Choosing a Surgeon in Mexico ........

[butterfly2]

Hello all

I'm trying to find a surgeon I am comfortable booking my Sleeve surgery with. I am finding it increasingly difficult to make a decision. I'm a very indecisive person by nature, and I've become obsessed with researching Dr's. Researching any one Dr long enough, guarantees stumbling across a negative comment, review, death, leak etc .....
Its hard to accept the fact I will have to remove most of my healthy stomach, whats even harder ? picking a surgeon in foreign country to do the deed !
I have settled on Mexico, its close to the USA and fits my budget.
I'm contemplating or have contemplated the following doctors:

Dr Almanza Tijuana- (just worried about the number of surgeries he performs per day)

Dr Fernando Garcia Tijuana-

Dr Hector Perez Cancun-

Dr Jamie Ramos Kelly - ( apparently he doesn't use a drain after surgery ... not sure it thats good or bad ?)

and finally Dr Elias Ortiz-

I would really really really appreciate some input, advice, thoughts, suggestions etc ... I am utterly confused, terrified, scared and anxious in picking a surgeon.

[robin825]

I would go for Cancun. Only because I have been there twice and it is beautiful! Cancun is a safe zone for travelling. Easy public transportation. It's on the East Coast. Tijuana is on the west coast and there are a lot of travelling warnings for that region. As a matter of fact most of the East coast of Mexico is safe. Cabos San Luca is as well. AlI the other areas are real dicey. After having two bariatric surgeries I can't help but ask why Mexico? Besides money. What is the before and after care there? How do you do follow up care? Not that it is any of my business ,but since people tend to throw everything out there in these blogs, I had to ask.

[robin825]

Ps. I didn't have a drain after surgery and mine was done in NH.

[butterfly2]

Yeah I've been to Cancun for vacation a couple of times ...
I'm trying to pick an experienced surgeon, I believe some Surgeons in MX have much more experience than most Bariatric surgeons in the USA when it come to the Sleeve, I may be wrong ....
Also I don't have the option of having surgery in the USA, its too expensive. Mexico fits my budget.

[rollerama]

My daughter got sleeved by Dr Ramos Kelly last month and all went well. He did a very competent job and thus far she has not had any problems. We paid the extra money for her to be at Angeles Hospital, and it was WELL worth it -- as good a facility and nursing care as any good US hospital.
Good luck!

[Sleeved W Pfynss]

Dr. Almanza and his TEAM was AWESOME! Join his forum and read all of the raving results. He is in a new hospital and the OB Unit is right across the hall delivering cute lil babies. I wrote about my experience in detail on my blogs and encourage you to read them to gather personal experiences from not just me... but others who have used his services.

Getting sleeved was the best choice I have made... probably in life! Much success in your endeavors.
Pfynss

[zmdh39]

Hello all

I'm trying to find a surgeon I am comfortable booking my Sleeve surgery with. I am finding it increasingly difficult to make a decision. I'm a very indecisive person by nature, and I've become obsessed with researching Dr's. Researching any one Dr long enough, guarantees stumbling across a negative comment, review, death, leak etc .....
Its hard to accept the fact I will have to remove most of my healthy stomach, whats even harder ? picking a surgeon in foreign country to do the deed !
I have settled on Mexico, its close to the USA and fits my budget.
I'm contemplating or have contemplated the following doctors:

Dr Almanza Tijuana- (just worried about the number of surgeries he performs per day)

Dr Fernando Garcia Tijuana-

Dr Hector Perez Cancun-

Dr Jamie Ramos Kelly - ( apparently he doesn't use a drain after surgery ... not sure it thats good or bad ?)

and finally Dr Elias Ortiz-

I would really really really appreciate some input, advice, thoughts, suggestions etc ... I am utterly confused, terrified, scared and anxious in picking a surgeon.

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:

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[KimberlyH]

Dr. Q for me. I've gone from a size 30/32 to buying a size 18 jeans today and I'm 4 months post-op. I had a great experience and even traveled by myself.

[Ema]

I used Dr. Elias Ortiz and was very happy. I have had no issues post-op and I would use him again. Good luck making the decision. There are several excellent surgeons in TJ. Also, you will be safe in TJ.

[gtmikki]

Dr. Q for me. I've gone from a size 30/32 to buying a size 18 jeans today and I'm 4 months post-op. I had a great experience and even traveled by myself.

Kimberly, how was your flight? I am from GA and a little worried about the long flight after surgery? Did you get up and walk around? Also, do you think I should book a first class return flight?

[zmdh39]

Kimberly, how was your flight? I am from GA and a little worried about the long flight after surgery? Did you get up and walk around? Also, do you think I should book a first class return flight?

At the time of my surgery I had to fly back to TN, my total flight time with layovers and all that jazz was 13 hours..no problems with the flight for me. I explained to the flight attendants that I had had surgery, and would need to get up and walk periodically during the flight...they were really cool with it...lol they actually asked if I wanted them to call ahead and have a wheel chair ready for me when I got off my flights...I said no, but if you would like one, just ask...they will happily accommodate you.

[gtmikki]

At the time of my surgery I had to fly back to TN, my total flight time with layovers and all that jazz was 13 hours..no problems with the flight for me. I explained to the flight attendants that I had had surgery, and would need to get up and walk periodically during the flight...they were really cool with it...lol they actually asked if I wanted them to call ahead and have a wheel chair ready for me when I got off my flights...I said no, but if you would like one, just ask...they will happily accommodate you.

Thanks Melanie. I went ahead and booked comfort seating to give me more leg room. I guess I am getting worried about clotting. And getting nervous since by surgery is about 4 weeks away.

[zmdh39]

Thanks Melanie. I went ahead and booked comfort seating to give me more leg room. I guess I am getting worried about clotting. And getting nervous since by surgery is about 4 weeks away.

Your welcome dear!

[terrora]

Although I have no complaints about Dr Quinones myself I am not sure I would go back to him. I have heard good things about Kelly Ramos and would probably go there given a second chance.
I am a nurse myself and the nurses at that clinic didn't seem competent to me. About Dr Quiones himself,,very personable and no complications so far. The team was excellent with interpreters 24/7 , giving rides all over TJ..very helpful. But the nurses and the dingy clinic,,wouldn't go there again.

[TERRIWILLIAMSON]

I loved this Thank you sooo much!!!