Dr. info in mexico

[skinnygirlwannnab]

Hello, I have been contemplating weight loss surgery for the past 2 yrs. Now i am taking action my appointment is may 7 2012 with Dr. Ortiz in Mexico. I am having the Gastric sleeve Plz. let me know if anyone has been to this surgeon and what's their opinion on him. Or even if you have had the sleeve done in Mexico and what was your experience.

[Her Moojesty]

I had mine with Dr. Almanza in Tijuana last November. It was a long trip out there, because I live in Florida. I went alone and had no problems associated with solo travel or going across a border. You won't get the best nursing care with Dr. Almanza, and you never see the inside of a hospital. His "clinic" is a store front, in a strip mall, right across from a porn shop. You are shipped to a recovery house the next morning to suffer with 7 or 8 others. If you bring a companion, they will send you off to a hotel and somebody "visits" to give you a shot once in awhile. It is stone age medicine, post operatively, but at least the Operating Suite seemed clean and the doctor himself is ultimately qualified. It is the follow up care that sucks. Nevertheless, if you are in relatively good health and have no other serious conditions, like advanced heart disease, go ahead and have it done in a place like Almanza's. A lot of us can't afford any better. I hear Dr. Otriz uses a real hospital, and that would be so much better for you. Just keep an eye out, make certain the nurses use alcohol to clean your IV hub before they inject anything into it, make sure they wash their hands and wear gloves, too. Bring ALL of your own medications, including stuff like Lovenox injections if your regular doctor says you need extra precaution against blood clots. I even suggest you bring your own anti-embolismm stockings, called TED hose, because all Dr. Almanza's staff did was wrap my legs with an ace bandage! I am older and I have heart issues. My cardiologist send Dr. Almanza a letter asking him to take certain precautions with me. It was faxed back to him, signed by Dr. Almanza saying they would follow his recommendations. Well, when I got there, I found out Dr. Almanza's name had been signed by an Assistant, and there was nothing in place there to take those precautions with! They didn't have any Lovenox, TED hose, or the type of Antiboitic my cardiologist recommended, even though they promised they would. It's all about the money with them. Being a seasoned foreign traveller, I anticipated this problem happening, and brought my own Lovenox and Ted hose, and I survived. Some times I wonder how I managed to avoid infection though, because the nurses are not the least bit concerned with Universal Precautions. Oh well. Still glad I had it done. Good luck to you, and I am glad you are going some place other than Dr. Almanza's.

[Sunflower]

I traveled to Tijuana and had surgery with Dr. Ramos-Kelly. My experience was very good. The hospital was a bit on the dated side, but everything there was adequate.

[MsMook1979]

I had surgery with Dr. Garcia in Mexico. My youtube link is below and if you have a moment I show my whole Mexico experience down there. Good Luck!

[skinnygirlwannnab]

Thank you Her Moojesty for sharing your experience I am definitly not going with that doc i have not really heard any good reviews about Almanza. I was intially going with him but after reseaching I quickly changed my mind. But I am glad you are ok and are doing so well with your wieght loss.

[skinnygirlwannnab]

I started not to go to mexico again but I found Dr Garcia and i think he is a good fit

[skinnygirlwannnab]

I had surgery with Dr. Garcia in Mexico. My youtube link is below and if you have a moment I show my whole Mexico experience down there. Good Luck!

ms. mook you are a God sent. I tell you girl no one couldd shine more light on their journey. You are so open it is inspiring. thank you soo and i subscribed to your videos to continue to follow your weight loss. Thank you so much

[Her Moojesty]

SkinnyGirlWannabe,
I'm glad you have made this decision. For just a bit more money, there are doctors in Mexico who use real hospitals and treat you like a real post operative patient.
You deserve real pain meds after surgery and not just an anti-inflammatory like I got. It was agony. I was told that some men robbed the recovery house, at gunpoint, and that is why they don't keep, or use, narcotics there anymore. A patient with abdominal surgery needs strong pain meds for days, not just the evening after surgery. Anti-inflammatories just didn't cut it, especially for the girls who had tummy tucks. It was pitiful to see them cry and beg for pain meds.

[barrbdoll]

I am having my surgery with Dr. Ortiz on April 16th. I live in PA and am flying out on the 15th and staying until the 20th. I am 10000000% confident in my choice of surgeon! The coordinators and Dr. Miranda (the nutritionist) have been wonderful! I am very excited!! I will keep you updated.. Just add me as a friend!

If you want to email me you can at Emily.Barr@comcast.net

All the best!!!

