Reviews of Mexico Dr.'s Need help

[imoverit]

I am just researching doctors in Mexico and I am wondering if anyone has used Dr. Ramos Kelly, Dr. Venezuala or Ariel Ortiz? I have been most impressed with these three but slightly worried with Dr. Kelly because he does a tight 32 and I don't want to have a stricture later on that I have to deal with BUT he also sends your xrays and swallow video home with you. Any other doctor's that anyone has used? I want to stay in Tijuana for surgery. Any help would be great.

Also, anyone have any experience with Dr. Alvarez across the border from Texas? Endobariatrics.com his cost is 8500. and he has a treasure trove of videos which explains just about everything. I am very impressed with him as well. Costs for A. Ortiz are 6500 and Venazuala are about 4500-4700 almost same as Dr. Kelly. Any input anyone?

[Sleeveroo]

They are all very good. Kelly and A. Ortiz are a bit more credentialed and trained. Of the 3, I would go with Kelly if he still operates at Hospital Angeles. A.Ortiz does have a fine Center of Excellence surgical center though.

[Tera B]

I had Dr.Alamanza in Mexico, he was very nice and has had a gastric sleeve himself. I went through weight agents.com surgery was $4,500 or $ 4,000 if you bring a friend. I also received my x-rays and leak test.

[imoverit]

what did that 4k include tera

[Tera B]

The surgery,meds,hotel stay and ride from and to airport

[Tera B]

People from all over the U.S was there,One couple had it done together and owned a farm and even a doctor's wife.

[N2DVN]

32 is not bad. It's what mine was. I'm 3 years post op and still loving it! If you go too large, your results might not be as good as you want.

Here are posts about my experience.
Gastric Sleeve Forum - N2DVN - Blogs

[imoverit]

Thank you so much for the info

[Numbers]

I'll be the vote of disagreement....

Mexico? Really? I mean REALLY? It's a third world country. The odds of negative complications, and death are materially higher than most places in America. Did you see what happened to that Marine recently? Mexico? Really? I bet within 10 miles of the clinics there, you can find a donkey show. If you do not know what that is, its a strippers bar that has a donkey as the male talent. I know that sounds crazy, but ask any soldier who has been stationed in San Diego, he will know EXACTLY what that is.

Places in America have payment plans. You may save enough in food to pay the monthly payment. Is the increased risk worth it? Centennial in Nashville has NEVER had a patient die, and had less than 1/2 the complication rate. Its an odds game, is your life worth risking on lower odds?

I know, I know, now some will flame me for saying this. I know the money difference is an issue. What is it, 3 or 4 average tax refunds? Yal, that is really worth risking death and having no local follow up over.

So let the flaming begin, I have never been critical of others who disagree with me, but I know they will be critical of my analysis.

[Sleeveroo]

It depends on which surgeon and hospital you choose in MX. You can get a positive outcome with similar risks if One chooses wisely.
How about a surgeon who is FACS, ASMBS, trained many US surgeons operating in:
A real hospital on par with any Level 1 Bariatric Hospital in the US with JCI pending credentials

The above criteria of surgeon and hospital exist in MX, granted not many but they do exist.

[Numbers]

It depends on which surgeon and hospital you choose in MX. You can get a positive outcome with similar risks if One chooses wisely.
How about a surgeon who is FACS, ASMBS, trained many US surgeons operating in:
A real hospital on par with any Level 1 Bariatric Hospital in the US with JCI pending credentials

The above criteria of surgeon and hospital exist in MX, granted not many but they do exist.

I am NOT pimping Nashville, I have no reason to...

But can you show me a facility/doctor n Mexico with 50% the US average national complication rate, and ZERO deaths?

Can not be done, one does not exist, and there is no reporting requirement in Mexico as in America.

What I learned from my procesion as a CPA and Financial Adviser (one of the top in the nation), never invest in a nation without adequate (meaning US based) accounting system. If there is no comprehensive accounting system, you have no clue what you are investing in.

Mexico has not comprehensive medical reporting system, as such, if the hospital wants to report a bariatric patient died of surgery, they just call it heart attack and go on. The government facilitates this because they want tax revenues, and its not their citizens going there for surgery.

Sorry if that is cold water for some. I realise many had success there. I wish either of us could get real numbers for an honest evaluation.

[tinman]

I am NOT pimping Nashville, I have no reason to...

But can you show me a facility/doctor n Mexico with 50% the US average national complication rate, and ZERO deaths?

Can not be done, one does not exist, and there is no reporting requirement in Mexico as in America.

What I learned from my procesion as a CPA and Financial Adviser (one of the top in the nation), never invest in a nation without adequate (meaning US based) accounting system. If there is no comprehensive accounting system, you have no clue what you are investing in.

