Don't know Which to Pick.

[natelena]

I've been running around for a while now, like a dog chasing it's tail. I've been researching a few doctors down in Mexico, first it was Elias, then Ortiz, and now I'm checking Mexicali Bariatrics. Any experiences? Oh, and The costs? Reviews? Any thing would be nice. I've seen that their facilities are great, but other than that my info is really limited. Thank you.

[zmdh39]

I've been running around for a while now, like a dog chasing it's tail. I've been researching a few doctors down in Mexico, first it was Elias, then Ortiz, and now I'm checking Mexicali Bariatrics. Any experiences? Oh, and The costs? Reviews? Any thing would be nice. I've seen that their facilities are great, but other than that my info is really limited. Thank you.

I had surgery with Dr. Sergio Quinones back in 2012. I was originally scheduled with Dr. Almanza, but after research some more I decided to switch to Dr. Q.
What I like about him was the he spoke English perfectly, I had a history of Gastrointestinal issues, and I was happy that I could talk directly to my doctor in English, I know that he understood what I was saying. I also liked the fact that he was the Chief of General surgery at Tijuana General, he was trained as a general surgeon, trauma surgeon, and bariatric surgeon, so I felt confident that should an issue arise he would have the best experience in how to handle it.

I spent a year researching Bariatric surgery in the US and Mexico, and through my research I learned that he was proctor certified by Johnson and Johnson, has operating privileges at a number of hospitals in TJ, which to gain privileges you have to be reviewed and granted those privileges at each location a doctor operates out of.

He also teaches bariatric surgery and the medical university and has been the teacher of a number of Tijuana surgeons, including Dr. Almanza. He hold a position on the arbitration board, which is Mexico's form of Malpractice case reviews. He also works for another organization that provides bariatric surgeries to Mexican citizens who cannot afford them. In addition to all of that he also works for the Seguro Social. The other thing that I really liked is a good portion of Dr. Q's staff have had surgery with him themselves, the patient driver, his wife, the pre and opt op support person etc. So many of them can talked you from both the professional side, but also from the patient perspective.

When I had my surgery in 2012 I had never been out of the country before. I had had a number of various surgeries over the years so the surgery part wasn't what scary for me. I had thoroughly researched the doctors I was considering, and the ones that ended up on my final list, I asked them to send me pictures of the equipment they used with the serial number, batch and lot numbers visible in the pictures. I cross referenced those to check the manufacturer and distribution supply lines, and looked up to see if there had been any FDA recalls or incident reports on the type of equipment those doctors used.

Dr. Q used an Ethicon Ethican Endopathic Stapler and cartridges, which are the same FDA approved tools used by many US doctors. Ethicon is a subsidiary company of Johnson and Johnson, so the equipment he used was really top notch.

When I flew to San Diego, I was scheduled to have same day surgery...there were 4 other girls that were also scheduled to surgery, a mother and her daughter and 2 cousins. I was the first to have surgery that day, according to my surgical video it took about 45 minutes. When I woke up two of the other girls had already had their surgeries, but one of the cousins had told me that her cousin had left her cardiologist clearance at home. Both of the cousins were over 400 lbs, and the one had a heart condition. Since she didn't bring the clearance they told her that they couldn't put her under anasthesia until she was cleared from a cardiologist, so the sent her to have some test ran in TJ.

The reports came back bad, and they were told by the cardiologist with certainty that if that women went under anesthesia, her heart couldn't take it, and she would die. We all felt so bad for her, but what really impressed me was how Dr. Q handled the situation. As me and the other girls were doing our walks up and down the hall, we saw as he broke the news to her, and it was very apparent that he was bothered by this as well. He spent at least an hour consoling her and laying out her options. As we walked by again I overheard him say to the women, that they would refund her money if she wanted, but if she still wanted to have this surgery, she could follow some special instructions he would give her, and whenever she was ready, he would personally pay for her plan ticket back to Mexico to make up the money that had been spent on the cardiologist in Mexico. He told her he knew this was not the outcome that she was hoping for, but he would work with her anyway that he could to make sure she could have this surgery safely.

Seeing how he handled that situation, and the care that he asserted for that patient really hit home with me. I knew that he was a good surgeon, but to see that he is deeply invested in the safety of his patients, and genuinely cares about their success was just amazing to me.

I spent 2 nights at the surgical facility, and one night at the Real Del Rio Hotel before coming back to SD to fly home. I had actually booked my ticket for the return flight home, so I ended up renting a car and driving over an hour away to go gamble at the Valley View Casino, I even helped a little old lady change her tire along the way...she was amazed that I had just had major surgery only a few days prior. Other than a little bit of gas pain, I didn't feel as though I had had major surgery at all...I have literally had tooth extractions that hurt worse.

Anyway, after I got back home, I was back to normal, running my companies, taking care of my 1 year old son and all that jazz. 10 days out from surgery when my stitches were removed, my son decided to be superman and crash landed on my stomach...busting open my largest incision...I was terrified that it was going to get infected, not heal, or need to be re-sutured. So i called my coordinator, and Dr. Q called me back as within a few minutes. I explained what had happened, and he asked me to send him pictures of the wound.

After looking at the pictures he gave me special instructions on what to do to care for the incision so that it would heal and not get infected, then he asked me to send him pictures every few days so that he could monitor how it was healing. For the next 2-3 weeks, he checked in on my via phone calls, emails and text messages. His follow up care was amazing, and his post op supporting staff are really great. The wound healed up WAY better than I ever thought that it would.

I am 2 years out now, and have gone from 235 lbs, to 150 lbs. From a size 17/18 in pants to a size 7 in juniors. I had an amazing experience, never felt unsafe while I was there, and would do it all over again in a heart beat.

I hope this info is helpful, best of luck on your decision an surgery. Here are some pictures of my weight loss, the picture in the orange shirt was taken exactly 20 days after my surgery, and the one on the far right was taken maybe a month ago, just click on the images to see them in a larger format:

1925228_10202374236784111_6662702790758502000_n.jpgFacechange.jpgProgress52014.jpgras.jpgcollage-2014-08-23 (1).jpgIMG_20140604_194600.jpg049.jpg059.jpg

[natelena]

Thanks a million i will research dr. Quiñones a bit more.

[Large_1]

Look at Dr. Alvarez. He did my surgery and I'm 100% happy with the outcome. He has videos on YouTube, a Facebook group that you can join and also answers twitter personally as well. He's probably the best Mexican sleeve surgeon their is being trained at the Cleveland Clinic and being in Newsweek magazine as well.

[zmdh39]

Thanks a million i will research dr. Quiñones a bit more.

Here are some article that I wrote to help newbies give them a read, maybe they will help some:

http://www.gastricsleeve.com/forum/q...s-surgery.html

http://www.gastricsleeve.com/forum/q...ns-to-ask.html

[zmdh39]

Thanks a million i will research dr. Quiñones a bit more.

Here are some article that I wrote to help newbies give them a read, maybe they will help some:

http://www.gastricsleeve.com/forum/q...s-surgery.html

http://www.gastricsleeve.com/forum/q...ns-to-ask.html

[Lee6Lee]

I used Dr. Elias Ortiz. So very happy in every way. He's my hero!