I am looking to purchase an IPL device. I do like Cutera's Limelight after demo-ing it in my office. I found it to be easier to use than the Photolight from Cynosure which I also tried out. However, at TWICE the price, is it really worth their technology??? Has anyone purchased a Limelight and what is your experience?

Look at the Palomar and the Sciton. Make sure to demo both of these before you purchase. My guess is that the Limelight will be outdated in 6 months and Cutera will be trying to sell you some update for $40,000.

The limelight may be a decent product BUT, it is almost impossible to resale this product because Cutera will not let a third party purchase replacement parts or service the unit. Secondly, their service contract is twice that of any other companies. Finally, any attempt to get service inevitably starts with, "That can not be repaired and it is $10,000,$20k,etc. to replace."
Take a look at Palomar. Best wishes.

Thanks so much for your insight. It's great to find someplace to actually interact with other physicians who find themselves in similar situations.

Hi Dr. Dunnblack,

I may be able to offer some assistance. I am new to this board and just registered so please forgive me if I am out of place here.

I have been in the Medical Spa industry for years and currently own and operate M2 Medical Inc. I simply offer free advice and IPL, Laser, Microderm,Cellulite advice. If I were to recommend a particular random company, they pay me a typical referral award as they do to anyone. I just do this full time.

I can also answer your medical spa questions and can help you with other various Spa related items and services.

Please feel free to e-mail me at marcrodman@comcast.net.

I work with many companies from Sciton, Fotona, Cynosure, Alma, Saratoga Aesthetics Inc etc.

Thank you,

Marc Rodman
President
M2 Medical Inc.
781-727-7990

Dr, Dunnblack,

I own the Cutera limelight and my clients lowe it. It is quick and easy to perform. I am sure you are not just purchasing the Limelight, you are likely going to purchase a plateform that yill allow you to do hair and vein removal, photorejuvenation, and perhaps Titan. So far, in 3 months, I have been able to pay off nearly 50% of my loan for the Cutera Xeo.

Robert,
Are you a Cutera rep in hiding? Just keepin' you honest, as this soulds really quite one-sided.

p.s. I say this as I'm a rep but also a cosmetic medclinic ownner, so I value this site massively and want it so stay clean.
So in all fairness, I admit I'm a rep, and I apologize if this comes out harsh - but certain companies post bias unfounded statments presented as fact and that is NOT what this site is about... quite the opposite actually. Jeff does a lot of us a favor by allowing a place to share real-world trial n' error experiences to help one another out by each others' follies and triumphs.

I have been using the Cutera platform since they were called Altus. It has been central to my medical spa. I previously use the OPS 600 IPL for hyperpigmentation but really did not like it very much. The limelight is a completely different IPL. It really does provided excellent results with great navigation software making it easy to use. My patients with hyperpigmentation have been exceptionally satisfied.
Forthe sake of disclosure, I am partial to the Cutera product, but only because of the great results I have had from the 1064 LHR, Laser Genesis for general erythema and rosacea and spider / reticular veins. I also have a Titan XL and a Pearl with my system.

Is any worth buying ? 1064 probably the best on the market however, everything else very poor.

I am not a cutera rep. I am an Internest that has been struggling to make ends meet despite being ungodly busy. I am disgusted with the health insurance industry therefore I decided to add ancillary services to my practice. I have developed a secondary business called The MedSpa. I have a Cutera Xeo platform and have been open since June. We have done well since we opened and our clients have been very pleased. Our Cutera representative has been extremely helpfull and quick to respond to any question or concern that we may have.

I am glad that you are happy with your Cutera products but "laser genesis" for rosacea and diffuse redness is a joke. I have had my Cutera for about 4 years and have tried this many times for rosacea and diffuse redness. The patients feel like they have benefit but are definately not ecstatic. Is it helpful? yes but not very. Is it time consuming? yes. Are there better choices? yes. Does it work as well as Cutera markets it for? no.

