Fw: Florida PS's try to silence Dr. Vasey et. al ~ 1991

[Guest guest]

From: " ilena rose " <ilena@...>

Sent: Monday, April 09, 2001 12:42 PM

Subject: Florida PS's try to silence Dr. Vasey et. al ~ 1991

> http://199.45.69.176/tony/Ilena/064.html

>

>

> Florida PS's try to silence Dr. Vasey et. al ~ 1991

>

>

>

> ~~~ this shows the

> degree the PS's will go to to protect their bottom line. dr jack fisher

> mentioned below, was pres of ASPRS and going all over the country with no

> science to support him, but lots of PS $$$$$. he's from UC San Diego, to

> our local chagrin. interesting that these doctors had all the data already

> they needed in 1991 ~ even before the PSEF (Plastic Surgeon's

> 'Educational " Fund) helped fund and (mis)design the Mayo Study. ~~~

>

> WILLIAM L. CARTER, m. d.

>

> AESTHETIC, PLASTIC, AND RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY

>

> Certified by American Board of Plastic Surgery

>

> August 26, 1991

>

> G. Maxwell, M. D.

>

> Baptist Medical Plaza II #806

>

> 2021 Church Street

>

> Nashville, TN 37203

>

> Dear Dr. Maxwell and Sante Fe Faculty:

>

> We welcome the chance to communicate with you about problems we are having

> with physicians in the Tampa Bay Area at the University of South Florida

> who are involved in promoting a fraudulent syndrome -- silicone breast

> implant induced illness -- and who are recommending implant removal on the

> basis of spurious diagnostic claims. We feel, as Dr. Jack Fisher has so

> aptly stated in the past, that as physicians we want to know first when

> something we might do would be harmful to our patients. But conversely we

> are incensed when procedures and biomaterials that we use that are proven

> to be safe and efficacious suffer unwarranted attacks by individuals and

> groups who have little knowledge of the very materials they are attacking

> and who portray these materials as dangerous and life threatening.

>

> Such a group exists the University of South Florida where the physicians

> are intent on continuing their assault on silicone breast implants with

> complete disregard for recognized scientific and medical practices

> required to substantiate such claims. Outrageous clinical assessments and

> specious laboratory reports characterize their patient evaluations.

>

> Patients are recruited at USF by Command Trust Network, media

> solicitation, and open advertisements in local health spas. Almost all

> patients evaluated at the University of South Florida for this supposed

> illness are told that is necessary to remove their implants to treat the

> " disease. " Up to 140 patients are alleged to have had their implants

> removed already.

>

> In certain cases real physical problems have been overlooked in the haste

> to add another name to the list. The amount of senseless fear and distrust

> of breast implants that have been generated by the activities and media

> statements of this group of physicians is incalculable.

>

> The specific physicians involved come from the Department of Rheumatology,

> Dr. Vasey, supported actively by his chairman, Dr. Bernard Germain,

> and the Department of Plastic Surgery, Dr. C. Wayne Cruse, Chairman and

> Dr. Kare Wells. It is well known that Dr. Vasey, Wells, and Cruse have

> worked hand in glove in seeing these patients, telling them that they have

> implant related diseases, and encouraging implant removal.

>

> Dr. Vasey, of course, is the most notorious figure associated with this

> problem. His connection with Command Trust Network is well known and

> documented. But he could not have started or succeeded without the support

> and encouragement of Dr. Cruse initially and now Cr. Cruse and Wells

> together, however much they want to cover their tracks at the present time

> and obfuscate the details of their involvement.

>

> Dr. Vasey's congressional testimony and his media releases in this area

> underscore the active involvement of the USF plastic surgeons. Statements

> made to some of the plastic surgeons in Tampa more than allude to the fact

> that Dr. Cruse and Wells see patients for this contrived disease, either

> sending them to Vasey for " evaluation " or seeing them in referral from

> him, eventually removing their implants and offering postremoval

> reconstruction.

>

> We believe that the activities of the USF plastic surgeons have had an

> adverse effect on our ability to use the safest and most studied

> bioimplantable material in existence for the benefit of our patients.

> Either through their fundamental lack of knowledge about biomaterials, a

> fact well demonstrated to us by them on several occasions, a failure to

> comprehend the long term serious implications of their present clinical

> activities regarding mammary implants, or for more insidious reasons, we

> feel Dr. Cruses' and Wells' actions are at best negligent in fulfilling

> their obligations as teachers of plastic surgery. We certainly expected a

> much more complete scientific, honest, and privileged and opportune

> position to accomplish this.

>

> Unfortunately their actions at the present time can only beinterpreted as

> being complicit, potentially injurious to patients, and harmful to plastic

> surgery as a whole. We hope that this symposium will accomplish its

> educational goals as it has done in the past.

>

> Sincerely,

>

> WILLIAM L. CARTER, M. D.

>

> 2706 W. Luther King, #B, Tampa, FL 33607

>

> Supported by (the below signed the letter also!):

>

> MUTAZ HABAL, M. D. Tampa

>

> L. WILLIAM LURIA, M. D. Tampa

>

> HENRY A. REDMON, M. D. 3450 E. Fletcher, #240, Tampa, FL 33613

>

> MAURICE NOVICK, M. D. (reportedly now deceased)

>

> Note: Each of the above Plastic Surgeons signed the letter!

>

> In addition, a group of Plastic Surgeons, perhaps the same as the above,

> filed a formal complaint against Dr. Vasey with the Board of

> Medicine/Dept. Of Professional Regulation of Florida, asking that

> disciplinary action be taken against on of the rheumatologist, obviously

> Dr. Vasey, for telling women that their symptoms were related to silicone

> gel implants. In the view of the complaining Plastic Surgeons, there was

> no evidence supporting the rheumatologist's conclusion. They argued that

> this was poor medical practice and should be restricted those regulating

> the licensing of physicians in the state of Florida. The complainant also

> included criticism of the University Plastic Surgeons for removal of

> implants. The complaint was of course dismissed.

>

> We have family, friends and our own business on occasion that I hope you

> see never are paid a dollar by the above, if you agree, their actions are

> inexcusable.

>

>