'I don't want anyone ever to go through what I did'

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By Tracy Vedder

Summary

New non-surgical procedures promise fuller lips, fewer lines, no wrinkles and wide-awake eyes. But one woman claims a doctor at a Queen Anne spa gave her rubber lips that look like a 'duck's bill.'

Story Published: May 21, 2007 at 11:15 PM PDT

Story Updated: Jan 14, 2010 at 5:52 PM PDT

'I don't want anyone ever to go through what I did'
SEATTLE - New non-surgical procedures promise fuller lips, fewer lines, no wrinkles and wide-awake eyes. Instead of scalpels, medi-spas use needles, lasers and chemical solutions.

But what if that promise instead gave you hard, rubber lips that looked like a "duck's bill"? Or what if you wound up with first- and second-degree burns after what was billed as a simple solution to get rid of sun damage?

Kartia Schuckman and another Seattle woman both contacted KOMO 4 Problem Solvers after they went to Regeneration Spa on Queen Anne, and to owner Dr. Keith Levitt.

We investigated and discovered that Dr. Keith Levitt has been practicing cosmetic procedures in Seattle for several years. He's not a Board Certified dermatologist or cosmetic surgeon -- he doesn't have to be in order to do these procedures.

Instead Dr. Levitt is an anesthesiologist. But our investigation found that he can't practice as one because of a history of drug abuse. And we've also learned that he's under investigation by the state.

"There's a Lot of Scar Tissue"

When Schuckman went in to his office after having a baby, she says Dr. Levitt convinced her to try Thermage around her mouth.

Thermage emits a radio frequency wave that, over time, stimulates collagen growth under your skin. Instead, Schuckman says after a few weeks, she woke up in horror.

"I wake up and it's completely up, over my lips, very rubbery and hard," says Schuckman.

She says her mouth looked like, "a duck, because it had come up over my lips like a duck form."

Eight years ago, Schuckman was caught in a bomb blast outside Tel Aviv. Doctors rebuilt her face using permanent fillers. Nationally recognized Thermage expert Dr. Virginia Stevens tells me you should never use Thermage over permanent fillers.

Schuckman insists she told Levitt about the fillers, but he ordered Thermage anyway. Now Schuckman is seeing facial plastic surgeon Dr. Stella Desyatnikova.

"When I feel it, it's really firm, there are nodules, there's a lot of scar tissue," says Desyatnikova.

She says Schuckman's only option now is surgery and is scheduled to begin that process next Wednesday.

"For a young, beautiful woman to have a lip like that - it's pretty devastating," Desyatnikova said.

Burned By Aggressive Treatment

And we found Schuckman's is not the only case. Even though this other Seattle woman wants to remain anonymous, she wants others to know about her first- and second-degree burns.

She says she went to Regeneration Spa with minor sun damage, but Dr. Levitt prescribed Erbium laser -- an aggressive laser for her chest -- followed by a chemical solution called Levulan.

Dermatologists and facial surgeons tell us both Erbium and Levulan are very aggressive treatments, usually used separately for severe acne and pre-cancerous lesions on the face -- not used together on the sensitive chest area.

We talked to Dr. Levitt on the phone but he refused to do an on camera interview unless he got a full medical release from all the patients who complained.

But both women are reluctant. They don't trust Levitt, saying he was unpredictable and had angry outbursts, making them worry about what else may be going on.

"I've seen his eyes slightly glossed, honestly," says Schuckman, "pupils dilated, he just seemed not able to focus."

On Probation

In fact, the state Medical Commission put Dr. Levitt on probation. That's because state records show he was caught twice abusing drugs. The first time was in Maryland in 1992, and again in 2001 in Arizona, when medical board documents indicate he was high while in the operating room.

Schuckman says, "and when your staff is even making excuses for your behavior, I think there's definitely something wrong."

Schuckman was asked if she thinks Dr. Levitt was using drugs and her answer, very clearly, was "yes I do."

Without talking about specific cases, we asked Dr. Levitt to respond to the allegations of drug abuse and talk in general about his cosmetic procedures. Again, he declined.

Now the state is investigating. "Any practitioner, if there is a pattern of either poor care or misconduct, comes to a higher level of attention and scrutiny with the commission," said Blake Maresh, executive director of the Medical Commission.

Schuckman doesn't know if her face will ever be the same, but she's relieved KOMO 4 News and the state is investigating.

"I don't want anyone ever to go through what I did," she says.

The state says Dr. Levitt has to participate in a physician's drug abuse program and he is doing that. He also has to submit to periodic, random urinalysis.

But even the drug program administrator admits that if someone wants to use drugs, there are ways of beating the urinalysis. Again, the state is investigating all these allegations and hopes to have more information within two to three weeks.