I had to add a new IPL system because the Cutera missed the boat on this one. I was told by my Cutera rep (used car salesman) that the system would work great on the redness and the Rosacea patients. He lied. Maybe the Limelight is better but genesis is not the best choice. I ended up buying the Sciton BBL and I get better results with one treatment with the BBL than I did with 5 treaments of Genesis. This saves the patients a significant amount of money and time. Genesis for a full face will take 30 to 45 minutes if done correctly and the full face BBL takes less than 15 minutes. So explain this to your patents and see which one they choose. Do not forget about pulsed dye lasers they are really the gold standard for the redness but will have 1 to 2 weeks of purpura. Most of my patients do not want that kind of "down time" if possible.

I love to use my Cutera 1064 for medium to larger facial telangectasias but it is not a good choice for the diffuse fine vascular netting we often see on the cheeks nose and chin. I have used the 1064 3mm spot for this and will occasionally get small blisters because you have to push the energy a little to get enough energy into these tiny vessels. I always felt uncomfortable with telling patients that genesis would help with the redness. Now with the BBL, I can look them in the eye and tell tham that we can help. Also, you want to always tell thes patients they will require future treatments. No matter what choice of laser or IPl including pulsed dye the patients will require further treatments. For some it will be 6 to 12 months and others it may be 6 years.

LH

Try combination of BBL first and then Nd YAG 1064nm 3mm spot in μsec pulses in the same session and you can get even better results than BBL alone for rosacea and flushing.

Charry,

I usually do the 1064 w/ 3mm spot on the larger telangectasias followed by the BBL. That also works very nicely. It's just that the 1064 does not work by itself as Cutera represents to it's purchasers when using "Laser Genesis".

LH

I am also using the 1064 3mm spot on the larger telangectasias as you do but first the BBL.I agree with you for Cutera's Genesis.

Charry,

What are your settings for BBL in rosacea? Is pulse width a critical factor or do you look for a biologic endpoint eg redness at 5 minutes post a test pulse?

Does anyone have experience with both the Cutera Limelight and Sciton BBL/s? How do they compare?

Currently, I just have the (somewhat underpowered) xeo 560 IPL, and am thinking of upgrading. It's probably more economical for me to go with the limelight...thoughts?

don't put any more money into cutera.... don't waste your money.

i don't feel the xeo platform has anything that really stands out compared to other technologies. really ? is it that much better than lumenis ? candela? even the low generic kaiser laser alma? probably not. well maybe better than syneron...

vseh

The pulse width is a critical factor for treating rosacea with BBL.I am always using pulse width 15-20msec with 590 filter,depending of course of the Fitz type and the size of telangectasias.As for the fluence that i am using,i am starting from 11 J/cm2 and i increase it in 1 J/cm2 in combination with or without lower pulse width according to the factors that i said before.

TF,

Your situation is very similar to mine. I have the Cutera Xeo with the IPL head. The IPL was way underpowered and was not worth the money. I also needed to advance my IPL system and looked at Palomar, Cutera Limelight, Sciton BBL and even gave Syneron a chance.

I had all of them in the office and used each on a minimum of 5 patients for various problems to include hair, veins and pigment. I ended up purchasing the BBLs as I felt it gave the best results of the 4 systems. If I were to rank in order for my use it would be: 1)Sciton BBL 2)Palomar 3)Cutera Limelight 4)Syneron

It would have saved me some money upfront to go with the Limelight but I felt the BBL gave me more ability and freedom to use than the others. My patients also felt they had better results with the BBL and so did my staff. Cost in the long haul should be less with the BBL as well. They have a 3 year warranty which Cutera did not at the time. Sciton's service contract is significantly less than Cutera's and replacement head was less expensive.

I hope this helps. I have had my BBL for about 9 months and still love it.

LH,
Have you ever tried Lumenis - Lum1 any thoughts.

No.

LH, Charry, Dexter & other BBL users:

I've got a BBL machine in my office to demo this week - and the rep gave me their "safe start" protocols. The settings seem ridiculously low - e.g. 4J fluence for a pigmented lesion treatment on a type I-II?

Seriously, what settings do you folks start at, to get something that's actually effective, without doing a plethora of test patches?

Thanks!

TF

Sciton BBL??

Does anyone have a used BBL system they want to sell? We will need complete details on the cost of an ongoing service contract also. Thanks.

