The dubious nature of having gastric sleeve in Mexico. Complaints about Ready4achange.com?

[pieganjane]

Hi, to begin with I have NOT had WLS in Mexico so I am not speaking first hand. I have however traveled in Mexico a good deal and have had friends who had the traditional gastric bypass in Mexico. What follows is an off the top of my head list of thoughts about the topic.

1) If you do not speak fluent spanish try to get someone to go with you who can or make sure the hospital has someone. You must know what people are saying to you.

2) Not every hospital or surgeon in Mexico is the same. Go to a center of excellence or use a surgeon who also practices in the USA (some do in Texas) and has passed US boards.

3. A friend of mine noted that the nurses did not wear gloves when they changed her bandages. If you see something that you don't like "speak up"

4) The aftercare back in the states can be a problem if you do not set things up in advance. Many usa bariatric doctors will not take on a case that was done in another country...work it out before you go, same with support groups, nutritionists etc.

[kerbing]

I went through A Lighter Me and chose Dr. Alejandro Lopez. My experience went far beyond my expectations. Dr. Lopez has done over 2000 sleeves in his career. I am totally confident in his abilities as a surgeon. I had very little pain post op. THe staff of A Lighter Me took great care of me. From the patient coordinator who answered all of my questions to our driver, Abraham, who was the nicest most genuinely kind man. There was nothing scary at all. I would highly recommend Dr. Lopez and A Lighter Me....and no, they are not paying me to say this!!!!

[Charity]

I had an AMAZING experience in TJ last November with Dr. Almanza, and I am headed back in three weeks to have my Mommy Makeover. It was, hands down, the best choice I've ever made for myself.

I have been a nurse for nearly ten years, and I'm quite difficult to please when it comes to my healthcare. All the nurses were professional, fluent in English, and used proper universal precautions during procedures (IV insertion/care, dressing changes, drain care, etc.), and were very good at their jobs. The surgeons all spoke perfect English, and were able to answer all the questions I had. The Jerusalem Clinic was clean, neat, and up to my high standards. It's NOT an American hospital - it IS in a strip mall, but you must be buzzed in to the facility, and once you're in there, all the workers are dressed in scrubs and wear shoe coverings while in the medical areas.

My only complaint? The cleaning crew cleaned so often that the chemical smell made my post-op nausea worse. That's truly the only issue I had. I think that TJ and MX get a bad reputation because of news stories...but I was so happy I did it there. In 2008, I had a lapband in Colorado, and it slipped and was emergently removed two years later. I hadn't even finished paying on it yet!! This was so much more cost effective for excellent care.

Good luck in your decision! It is a difficult one, but I'm so, so glad I made the one I did.

[ElleMarie]

I was so nervous too, I ended up with Dr Ortiz at OCC because they are an international center for excellence and I KNOW how hard an accreditation that is to get. I have helped other centers trying to get that label and it is a tough one to achieve. Also it helped that he was on Oprah's show and I know she has the resources to check things out throughly. For me this was the confidence I needed to move forward. I had a GREAT experience and have no regrets. Since then my "stigma" with going outside of my country has waned and when it came time for plastics I decided to follow word of mouth from people I have gotten to know via this forum. I went with Niebles for my Plastic Surgery, he is also in Tijuana and I have no regret with him either, he far exceeded my expectations.

In the end you MUST do what you are comfortable doing. ANY large city will have pockets of higher crime, it is those pockets that make the news. I live in the Phoenix AZ area, there are places here that I don't go to. When you have surgery with any of the names you here on this site repeatedly as being good, they steer you clear of ANY area that isn't desirable, they all want to have word of mouth business they depend on it.

I never felt scared and my daughter (she had surgery same day as me) and I walked all over before surgery and we did some walking after too but not as far due to wanting to stay close to hotel if we got too tired. MANY people actually take taxis to shop 2-3 days after surgery...I HATE shopping so that was never important to me.

Do your research, find what works for you but don't discount a very capable, affordable number of surgeons based solely on fear.

[mimikah]

Thanks for the info on cosmetic surgery

[euvette]

I'm two days post op. Dr Quinones and his staff has taken excellent care of me
I would recommend him to anyone.

[Msvetrn]

Just FYI- I represent DR NIEBLES, Plastic Surgeon, in TJ. I was just informed that the facility he performs his surgeries out of also offers the Sleeve for $4500. Dont have the surgeons name at this time, but can find out if anyone is interested. The facilty is South San Diega Medical Group and has Joint Commission Accredidation.

[NSeldon]

Medical Tourism Corporation

[wildcatgirl]

I had my surgery in Mexico Oct 17th 2012 with Dr.Almanza,It went very well,staff was great and had no problems there.I would do it all over again!BTW I am also a Nurse.Good luck and do your research and my price was 3,499.00 and was treated better there than any Hospital I have been in the STATES!