A leading voice in a fight over whether doctors should be allowed to recruit physical therapists into their practices has withdrawn herself from the campaign.

The stated -- and rumored -- reasons for her doing so have ignited a hullabaloo on the Medical University of South Carolina campus and beyond.

The controversy surrounds Lisa Saladin, president of the South Carolina Physical Therapy Association, who in recent months had become a national figure in the dispute over doctors' ability to employ physical therapists.

The dispute pits therapists against doctors. Physical therapists, who need doctors' orders to get paid for their services, believe they would lose business because doctors would use only their own therapists. That would put many independent therapists out of business.

Doctors want the ability to employ physical therapy services, viewing them as a possible new revenue source.

Saladin is an associate professor at MUSC and was opposed to a bill that would allow the doctors to hire therapists. She suspended her effort earlier this month after being told of concerns about her lobbying campaign by Danielle Ripich, dean of the university's College of Health Professions.

Physical therapists believe Ripich was acting on orders from Dr. Donald Johnson, chairman of the MUSC board of trustees. He also is an orthopedic surgeon.

Saladin wouldn't return phone calls. But her association's vice president, Jim Stoker, said Saladin was given no choice but to stop lobbying.

Moreover, the association believes Johnson's role represents a conflict of interest because orthopedic surgeons stand to gain as much as any other specialty, given they are the doctors most likely to employ physical therapists.

Johnson and other university officials have a different view. First, they say Saladin's decision to stop lobbying was voluntary.

Johnson said he got involved because of concerns expressed by more than a half-dozen people who called him to ask why MUSC was backing the bill. The university stays neutral on legislation that pits one health profession against another.

Johnson said Saladin and other physical therapists were using the MUSC name in lobbying for the bill. They also were using MUSC e-mail to pitch their positions. Johnson said he talked with both Ripich and the medical school dean, Dr. Jerry Reves, about the issue.

The bill passed the House earlier this month but has yet to be heard by the Senate.