Medical Spa MD’s plastic surgery and cosmetic dermatology forums are the scene of an unlikely brouhaha that’s more than just uncommon in medicine, it’s unheard of.

Growing increasingly frustrated by what physicians see as an manufactured silence and infuriating lack of clinical support from cosmetic laser and IPL companies, doctors have taken their anger public in a kind of free-for-all dog pile that you don’t usually see from physicians. A publicly viewed outing where ‘names are named’ and fingers are pointed directly at the management teams of cosmetic laser and IPL companies.

At times, entire strings of emails are published detailing conversations and publicly embarrassing top executives and even cosmetic dermatologists that act as luminary spokespeople for these companies. It’s as though the plastic surgeons have decided to play hard ball.

Of course there’s still some self preservation and common sense left. Many of the physicians comments that are left come from anonymous doctors and the web sites that host these forums generally try to protect the plastic surgeons from hidden reprisals.

The sites hosting these cosmetic surgeons forums have had some public headaches of their own. Medical Spa MD, the webs most prominent forum for physicians in cosmetic medicine has been served with letters and threats from lawyers for daring to make these forum discussions public. So far it hasn’t worked.

“We’ve received more than the usual web site’s number of nasty-grams”, says the publisher of Medical Spa MD, “but to censor public discourse between physicians is not what we’re about. The plastic surgeons on the site are responsible for what they post directly and commenting that they’re not receiving sufficient support is just that, their opinion.”

The issues are tangled by the types of support answers that the most vocal plastic surgeons are demanding, leaving the IPL and laser companies in the uncomfortable position of seeming to be alienating their physicians as customers, or providing information for treatments that could easily be considered off-label use by the FDA, opening them up to potentially hazardous liability claims from patients and the very cosmetic dermatologists who are demanding the answers.

The topic is not likely to die down anytime soon. Information that’s disseminated on the web has a long life and it’s obvious that technology companies are taking notice. In some cases they’ve actively joined in the discussion forums and proactively address concerns of individuals as soon as they’re posted, leaving an impression of active customer support. These tactics seem to be working as the IPL and laser manufactures who are active have a much lower incidence of negative comments from cosmetic dermatologists who see their calls for support go unheeded.

In the end it will come down to market demands. Many plastic surgeons who are opening new cosmetic medical clinics and investigating IPL and laser technology are finding their way into these forums and asking their more experienced peers for advice. IPL and laser manufacturers who aren’t part of the discussion can’t expect to win the propaganda wars.

Medical Spa MD is a cosmetic medical community of Plastic Surgeons, Cosmetic Dermatologists, and Aesthetic Physicians with more than 4,200 medical spa members world wide. Medical Spa MD offers medical esthetician training manuals and provides information on non-surgical cosmetic medical technologies and treatments.

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