outoftherain

Yep I believe they get paid like $1000 per surgery. I imagine they pay all the fees like airport pick ups and shopping trips etc. But it puts it in perspective knowing how much money they can make per surgery and the competition for booking surgeries. Dr Kelly sounds like a decent enough of a dr - has done a lot of surgeries. He made a lot of enemies when he went with his own private co ordinator instead of using all of the others. I can see why he did , when you think about the money he was paying out to them.

Dr Ponce's diet sort of sucks. Way too much sugar in the fruit and juices and not enough protein. I followed his stages ( basically you are free to pretty much try anything after day 30 if I remember right) in terms of puree and soft etc. But didn't follow the guide in terms of what to eat.

IT was . :-) it was such a good experience - can't wait to meet you too. I can't believe it is coming up so soon!

My sister is on June 14 as well! I went down 2 months ago ( april 3 ) and she came with me. I'm going with her now! YAY

I 'm so glad everything went well! I think I am going back with my sister in a month . She came with me 5 weeks ago and now I get to go with her! Can't wait to see the pictures and youtube from you guys! I couldn't explain the drain being removed . It's like getting a pap smear, you can't really explain the sensation - it's so different ... I didn't find it painful, just odd. It was a relief getting it out lol. I also couldn't believe how freaking long it was. I was also glad I had it because of the amount of Fluid that came out and the extra leak test.

Ohhhh I hope things are going good... thinking of you!

It's soooo close! ... I know it was a long day for me lol... I am glad I had surgery on the same day I got there. I was up at 330 am to catch my 6 am flight ( It was an international flight so they say to get there 2 hours before to go through customs) , caught had time to kill in Denver , then got into san diego around 1 pm .... then getting over the border, all the tests. I know I wouldn't have slept much the night before the surgery , so it was good to get it over with. I slept on and off, which I suspect I would have done during the day or night... The next day I felt good. Much easier to walk around and stuff.

That is awesome!

I went with dr ponce and loved it . I have some of my pics of int hospital and the hotel at www.photobucket.com/wlstijuana . I didn't like the drain but I found it a reassurance with the extra leak test. Trish was amazing ! I am biased but I really liked his experience. I wouldnt go with almanza , I've heard too many nasty things and I don't like the clinic idea. Dr Kelly is a good dr , you could try to negotiate the high BMi cost away.... Couldn't hurt to try if that is who you want and it is what is stopping you

I had my surgery around 5 or 6 pm and I was up to pee and walk a few hours later. I slept for a couple hours at a time, Couldn't really get comfortable much. My impression was that Dr Ponce starts a bit later in the day , but I could be wrong. I know he did a surgery right after mine .

Oh and yes I had a video of drinking the liquid for the leak test. As well as the blue dye to check for it in my drain.

I had a great experience with Dr Ponce. I think I would have gone crazy with another night in the hospital. getting out , shopping, sleeping in a comfortable bed ( sorry hospital beds are NOT comfortable) did a world of good for me. I had a great night sleep ( still somewhat sore) in the hotel lucerna in a nice double bed with lots of comfy pillows. Opening up the window and sitting on a the balcony ... sigh .. I actually wish I could be back there now! I feel like the hotel was clean and I had no open wounds. Sure hotels aren't as sterile as hospital but at the same time they don't have as many nasty germs floating around with all the sick people. If I had the surgery in my home town I would have went home the next day from the hospital ( assuming I was tolerating liquids)

I second the acid part. Make sure it isn't acid you are feeling.

I found the hospital and the whole experience amazing. Very little pain , mostly from the gas and walking around helped. I posted some pictures here if you anyone wants to see them...www.photobucket.com/wlstijuana... some from the hotel and shopping as well. My sister who came with me loved the food and took pictures of it too... lol...

as much as I hated the drain , I liked that I had one. I think it can help diagnose a leak, and it was good to have the excess blood drained out. For me , I was glad there was one more way to tell if there was a leak, I think a lot of times it is personal preference of the surgeon.