Hi TF,

We are going to demo the BBL next week. Let's keep in touch. I also have the Cutera 560 and not happy with its performance plus we need the 590-600 nm to do skin type 4 & 5 for PIH and other pigment problems.

TF,

Look at the filter being used it is a 420 so you do not need much. I tend to use the 515 filter for skin types I-II and push the energy. I tend to use 515 filter 12 to 18 Joules, 10 to 15msec and 20 to 25 degrees for the cooling.

I only use the 420 filter for the true Fitz I.

Stick to the safe start protocols until you get comfortable with the system. The nice thing is you can do second passes. I always do some test spots and watch for a reaction before I treat full face.

I think you will like the system. I love having mine around and I have a full stable of lasers.

TF,

515 for pigment- 12-14 J/cm on the face for skintype 1-2. for chest I would recommend reducing the fluence by 20-30%.

We don't use the 420 for pigment.

are you doing vascular?

I agree with dexter on reducing the energy settings when you are doing full chest or arms. I do not reduce much if I am just spot treating the chest and arms.

Thanks, everyone. I'll give those a try.

What kind of settings do you like for vascular issues? - say, rosacea on the cheeks in a Fitz II patient

TF,

We use the 560 at 16J if the roscea is "bright" red as a starting point. Our most common setting is 18-20J/20ms/20 degrees. Be sure not to put so much pressure with the cooling that you blanch the vessels. If you blanch the vessels with pressure you lose your target. Frankly, we float the handpiece 1mm or less in gel to be sure there is no target loss.

TF,

I agree with dexter but I start a little lower at 14J and watch for a response. I have a Syris polarized light system that is very beneficial. I can see the response very nicely.

Which is better for rosacea, the cutera xeo laser or IPL?

Sarah,

It depends. The Cutera can bo Ok for some of the slightly larger vessels but the IPL (I use BBL because Cutera's IPL sucks) is better for the very fine vascular netting and redness.

Hello! I am weightingthe options right now of having a treatment for what has been diagnosed as Rosacea Telangiectasias - That is many very small blood vessels that are the source of the "blushing". So far I understand my options to be Laser Genesis, IPL, Fractional CO2 and pulse dye laser. I have been to a couple of consultations and am getting confused on what the best treatment is for me. You all sound very knowledgable on this board. If there is anyone that may be able to recommend a treatment fo rme, please let me know.

I think laser genesis is not agressive enough. IPL sounds god - although I read about someone online who now has dark brown rectangles all over her face in rows. The pix were horrible. Any insight would be great.

I currently use a Cutera Xeo platform and the Palomar Platform. For Rosacea / Telangiectasias I favor the Palomar G hand peice hands down. You can get some difuess redness reduction with the Laser Genesis / Limelight, but it pales in comparison to the Palomar photofacial handpiece. Although I do think the Yag on the Cutera is much better than Palomar's. I know that the Sciton is a great unit. I just dont have any hands on experience with that system.

Why do you say the Cutera's yag is much better than Palomar's?

Cutera lasers are total crap. I hear nothing but bad things about them.

Obviously Tex doesn't think highly of the Cutera Xeo platform or the YAG. From my personal experience I have had better luck with my more challenging patients with the Cutera Yag than the Palomar Yag for spider veins. The Cutera is twice as fast and seems to be just a bit better than the Palomar Yag at closure of some vessels. It is also a little easier to see the treatment area field with the Cutera than the Palomar Lux 1064. I would say the Palomar is very effective, but I do prefer the speed and ease with the Cutera. Quick note that I should mention. I use the Starlux 500 about 75% and my Cutera Xeo 25% of the time. I think they are both great platforms and work well for my patients. I use the Cutera for spider veins, skin type 6 hair removal and for the titan primarily. For any other treatment, I will typically go with the Palomar Starlux.

The only good Laser the Cutera has is their 1064 Yag for veins and african american hair. Otherwise - "Crap"

Can someone with experience give me their opinion on the following. I have a Cutera xeo platform and (unfortunately) only the LP560 handpiece for photorejuvenation. I need a better IPL system for pigment (brown and red) and acne. Although I'd like to get Sciton's BBL, I don't think I can justify the expense right now at €45,000. Two other options are 1. Upgrade to the Cutera limelight for €11,500 or pay more for Palomar's original Medilux system for €20,000. Medilux (G, Y, V handpieces) versus Limelight...? I'd appreciate advice from people who have used these devices....or any other suggestions? Thanks.

