22
June
2010
Dr. Sydney Coleman, a Manhattan Plastic Surgeon, was recently interviewed by Kristine Johnson of CBS News to discuss Cryolipolysis.
Cryolipolysis is a non-invasive technology that has been developed by Zeltiq for fat reduction. Dr. Coleman has been using the technology in his office in TriBeCa for over two years now.
Sydney Reese Coleman is the lead author of the clinical study that examined the efficacy and safety of the exciting new technology for non-invasive reduction of fat. Please go to the CBS website link to watch the video of the news piece and to read the script. Please note, you will need to click on the video located in the upper right hand corner of the page.
In the interview, Dr. Coleman noted that his study demonstrated that Cryolipolysis could successfully reduce a percentage of fat in a bulge. He warned that the device has not been approved specifically for fat reduction. However, it has been cleared by the FDA for skin cooling during dermatologic treatments as well as for temporary relief of cellulite.
Dr. Coleman has been treating patients using the Zeltiq device in his office for over two years, and the fat reduction initially observed with the published paper appear to have remained. A preview of the article authored by Dr. Coleman can be viewed as a pdf from the journal of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. Or the article can be seen in full by accessing the Journal of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. For a review of the paper check out Aesthetic Device Review.
For background on Zeltiq and Cryolipolysis, please refer to previous postings entitled Freezing Fat for Natural Body Sculpting, Zeltiq device approved by FDA for Several Uses, Noninvasive Liposuction Alternative, and Zeltiq Device Now Available in the Office of Sydney Coleman in New York City, NY. For a more scientific description, please refer to the following: RESHAPING FAT BY CRYOLIPOLYSIS,
Further Media Coverage:
Cosmetic Surgery Times: ”Results for cryolipolysis impressive“
American Health & Beauty: Cryolipolysis: Zeltiq Freezes Your Fat Away 
Please call TriBeCa Plastic Surgery at 212 571 5200 for more information.
© Coleman 2009
Posted: Media, Minimally Invasive and Non-Invasive Fat Removal
5
March
2009
Internet attacks on physicians: This problem has been going on for years, but an Associated Press story on March 4, 2009, has drawn attention to this important issue.
Docs seek gag orders to stop patients’ reviews
This article notes that some Internet reviews or complaint sites are little more than tabloid journalism without much interest in constructively improving practices. It goes on to say that their sniping comments can unfairly ruin a doctor’s reputation.
“Published comments on Web pages, blogs and/or mass correspondence, however well intended, could severely damage physician’s practice.”
Of particular importance is that the privacy laws and medical ethics leave doctors powerless to respond or really do anything. A physician is held to the highest standard of accountability for anything that he places on the internet (a website, blog or posting on a board). On the other hand, the postings on sites are often completely anonymous, so that there can be no accountability for anything said on them. For instance, RateMd’s postings are anonymous, and the site’s operators say they do not know their users’ identities. Furthermore, the operators won’t remove negative comments.
One of the main reasons that the operators do not remove even libelous comments is that they make money from such reviews attracting traffic to the sites. A quick look at the ads on the site will clarify the economic motives of most of the sites.
In the article, the reader is warned, “Online doctor reviews should be taken with a grain of salt, and should certainly not be a patient’s sole source of information when looking for a new physician.”
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Recently the Internet has become a battleground of attacks on physicians by anonymous persons. Below are a few of the numerous articles that have been written on the subject.
Battle of the blogs
Negative web logs targeting surgeons increasing
Plastic Surgery News
This informative article reviews the story of campaign to destroy the reputation of Dr. Coleman by creating websites and posting defamatory entries on multiple medical blogs.
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How my doctor fared on-line by Julie Deardorff’s column Julie’s Health Club in the Chicago Tribune
March 4, 2009
Insightful article which offers advice such as the following:
“Subjective information on user reviews is a little like gossip. On Angie’s List, I read about a genetic counselor (whom I’ve actually seen) who allegedly pushed a woman to terminate a fetus. Another person wrote that her doctor was “friendly, but condescending, and ultimately not helpful,” as she tried to make a major decision about treatment for fibroids.
A patient’s experience can be biased and manipulated—how do you know whether the opinions about a physician even come from that doctor’s patient?—but Given said a bigger problem is that there’s not enough information posted yet. Ratemds.com, for, example, has ratings on 12 percent of U.S. doctors, Given said. In Canada, the site has information on nearly 60 percent of physicians. Moreover, even if the sites start to get more feedback, it’s not necessarily representative…One nasty comment left by a patient who wanted a drug that wasn’t medically necessary, for example, could damage a reputation or career.”
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Gagging patients from online criticism from ZDNet Healthcare http://healthcare.zdnet.com/
This article reinforces that like RateMDs allow anonymous comments that can turn one unhappy visit into an online jihad.
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Doctor ratings: Is your healthcare hot or not?
Online, patients-as-consumers are reviewing doctors. It shifts the balance of power, but raises the question of whether consumers can simply rate an M.D. like they’d review an HDTV. By Shari Roan ?May 19, 2008
Ends her article with the message, “the reviews on RateMDs.com, Vitals.com, DrScore.com and other sites are skewed by disgruntled patients and are thus unfair, pushing some doctors to near-ruin after a single post.
“These sites don’t yield enough power yet to get bad doctors to change. And in the meantime, they may hurt good doctors,” says Dr. Phyllis Hollenbeck, a Washington, D.C., family physician and author of “Sacred Trust: The Ten Rules of Life, Death and Medicine,” a new book promoting patient empowerment. “It only takes one or two scathing comments and a doctor is put in a terrible position.”
The sites, more than two dozen of them, vary in how they operate, their scope of information provided and their efforts to be fair. But the trend is toward free, anonymous, no-holds-barred forums. Some sites have grown out of existing ratings services. Five years after he started the hugely popular RateMyProfessors.com, John Swapceinski and his business partner turned to medicine, launching RateMDs in 2004.”
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Censorship, or Sensible Citizenship? Physicians Take steps to Stop Online Libel Feb 24 2009
Published by Presidio Insurance under National News
More to come!
© Coleman 2008
Posted: Home, Media
