per treatment. Maybe I should go for Dr. Chan whose office is very close to where I live.

So to what extend did Vbeam helped you? What were your symptos and how much did they improve? How many treatment did you have? By the way, do you live in Toronto? I'd be glad to know you in person if I can.

Thank you for taking time to share your experience.

Vefa

[Chelsey]

I have the same opinion of Dr. Kellet. She charged me $75 dollars for my consultation 8 years ago after the practice where she worked falsely advertised that they were offering IPL, when in fact Dr. Kellet didn't like using IPL and tried to talk me into Pulse Dye treatments instead. The $75 would have gone towards my first treatment, but I never went back.

I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt in case she's changed, but she stills sounds as unknowledgable as she ever was about rosacea and how to treat it. One of those doctors, who in my opinion, are in it for the money only!

Dr. Chan I have more faith in and I feel my treatments were worthwhile, but I'm a very resistent case and I need additional/maintenance treatments more often than I suspect most people do. I felt the Vbeam was good at knocking the flushing back down that had reared its ugly head again last winter. Also, I remember a week or so after each treatment looking in the mirror and thinking, this is the palest I've looked since getting rosacea. I was quite amazed. My skin continued to look good for several months. Back to being red again now that winter is back, but the real test will be when the really cold weather hits (this has been a really mild winter for TO).

She will start off very gently but will increase the power if she feels your skin will tolerate it. For my last two treatments, the settings were much higher and I walked out of there very red and very, very swollen! I've looked that way many times before so I was o.k. with it, but she seemed nervous and worried. I think that's just her nature. The swelling and red went down within two days, but remember I've had a lot of treatments so my face is pretty used to it and probably recovers a bit faster. She will treat you if you choose to pre-flush with niaicin - I once overdid it so she had to turn the settings down because I was way too red and the side effects would have been too severe.

Have you had any treatments to date? Regardless of what you ultimately choose, your doctor should go very slowly to start to see how your skin tolerates it. They can always up the ante for later treatments.

I think it was Dr. Darm who recommended Dr. Smith in Niagara Falls. Maybe he's using the same protocol as Darm? I might give him a call and find out what he's up to in terms of treatment.

I went to a clinic in Rochester New York, once, that I thought was good but I imagine that's too far for you. Otherwise, let's see if other Torontonians have any suggestions.

[Miki]

i had a consultation with dr keller(baywood) a couple of years back...he was very informative and actually took my opinion into account as well...i only went for one v-beam....i didnt have enough money to go back for more...but i might consider it in the future(even though im a little skeptical and weary of any lasers) but the people from baywood seem to know what there talking about...as they seem to mostly deal with people who have vascular problems.