IMCAS Alert is a forum on IMCAS Academy dedicated all physician members and their complications cases. Three discussion groups were available for related inquiries and cases at its launch in 2017: Injectable & Threads, Lasers & EBD, Plastic Surgery. By 2020, thanks to the growing number of cases and demands, IMCAS Alert broadened the forum groups to include complications for Genital Treatments and Clinical Dermatology.

Our team reached out to the coordinators of the brand-new Clinical Dermatology Group – Dr Anthony Rossi and Dr Ahmed Sadek – to share with us their experience as coordinators so far, and the give the real benefits of IMCAS Alert for physicians.

IMCAS Alert is…?

Dr Sadek: IMCAS Alert is an international interactive platform that gathers physicians from all over the world who are members of IMCAS Academy enabling exchanging opinions on how to diagnose and manage different cases and complications as well, and the most beautiful thing about it is that you can join, post and interact just by logging in using your free IMCAS academy account.

Dr Rossi: IMCAS Alert is an extraordinary digital platform that connects physicians from all around the world for REAL TIME input on challenging cases and adverse events. It is important for all physicians to have access to their peers and experts in the field in order to get feedback regarding difficult patient presentations, adverse side effects or even help in emergent situations.

We all learn from each other and the beauty of IMCAS Alert is that we can share with each other photos, descriptions, follow-up, and progression of real clinical cases. Interacting with all different types of physicians from different areas of the globe help us all to expand our thinking about clinical dermatology, plastic surgery, and aesthetic medicine. We can all benefit from challenging presentations.

What is also wonderful is that at the bottom of the thread that are many suggestions for video pertaining to the topic from IMCAS Academy. This feature reinforces the learning aspect of the forum.

The Coordinator’s Role…?

Dr Rossi: The coordinator's role is to help facilitate discussion regarding the posted query. It is also the role of the coordinator to spark interesting discussions on emerging issues or technology. It is helpful to post extra learning resources and articles for others to reference back to.

Dr Sadek: As a coordinator, I provide opinions on cases posted, I post cases myself once in a while to stimulate discussions and maximize benefits for members, in addition to approving members requests and monitoring the overall flow of the group I am coordinating.

The Frequent Asked Questions…?

Dr Rossi: One of the great highlights of IMCAS Alert is how varied the cases are. There are multiple categories including Clinical Dermatology, Lasers & EBD, Injectables & Threads, and Plastic Surgery, and now during the COVID19 Pandemic we have expanded to include a forum on this. These categories allow clinicians to really have a spectrum of cases to learn from.

Most often we are presented with cases that pertain to the management of adverse events or of effects of disease.

Dr Sadek: The most interesting thing about Clinical Dermatology in general and especially about the Alert group is that it's very diverse. Clinical dermatology cases are usually non predictable, you find many surprises and experiences based on each participants background and region of practice. I believe this enriches the alert group more and provides members a continuing solid support.

The Case that Marked You…?

Dr Sadek: Once, there was a case that puzzled everyone by its clinical appearance and pathological report gave a totally different diagnosis that nobody thought about. I advise every participant posting a case to give a detailed description of each case as this shall help a lot.

Dr Rossi: A case that was fascinating was a young male from Nepal with sclerotic areas on the arms and legs, joint pain, and thrombosis.  While it looked like an autoimmune or vasculitic presentation, the biopsy confirmed it was leprosy and Lucio phenomenon was diagnosed.  I think this is extremely helpful for physicians all around the world to see such interesting presentations of diseases that they may not normally encounter.