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RoDean

Second Surgery and again...failure

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So, I went to have my re-sleeve in March of this year and I feel as though I have been a victim of the worlds biggest fraud. I am almost 99% positive that I was cut open on the table and absolutely nothing was done to my stomach. I woke up and had the easiest recovery in the world, with the exception of felling as though I had, had a surgery and been on anesthesia. I began "sipping fluids" as soon as Dr. Almanzas team would let me and went through cup after cup of apple juice and broth, never felt weird or full or painful or anything. As soon as I was home and after the first week of clear liquids did second week of full liquids, and again, no restriction, nothing felt different at all, nothing hurt, no nausea, all my incisions were done over the old ones and they all healed fine. I am over 6 months now and have not lost a pound with the exception of the few I lost just form having surgery and not eating for 2 weeks. I still followed the diet and I haven't lost anything else. I was consuming 6 to 800 calories a week of almost pure protein and very little carbs, not losing a pound. but the worst is when I then tried the cottage cheese capacity test because I wanted to see if my restriction was different... before I went in I could eat a 16oz tub of cottage chees all at once and still feel hungry (or at least not feel a restriction or ill or anything) and guess what, I still can, nothing is different, they did not revise my sleeve, they did not bring back a restriction of any kind. The only thing different is that now my wallet is $4500 lighter. I have contacted weight loss agents, tried to get my records and a return phone call, and all I get is a message telling me they tried too contact me last week. well I posted in my message to them that I could not be called during working hours and was available between 4:30 and 5:30 every evening mountain time, and what did they do, they called my cell during work. I could not answer and I have not heard from them since. I have left several messages and requests for my records on my patient portal. I was told a manager would call me. No, all I got was a message on the portal telling me they tried to reach me. That's it, and that I should write if I have more questions. Wow, and all this time I was worried about having surgery in Mexico being safe, in regard to my health, did not occur to me to be worried that I would be ripped off.

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  1. Cherub's Avatar
    I hear your frustration. I hope you get the answers you need. Try to focus on your food plan while you wait for answers. Also consider looking for a support group in your area that may help. Wishing you the best.
  2. KariVSG's Avatar
    i agree with Cherub focus
  3. Pam G's Avatar
    Have you had any formal medical testing procedures to confirm your suspicions?

    If you bring a lawsuit, you'd need to be able to show proof. You would get that money back in the settlement.
  4. Abby2's Avatar
    OMG this is terrifying!!! I don't even know what to say!!! I'd be contacting attorney if possible
  5. Kindle's Avatar
    I'm very sorry for what you have gone through. It really sucks. I'm afraid it's not the first "failed" revision I've read about from this surgeon and unfortunately you have no recourse. Did they do a barium swallow or flouroscopy postop to confirm your sleeve shape/size? That should be in your medical record. It's pretty fishy that they won't just email your records to you. That's easy enough (if they actually exist) and doesn't require playing phone tag.

    Reading about all the problems with postop communication (or lack thereof) is one of the reasons I did not go through a 3rd party medical tourism company. I dealt with my surgeon and his facility directly....no middleman. All of my records including bloodwork, EKG printout, anesthesia record, OR report and postop checkups were emailed to me within 2 weeks of my surgery. I have email addresses and phone numbers for each individual surgeon, followup Doctor, cardiologist, anesthesiologist, office manager, and dietician, and they return messages within 24 hours. Wish I'd had a chance to recommend OCC when you were looking at a revision.

    Again, so sorry for your dilemma....id be so pissed!
  6. Sh5's Avatar
    Sorry to hear this but so grateful that you made this post. You and I were sleeved in 2013 about same time. I have followed your progress and your revision with interest. I have gained back 10 of my loss and am in panic mode. I know how to diet (as do we all) but I can't muster the discipline to do it. I was self pay in States, there is no way I can afford a revision here so Mexico sounded like a viable option. Your post has given me insight.
    Thank you for sharing, RoDean, and I wish you the best.
  7. Greatest decision ever!!!'s Avatar
    Sh5 - This is such an unfortunate case but it doesn't mean it happens to everyone. In fact it is the only case I've seen in this site. On your case , 10 lbs should be okay. I don't know how much you lost but it's always expected we gain back about 10%, 10 lbs shouldn't be a cause for a revision.
    Just just keep working at it, you'll do fine.
  8. Muted_Tummy's Avatar
    OMG....see your primary here and beg for an MRI to see what's what!
  9. Sandra3's Avatar
    In June you said you had lost 22 pounds from the revision in March. So nothing since June??
    I would be upset too...are you far from your goal?
    May be one way to do it would be to ask your doc in the US to contact your doc in Mexico directly to ask for your medical records. That could speed up things... knowing the bougie size they use would be helpful too.
    Good luck with everything! This is a really weird situation!
  10. cmrizzuto's Avatar
    This makes me nervous as I am scheduled for Feb 6th for my re-sleeve.
  11. Pam G's Avatar
    Woah...in June you blogged that you had lost 101 pounds. I'm confused....
  12. mrtumnus's Avatar
    I wonder if you received your xray that Dr A gives you the next day? Did you look at your stomach on it? It does not make sense for a surgical team to waste time and open you up then do nothing? You may want to contact your primary and have a endoscopy done. I had great results with Dr Almanza and team. My endo said he did a great job
  13. Teresa5's Avatar
    Did you receive any answers?