This site is infected with a bunch of uneducated poor sales reps. that go to a great length to pretend they are doctors and post opinions......You might have better luck going back to what you did best, selling used cars.......

@Dr.22NYC
You may be right. I'm aware that there are a number of laser and IPL reps on the site. (Cutera, Palomar, Lumenis) But, if they happen to post under assumed names and get caught, the downside for them personally is pretty severe since they will be publicly 'outed'. This has happened to a at least on rep after LH asked to check on some IP addresses. These things tend to hang around and I would guess that Lumenis, Palomar or Cutera would not be happy with a rep that stepped in it in that way. I would guess that termination would be in short order.

@Dr.22NYC
You may be right. I'm aware that there are a number of laser and IPL reps on the site. (Cutera, Palomar, Lumenis) But, if they happen to post under assumed names and get caught, the downside for them personally is pretty severe since they will be publicly 'outed'. This has happened to a at least on rep after LH asked to check on some IP addresses. These things tend to hang around and I would guess that Lumenis, Palomar or Cutera would not be happy with a rep that stepped in it in that way. I would guess that termination would be in short order.

@Dr.22NYC
You may be right. I'm aware that there are a number of laser and IPL reps on the site. (Cutera, Palomar, Lumenis) But, if they happen to post under assumed names and get caught, the downside for them personally is pretty severe since they will be publicly 'outed'. This has happened to a at least on rep after LH asked to check on some IP addresses. These things tend to hang around and I would guess that Lumenis, Palomar or Cutera would not be happy with a rep that stepped in it in that way. I would guess that termination would be in short order.

@Dr.22NYC
You may be right. I'm aware that there are a number of laser and IPL reps on the site. (Cutera, Palomar, Lumenis) But, if they happen to post under assumed names and get caught, the downside for them personally is pretty severe since they will be publicly 'outed'. This has happened to a at least on rep after LH asked to check on some IP addresses. These things tend to hang around and I would guess that Lumenis, Palomar or Cutera would not be happy with a rep that stepped in it in that way. I would guess that termination would be in short order.

@Dr.22NYC
You may be right. I'm aware that there are a number of laser and IPL reps on the site. (Cutera, Palomar, Lumenis) But, if they happen to post under assumed names and get caught, the downside for them personally is pretty severe since they will be publicly 'outed'. This has happened to a at least on rep after LH asked to check on some IP addresses. These things tend to hang around and I would guess that Lumenis, Palomar or Cutera would not be happy with a rep that stepped in it in that way. I would guess that termination would be in short order.

@Dr.22NYC
You may be right. I'm aware that there are a number of laser and IPL reps on the site. (Cutera, Palomar, Lumenis) But, if they happen to post under assumed names and get caught, the downside for them personally is pretty severe since they will be publicly 'outed'. This has happened to a at least on rep after LH asked to check on some IP addresses. These things tend to hang around and I would guess that Lumenis, Palomar or Cutera would not be happy with a rep that stepped in it in that way. I would guess that termination would be in short order.

@Dr.22NYC
You may be right. I'm aware that there are a number of laser and IPL reps on the site. (Cutera, Palomar, Lumenis) But, if they happen to post under assumed names and get caught, the downside for them personally is pretty severe since they will be publicly 'outed'. This has happened to a at least on rep after LH asked to check on some IP addresses. These things tend to hang around and I would guess that Lumenis, Palomar or Cutera would not be happy with a rep that stepped in it in that way. I would guess that termination would be in short order.

@Dr.22NYC
You may be right. I'm aware that there are a number of laser and IPL reps on the site. (Cutera, Palomar, Lumenis) But, if they happen to post under assumed names and get caught, the downside for them personally is pretty severe since they will be publicly 'outed'. This has happened to a at least on rep after LH asked to check on some IP addresses. These things tend to hang around and I would guess that Lumenis, Palomar or Cutera would not be happy with a rep that stepped in it in that way. I would guess that termination would be in short order.