Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2000 13:52:33 -0700

posted on alt.support.breast-implant)

Surgery.com Announces Strategic Alliance With McGhan Medical to Increase Physicians' Exposure On the Web

Through the partnership, McGhan Medical will offer plastic surgeons, dermatologists, facial plastic, and cosmetic surgeons the opportunity to develop informational web pages on the Surgery.com website (www.surgery.com) which will direct prospective patients to the physicians.

"Our alliance with McGhan Medical empowers patients to make informed decisions regarding elective surgical procedures. The website provides information on over 30 surgical procedures, helps patients find a surgeon in their community, allows them to verify their selected surgeon's educational and training background prior to making an appointment, and allows them to preview examples of the surgeon's skills illustrated by actual before/after photos.

The plastic surgeons benefit because we provide them with a practice enhancement tool to help them market their practices in a very ethical and professional manner," said Eric C. Welling, founder and chairman, Surgery.com. "In the elective surgery industry, the ultimate b2b is to educate and introduce consumers (patients) to the fulfillment center (physicians), who subsequently order product (breast implants, collagen, etc.) from the manufacturer (McGhan Medical Corporation). Since Surgery.com receives over 40 million hits/year, the McGhan Medical strategic alliance creates a national patient referral network to the surgeons who are clients of McGhan Medical." As the most heavily visited website in this industry and with nearly 30% of the nation's plastic surgeons as active clients, the company expects to continue to grow as prospective patients demand more information about their health care choices.

Surgery.com's mission is to refer well-informed patients to accredited surgeons' practices; and to assist the physicians in marketing their practices in an ethical and professional manner. The website also provides surgeons with a forum to professionally demonstrate their unique skills and qualifications. "Our goals are to educate, motivate, and delegate patient referrals to their physician in a consultation," added Dr. Welling.

"Surgery.com represents a unique strategy to assist physicians in making information available to prospective patients considering various plastic, surgical and cosmetic treatments," said David Barella, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing, McGhan Medical. "For doctors who don't have their own websites, Surgery.com provides an extraordinary amount of marketing exposure at an affordable price. For the growing body of physicians who do maintain proprietary sites, a link to Surgery.com serves as an ideal referral conduit directing many incremental patient consultations to their practice," Barella said.

Surgery.com is a private corporation based in Salt Lake City, UT. Surgery.com's mission is to educate and empower individuals seeking elective surgery. By providing patients with current, accurate information about cosmetic or aesthetic surgical procedures, Surgery.com helps patients objectively define their expectations and meet their goals to enhance their physical appearance. Patients can now select a cosmetic surgeon based on objective information and actual before and after photos. Additional information about Surgery.com and a description of the services offered can be found at www.surgery.com. Other websites affiliated with Surgery.com include www.PlasticSurgery.com, www.CosmeticSurgery.com, and www.BodyElectric.com. Contact: Gene Erickson, Surgery.com, (800) SURGERY, comments@surgery.com.

McGhan Medical Corporation is a division of Inamed Corporation (NADSAQ: IMDC). Inamed is a global surgical and medical device company engaged in the development, manufacturing and marketing of products for the plastic, and reconstructive surgery, aesthetic medicine and obesity markets. McGhan Medical is the leading breast implant manufacturer for cosmetic and reconstructive breast surgery, and manufacturer of collagen-based facial implants to correct facial wrinkles and to improve lip definition. Contact: Barbara Kerr, McGhan Medical, (800) 624-4261.

CONTACT:

KNB Communications

Shefali Jhangiani, 212/505-2441

Fax: 212/505-0698