guate_mama05

Like folks above I did extensive research and chose Dr. Ariel Ortiz for the reasons listed above. He is more expensive but for my peace of mind I'm willing and able to pay more. Heck, I was going to spend $21k to have it done by my former band surgeon!
I'm lucky in that I have money saved so I don't require a loan and as I live in Southern California it's just a 1 1/2 hour drive south for me.
Do want to point out that there's more than one Ortiz in Tijuana. Dr. Ariel Ortiz is the one with all the certifications all over the place! Also, he recently conducted a surgical bariatric demonstration at a bariatric conference in NYC.

Scroll down on the home page and there is a thread called Mexico self pay. Lots of stories there. That's my choice!

Best of luck and thanks for the pics!

Just said prayers for you! Hope tomorrow is an uneventful trip home!

I'm going April 10 with dr Ortiz at occ..I would love to have a sleeve buddy wit me

AmandaRae - cannot WAIT to hear all about your surgery, Dr. Aceves - EVERYTHING! You have certainly done the research and am very excited to watch your weight loss. Only a few days until you join us on the sleeved side!

BrandNewMe17 the doctor at the OCC is Ariel Ortiz. Their website is obesitycontrolcenter.com. Lots of good info there and links to their YouTube channel and a patient forum. The OCC is also an International Center of Excellence which means the US Surgical Review Company has certified them through I believe a year long process that they meet all the requirements to care for the specific needs of bariatric patients.

I had been struggling with this very question ever since I decided I'm moving forward with surgery. I am also a single mom and have 3 great kids who only have me to depend upon. They are my motivation for my decision. I personally looked at 3 price ranged surgical experiences and factored many things into my decision. Surgeon experience, technique of the surgery, I choose staples with a reinforced stitch line over it to reinforce also the surgeon I choose removes the excess fat from the organ prior to surgery for a clean incision in the stomach. Reputation was considered, hospital was very important to me, I compared 3 different companies health questionaires that they asked me. The first one had a 1 page health page that hardly asked me anything. The second one was much more through, and the price was the best. The third one asked the most comprehensive medical history, and gathered the most history on me. It made me think. I'm coming from Canada, I've had surgery before, I know the things I was told before any other surgery before why are they not either asking me for this medical history info especially when they are not my regular Dr's. or why are they not informing me of information like don't wear nail polish or have on acrylic nails during surgery which both of these things are prerequisites of prior surgery I've had in Canada for the heart monitoring. So I ended up deciding on going with the top Dr which wasn't much more overall. For me I had to think about price as one factor but not the only factor. I would just be aware be informed, know what your buying, what level of care, and go for the best within your budget. I'm scheduled for April 8th, please let me know how you are doing????????

Trixie thanks so much for all those wonderful details. Just what I was looking for. The more I can read the better I feel!
I too have insurance that would pay but I'm not wanting to jump thru all their hoops and I feel Dr Ortiz has far more experience than my options at home and the OCC will provide far better care than the hospitals here.

Well, I was an insurance denial. Since I met all the insurance company's criteria and was denied anyway, I decided I probably knew as much about my health as an insurance company. So instead of paying $32,000 of my own money for a surgeon with not much experience, I paid less and headed to Tijuana for a very experienced surgeon at an International Center of Excellence. So, mine was just getting ticked at the insurance company! Lol...

I'm going in a fortnight, I'll give a write up as well. I'm also going to try and take pictures and maybe do a youtube video. That might be too ambitious...we'll see

GAmom that's awesome! I hope mine goes as smooth! Hope its all smooth sailing from here on!

xaviergirl06 I'm a single mom too! All the comments your family has made don't surprise me. It seems like they are scared for you, haven't researched this surgery and Mexico like we have and most of all can't relate to the issues we have with our weight and how much we want change and to better ourselves for our families.
I have a dear friend that told me about going to Mexico for WLS last year and the first thing I thought was MEXICO....OMG! I didn't say that to her because I wanted to support her. A year later....here I am, following in her footsteps!
I have several family members that if they knew, would feel the need to give me their opinion without knowing what they are talking about. I briefly mentioned WLS last Thanksgiving and holy cow the opinions I got. I didn't even mention Mexico! They will all know after the fact. Fortunately, my mom is supportive and the one that really counts to me!
Hang in there, we can do this and we will be MUCH better moms for it! The only downside I can see is I'm gonna be such a hottie, people are gonna hate me! LOL

March 19th, Obesity Control Center, Dr. Ortiz.< /p>

You go Diamoneyed! I bet you look fabulous!

xaviergirl06 I'm a single mom too! All the comments your family has made don't surprise me. It seems like they are scared for you, haven't researched this surgery and Mexico like we have and most of all can't relate to the issues we have with our weight and how much we want change and to better ourselves for our families.
I have a dear friend that told me about going to Mexico for WLS last year and the first thing I thought was MEXICO....OMG! I didn't say that to her because I wanted to support her. A year later....here I am, following in her footsteps!
I have several family members that if they knew, would feel the need to give me their opinion without knowing what they are talking about. I briefly mentioned WLS last Thanksgiving and holy cow the opinions I got. I didn't even mention Mexico! They will all know after the fact. Fortunately, my mom is supportive and the one that really counts to me!
Hang in there, we can do this and we will be MUCH better moms for it! The only downside I can see is I'm gonna be such a hottie, people are gonna hate me! LOL

For me it was quality of care and expertise of the surgeon. I have insurance that would probably pay but the care and experience is lacking.

bowgirl I hope you are having a better day today. I've been thinking about you.

I'm so glad you have your answer! I was going to say not to let the current stress deter you from your long range goal! I too have a 7 almost 8 year old daughter and I'm tired of being fat, out of energy, depressed and something hurting. I want to be an active mom and do fun things with her and stop being bad example of no exercise, not caring what I look like and being a blob! We got this! We can do it!

I'm so glad you have your answer! I was going to say not to let the current stress deter you from your long range goal! I too have a 7 almost 8 year old daughter and I'm tired of being fat, out of energy, depressed and something hurting. I want to be an active mom and do fun things with her and stop being bad example of no exercise, not caring what I look like and being a blob! We got this! We can do it!

I just put my daughter to bed, she said that she wanted me to go and "be skinny so that I can have more energy".....that was it, that was enough to reaffirm my decision to do this....
I want the energy to play with her and be the best mom I can be.....
Thank you guys for your encouraging words

I'm considering going it alone. I have a friend that used Dr. Ortiz at the OCC last year and she said it wouldn't be any big deal. As a single mom with an 8 year old.........alone sounds really good!

If you are taking medical leave, legally they can't ask anything regarding the leave. HR on the other hand will know to approve the leave but they can't share anything other than the dates you will be gone with your boss - it's all about HIPAA!
On the other hand I understand nosy co-workers. Still none of their business but I do like the hernia surgery or just abdominal surgery.
I am going to try and take leave. My Dr's coordinator said she would be happy to fill out the FMLA paperwork. We shall see how that works!

So glad to hear others posting about the OCC and Dr. Ortiz. I'm hoping to schedule with Dr Ortiz at the OCC in June. I too like to hear other's experiences.