fake patients? Forum Mods Please Check

[sadwithgyno]

Check out

http://www.gynecomastia.org/cgi-bin/gyne_yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=14;action=display;num=1140043060;start=0#7

There seems to be something suspicious here with some posters that may not really be patients.

or is it the greek chorus of supporters

I have been following this forum for quite some time and have been getting suspicious of something smelling here about "*******" fans. Tell me what you think, but I have been lookiing at all of the posts of several "*******"'s cheering section, and many just never seem to have had surgery! Seach back and look at older posts of several of these individuals - are they real people or what??

Check out randyt

http://www.gynecomastia.org/cgi-bin/gyne_yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=14;action=search

go to the search section, put a blank space in the "Search for" field, put the user name in the next. Select "Search for topics posted in by someone" and extend the Max Age since last post to 100 days.  The search seems to be broken and if you try longer times the seach does not work. I can get it to go back more by making max age to 200 days and min age to 100 for some of my looking.

I did that for randyt and these answers look suspicious.  I then looked at manchest-er and then here.

http://www.gynecomastia.org/cgi-bin/gyne_yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=14;action=display;num=1122507012

http://www.gynecomastia.org/cgi-bin/gyne_yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=14;action=display;num=1131372527

ericr

tsunammi

bodybuilder

then check http://www.gynecomastia.org/cgi-bin/gyne_yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=14;action=display;num=1121119033

and runner and wizman

are some of the posters that look funny to me. I wonder if they are real patients or WHAT??

Could someone look into this please?

[phantom]

I don't see that there is much that can be looked into really.  This is an international forum that is open to absolutely anyone that is capable of using the internet.

Whether these posts are from fake patients or not, they make up a tiny percentage of the topics and threads covered in the whole forum.  Suggesting the presence of 'fake patients' by implication has serious undertones from the person suggesting it and also the person it is directed at.  Tread very carefully here.

As ever, for anyone seeing surgery as a potential treatment for gynaecomastia, they need to do their research.  There are a handful of surgeon names that come up time and again and they are worth looking into as as much as any 'unknown' surgeon.

Whenever I get private messages regarding my surgeon (renowned in the UK) I always give what I consider to be a fair and frank opinion.  I also always insist that despite the high regard I have for my surgeon that others should ALWAYS seek an initial consultation with at least one other surgeon.

The main thing is, I don't see Dr "*******" banging any drums about himself.  I know in the USA and other countries, health care professionals are allowed to promote themselves and the services they offer.  In the UK, they are not allowed to promote their services directly to the general public - an ethic I happen to agree with.  No UK surgeon (or other health care professional) is allowed to converse in public forums as it is deemed that they have then entered into a patient and doctor relationship and are then medically responsible for that person's well-being.

Fake patients or not.  It has made you suspicious.  But that does not discredit Dr "*******"'s reputation.  But ultimately surgeon choice comes down to the forum user.  I hope that anyone seeking surgery reads enough of this forum to appreciate that surgery is a huge undertaking and reliance on one or two 'drums' to validate a decision is both ignorant and naive.

This forum is not regulated by any medical authority and is not subject to any particular code of conduct, unless a health care professional breaks his or her own code according to the country they are from.  As it states at the foot at each page of this forum:

"This site gives health advice only as a guideline, and no action should be carried out unless authorised by a doctor. All information on this site comes from non medical people unless otherwise stated. We always recommend consultation with a medical doctor to get the most informed opinion and information."

Which is why when a doctor on this site gives a medical opinion, according to UK law an opinion is only valid if it comes from a UK health care professional.  Information given by anyone else is only ever anecdotal and should not be acted upon without professional guidance.

Hope that helps.

[sadwithgyno]

Fake patients or not.  It has made you suspicious.  But that does not discredit Dr "*******"'s reputation.  But ultimately surgeon choice comes down to the forum user.  I hope that anyone seeking surgery reads enough of this forum to appreciate that surgery is a huge undertaking and reliance on one or two 'drums' to validate a decision is both ignorant and naive.

What if the "reputation" here is from a group of people that just never seem to post pictures about their surgery, never have the surgery, and just keep praising one doctor?

I am getting confused, about who I will pick for my doctor and will need to learn more before I decide.

[sadwithgyno]

This is getting more interesting, a number of the posts I read earler have disappeared, they are gone!  I have seen a number of the names posted in the other thread online today and now posts seem to have been deleated?

[Paa_Paw]

I'm old enough to remember when professionals such as Doctors and Lawyers were not allowed to advertise here in California.  

The ability to advertise has both good and bad sides. Late night TV now seems to be dominated by people selling Hair Transplants and others selling "Performance Inhancers" of questionable worth.

Endorsements are NOT proof.  They are of little value and should not ever be used as the sole source of information.

[silly_guy]

I doubt  anyone would post such an odd recommendation for themself, talking about drumming and such.

Maybe a disgruntled patient wishing to discredit the doc?

[sadwithgyno]

I doubt  anyone would post such an odd recommendation for themself, talking about drumming and such.

Maybe a disgruntled patient wishing to discredit the doc?

I posted my answer here:

http://www.gynecomastia.org/cgi-bin/gyne_yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=14;action=display;num=1140043060

but I thought putting it here would also be good.

My concern was with the chorus of what now seems to be fake supporters that have been commenting about this doctor the past many months.  As I became suspicious and started looking, it became more worrisome that some gyn.org members just did not seem real. 
 
After posting my comments, a good number of these supporting comments are now gone.  The number of post counts each of these "supporters" is now much lower.  I did see these names online yesterday while the posts were disappearing. I do not remember seeing any forum admins online.
 
Why do I care about such posts, I am looking for a doctor to do my surgery and opinions can be important.  For newly done patients, I would like to see pics before and after surgery.  That would set my mind at ease to a degree.  I have been looking at this forum for quite some time as I have been saving my money for my surgery.  What made me mad is that I was thinking of using Dr. "*******" convinced that there were so many happy patients here.  Now I feel cheated and violated and strongly doubt I will use this doctor.