[Elle]

I am having surgery with Dr. Ortiz on April 11th. I sure do hope that he doesn't skimp on the painkillers because the one other abdominal surgery I've had in my life (a laproscopy 10 years ago) was PAINFUL with the gas in the chest. Has anyone stayed in the Marriott that Dr. Ortiz uses? Thanks.

[MsMook1979]

You are very welcome. Good Luck on your decision.

[kar]

I could not agree with you more. Although I am very healthy I feel like your experience was very similar to mine. I am glad you are doing well!

I had mine with Dr. Almanza in Tijuana last November. It was a long trip out there, because I live in Florida. I went alone and had no problems associated with solo travel or going across a border. You won't get the best nursing care with Dr. Almanza, and you never see the inside of a hospital. His "clinic" is a store front, in a strip mall, right across from a porn shop. You are shipped to a recovery house the next morning to suffer with 7 or 8 others. If you bring a companion, they will send you off to a hotel and somebody "visits" to give you a shot once in awhile. It is stone age medicine, post operatively, but at least the Operating Suite seemed clean and the doctor himself is ultimately qualified. It is the follow up care that sucks. Nevertheless, if you are in relatively good health and have no other serious conditions, like advanced heart disease, go ahead and have it done in a place like Almanza's. A lot of us can't afford any better. I hear Dr. Otriz uses a real hospital, and that would be so much better for you. Just keep an eye out, make certain the nurses use alcohol to clean your IV hub before they inject anything into it, make sure they wash their hands and wear gloves, too. Bring ALL of your own medications, including stuff like Lovenox injections if your regular doctor says you need extra precaution against blood clots. I even suggest you bring your own anti-embolismm stockings, called TED hose, because all Dr. Almanza's staff did was wrap my legs with an ace bandage! I am older and I have heart issues. My cardiologist send Dr. Almanza a letter asking him to take certain precautions with me. It was faxed back to him, signed by Dr. Almanza saying they would follow his recommendations. Well, when I got there, I found out Dr. Almanza's name had been signed by an Assistant, and there was nothing in place there to take those precautions with! They didn't have any Lovenox, TED hose, or the type of Antiboitic my cardiologist recommended, even though they promised they would. It's all about the money with them. Being a seasoned foreign traveller, I anticipated this problem happening, and brought my own Lovenox and Ted hose, and I survived. Some times I wonder how I managed to avoid infection though, because the nurses are not the least bit concerned with Universal Precautions. Oh well. Still glad I had it done. Good luck to you, and I am glad you are going some place other than Dr. Almanza's.

[Elle]

My surgery is with Dr. Ortiz on Wednesday the 11th. I will leave for San Diego tomorrow night and we're staying in the Hampton Inn just south of the airport Tuesday night. Wednesday at 7:00 am the driver is scheduled to pick us up to take us straight to the surgery center and then it's game on I guess. I was hoping to find someone on this board who had surgery with him the same day but no such luck. In any case, I have found people on this board who have had wonderful experiences at his clinic. I'm something of a prima donna so I wanted to find a place that somewhat caters to your needs. Yesterday I was discussing the different doctors (what I've read) in Mexico with a good friend and I asked her if she would consider a surgeon that worked out of a storefront office in a strip mall and to convalesce in a "recovery house" with several beds in a room and staff cooking and making noise all hours of the day. I was wondering if I was being very ignorant or insensitive to say that going to Mexico for surgery was fine, but subjecting oneself to the possibility of not having your pain tended to adequately or in a timely manner, perhaps not getting enough rest due to activity around you, etc. I'm talking about what I have read about Dr. Almanza of course. I also told her it's crystal clear this man does these surgeries with a frequency akin to a dentist doing cleanings and he has MANY happy customers. I told her that the majority of people on this board are Almanza's patients and that I figured, even if he has had a number of people with infections, etc., it's probably statistically the same percentage of complications the other doctors have just because of the huge numbers of sleeves he does. Anyway, my friend said she would go to Almanza in a heart beat. She is so jealous of me for having this opportunity and although we seem to have the same lifestyle, she doesn't have any money reserves so she can't afford surgery anywhere. I wish I had the extra cash to have her come with me. So, sorry this post is so long winded. I haven't really posted at all and now that I'm leaving tomorrow, this is practically all I can think about! I WILL post a follow-up on my experience as soon as I'm able to get on a computer. Best to you.

[barrbdoll]

Take your laptop with you! They have Wi-Fi at the center..... I'm so excited for you! I wish I was there to join you..... I have one more week! Team Ortiz!!! LOL