Youthful Images

I had IPL treatment done to my jawline and other areas by Hope Mason under Dr. James DeStephens. She had me sitting up instead of lying down and yelled at me to shut my eyes when I yelled out when I saw intense, bright, red light that hurt my eyes. Since that day I developed extreme photobhobia (light intolerance) and chronic dry eye requiring lubricant eye drops every 20 minutes or so. I have to wear sunglasses until it is dark outside and also at work to this day to work in fluorsescant lightly due to this. I see an Ophthamologist, corneal specialist from Shands about every 6 weeks and was found to have superficial corneal nerve damage in both of my eyes from the IPL treatment that day. I requested a refund in an email soon after it happened and then again recently but am being ignored. The lawyer said I had a case but it would be too costly too persue (since not blinded, the cost to persue would be more then any money retrieved) AND since Dr. Destephens was booked on 12/24/13 for assault and did not have medical malpractice insurance (not required in state of Fl) it was not going to be easy so the case was dropped two months prior to statute running out and I made the decision to not persue it any further. The lady he hired Hope Mason was not trained as a liscensed electrologist and she was not an ARNP or PA as required by state of Fl. Although dep of health sent someone out to his office, Dr. Destephens is very cunning and manipulative and even though the laws require medical supervision and liscensing of person perfoming treatment, the laws are not strictly enforced and it is difficult to prove wrong doing, especially with someone as cunning as Dr. DeStephens who I am sure lied and told them he was always on-site when he was not. In his communications to my lawyer and myself, I learned just how much of a liar he is and just how devious he can be. Dr. Destephens manipulated the situation and maintains that it is not possible even though damage WAS done. He acts like he was arround the time of the incident and I could have come to him when he was actually out of town at his sons graduation per his office staff when I had called. Thats not exactly supervised...even if not directly supervised, had she been trained and had me laying down this would have never had happeend. She no longer works there but prob not bc of this....she tried to extract money by going to national media as her daugther dated Zimmerman probably to gain publicity. You can read all about Hope Mason and Dr. DeStephens under the censored reviews on yelp, etc. They are two peas in a pod. I have spent thousands of dollars on treatment and have had impaired quality of life bc of his unproven illegal practices. Whether or not he practices legally today, or is even better at covering his bases and creating an illusion of following the laws, I do not know. I know their voicemail is better now, illuding to a nurse and medical assistant on site now. The laws in Florida are very bad so this is a buyer beware issue. Only you can protect yourself from a man that seems to be compensated sociopath like Dr. DeStephens. Just think, instead of working as a Cardiologist which is his background, he runs this weight loss/hair removal clinic. The place is called "Youthful Images". Just know that if he causes harm, he doesn't care and will do nothing to at least try to make the situation right...even though nothing can make this right again...absolutely nothing. When you take an oath as a doctor, you promise to do no harm. Dr. DeStephens has failed to be a good doctor and he has failed to be a decent human being in my opinion. Decent human beings are not arrested for trying to strangle somebody and they accept when they are in the wrong and try to make it right.