Mexico has not comprehensive medical reporting system, as such, if the hospital wants to report a bariatric patient died of surgery, they just call it heart attack and go on. The government facilitates this because they want tax revenues, and its not their citizens going there for surgery.

Sorry if that is cold water for some. I realise many had success there. I wish either of us could get real numbers for an honest evaluation.

Dude...you need to shake yourself a little.

I guess since you don't live in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, or California, it would be unfair of me to expect you to understand the Mexican culture and the Mexican people. I love Mexico and I love Mexicans.

The only real numbers I can give you are the ones I have first hand experience with. A very good friend of mine, who is a policeman, and Mexican, had the surgery in TJ. So did his seven brothers, three of his sisters, his wife and four sisters in law. He was the one who referred me to Dr. Almanza. In the group of folks I was associated with during my time there, 14 had the surgery. I've kept in touch with all but five of them. However, the others in the group keep in touch with those five and report all is well. I also have kept in touch with the group of sleevers who had the procedure the next day. Again 14. That includes my main girl Truffles. She has a ton of stuff posted here. She and I sat next to each other every day while we received our IVs. Every one lived through it and EVERYONE lost all of their weight.

I have a group of sleevers here in my home town that I meet with a couple of times a month for a pub crawl/Happy Hour. Vast majority of these folks are women. The vast majority are over 45 yrs. old. There are 25 in our group. Of those, 20 had the surgery in Mexico. So, if my math is accurate (I'll leave it up to the cpa to audit my records...lol) that's 65 (myself included) live and breathing people who will tell you that your analogy of a donkey show couldn't be more inaccurate. Is TJ third world? Hardly. Third World means that the nation is developing. I can assure you, Mexico is developed. Does it have horrible neighborhoods, crime, and poverty? Yep. Just like LA, New York, Chicago, Houston, and good old San Diego. I can assure you that parts of the Bronx and Brooklyn are more third world than TJ. I had to drive through neighborhoods in San Diego that were as bad, if not worst, than any I saw in TJ.

Does TJ have five star hotels, a vibrant downtown, malls, Office Depots, Home Depots, Walgreens, WalMarts, and just about any other big retail store you can think of? Yep. And guess what, it also has paved streets......(GASP)

Now, I also know of three or four in our local sleeve group who have dropped out because they could not drop their weight. All were done in hospitals in the world famous Houston Med Center. Home of MD Anderson and Methodist Hospital. The top two cancer hospitals in the world. The level of care you are supposed to get there is the best in the world. They paid, on average, about 20-25,000 each for the privilege of having the surgery done locally. I paid 4500.

The decision to get your procedure done here or there is a very personal one and should not be decided on a whim. However, since you have absolutely positively no experience with the medical facilities or doctors in Mexico, then I would suggest you temper your criticism until you actually know what you are talking about. Your opinion is uneducated. You are causing someone who is on the fence to decide not to have the procedure because they think a donkey show will be going on in the next room.

Give me a break.

Now....tell me about all of the sleeve disasters that you personally know of that occurred in TJ, Costa Rica, or any other "third world" country. I told you about my personal knowledge, now tell me yours.

[thenewmetoday]

Way to go tinman..you said it. Thanks Wonder what he thinks of Canada?? lol

[Honeybell]

I have worked in Emergency Rms. for 20 yrs, NY & FL, am working right now....dinner break.... & am in the process of choosing a Dr. in Mexico.My experience tells me Hospitals are filthy. Just because you don't see it does not mean germs are not there. I never wear my work shoes in the house, they stay in the garage. Scrubs go right in the laundry. MRSA, staph, c-diff.....you can get these by touching almost any surface. I know of 1 ortho who stopped doing surgery here because of a high infection rate in his pt's. And this is in a high dollar zip code. You take your chances, hope to make the best choice, just like with everything in life. As far as cleanliness, wherever you are, just hope the housekeeper is doing a great job. Just my 2 cents.

[Ddoodles]

My mother recently paid $23,000 dollars for VSG in Oregon by a Surgeon with only 420 VSG under his belt. I'm going to Dr. Corvala in TJ at Hospital Angeles ( which is in the process to be JCI accredited hospital). I managed a ASC in Oregon for 11 years and am very familiar with Joint Commission standards. The JCI is the international standards created in 1995 for hospital all around the world. The standards are not exact as the U.S. but they are comparable. Dr. Corvala charges $7500 now for VSG. This includes a minimum of 4 night hospital stay. My mom was discharged from the U.S. hospital at 1 day post op. Dr. Corvala is also Proctor for Inamed, and he was the first person to perform lap band procedure at UCLA, USC, and several other U.S. teaching hospitals. He has trained over 200 bariatric surgeon in U.S. and worldwide on WLS procedures. He has also been the featured speaker at the annual American society or metabolic and bariatric surgeons. And yet he lives and operates out TJ. I am 100% confident in my TJ surgeon and the facility.