Tim H.

I had my surgery on March 18th with Dr Garcia. I had a wonderful experience. He and his Entire staff were great. I'm down over 100 lbs. Also, Dr Garcia is great with aftercare. Just add him on Facebook and he'll answer your questions. His name on there is Dr. Fernando Garcia Govea.

Dr. Garcia charges $4700. if you have a bmi under 50. It goes up from there but not a crazy amount. It includes 3 nights at the Marriott ( I night pre op and 2 nights post op) It also includes ground transportation from the San Diego Airport. You can also bring a guest, because you get a private room at the hospital which you share with your guest. You will stay 2 nights at Florence Hospital. I am scheduled for 8/30/13, the Friday before Labor Day. I did a lot of research and talked to a lot of Dr. Garcia's patients and I am so confident in my decision. I am so ready!!!

You guys are gonna be STOKED! I had surgery with Dr Garcia 10/27/12 and also went through Alma. Im sooooo happy with my sleeve and I've lost 98 lbs. Still losing too. Your lives are about to change :-)

I will be in the care of Dr. Fernando Garcia 2 weeks from today... yikes

I wasn't trying to dredge up any drama, AmandaRaeLeo, I just was sharing my point of view. I am aware of the situation and there is some blame on both sides. That doesn't mean that Dr. Luna is not a good doctor and he will be missed by a lot of us. I am entitled to my own opinion.

I am scheduled with Dr. Garcia on August 30th. I am sorry that Dr. Luna will not be there ( there are 2 sides to every story, just my opinion) Everyone I know that had him assist in the surgery had nothing but wonderful things to say about him. I am still very confident in Dr. Garcia and I have total respect for him. Flesherette, you look amazing. I am still trying to decide on bougie size. I hear he does a lose 32 ( if you want it, it helps prevent dehydration) and a 36 bougie. How has your hydration been, and do you know what bougie size you had. I would love to know. Thanks for sharing

There is a surgeon near charlotte that has done a lot of post wt loss pts.
http://m.hunstadcenter.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fhunstadcenter.com%2F#2659
This page has his body lifts.. There are also some mommy makeovers on his page. I'm very impressed by his work though! ( I'm very picky about the "after" belly buttons )

realself has tons of pics.
This is a local (for me) doc that has a section on "massive weight loss" patients.
http://www.egrari.com/procedures/weight-loss-contouring/
http://www.egrari.com/gallery/weight-loss/lower-body-lift/lower-body-lift-1/

Piece of cake...I went to Dr.Garcia in April and I can honestly say that Dr. Garcia & his team are top notch doctors and they take care of you at Florence!! Would do it all again if I had to...

I also am going to Mexico and Dr. Garcia at florence. I could go through my insurance (Aetna) but with my plan I still have to pay 50 percent. I would have to jump through all of their hoops and be on a supervised diet for 6 months. I am going to Mexico because I want to have this surgery on my terms in my time frame. I did a lot of research as well. The doctors in Mexico have a lot more experience than the doctors and the states and Dr. Garcia also trains U.S. doctors on the procedure. Surgery in the states is outpatient and they do not do leak tests unless they feel there is a problem. In Mexico you have 3 leak tests before you even leave the hospital. I am totally confident in my decision and I wish everyone the best!!

I'm a therapist and have worked with kids for 20 yrs. I'm not saying I'm a know it all bc I certainly don't. But more of my patients were very damaged from being obese in early childhood development which spilled into adulthood and progressed into addiction and many other issues. I say break the cycle early...the earlier the better. Mom, you know mainly bc of genetics and experience that she doesn't have a shot in hell. As an addiction therapist I see so many addicts who would've done anything to have stopped the progression of the disease. And as an addict, bc of the genetic factor on both sides, I didn't stand a chance. If only I had known this at an early age maybe I would have never taken that first drink or hit. It's not about will power...if it was none of us would be here. It's about management and I have learned to use the sleeve to manage my addiction. Now, if I could only find a "sleeve" for drugs and alcohol...I wouldn't think twice! And by the way, I think 14 is a good age developmentally bc it may save her from a lifetime of trauma...which means therapy for life. Just my two cents. I have a daughter....a pretty hefty daughter big surprise. I think I would do everything I could to manage her disease. Good luck!

Tomorrow, I'll be three months out from surgery, and I'm down 85 pounds since starting my pre-op diet on March 1st, when these before photos were taken. I had my surgery with Dr. Garcia in Tijuana. So far, so good. Lots more to go, though.

http://www.capellaplasticsurgery.net/photo_gallery.htm
Hey, I came across this website today, and I found it very informative. It shows pictures of patients with large amounts of weight loss before and after plastic surgery. WARNING: The pics are uncensored and feature full nudity, so don't click if that offends you.
Does anyone know of other sites like this? (Not necessarily ones with nudity, haha. Just pics of plastic surgery for weight loss patients?)

So funny that I sprayed Water all over my computer while laughing out loud. Thanks for sharing.

I'm now at 4 months post-op. I had surgery on March 18th w/Dr. Garcia in Tijuana. For me, it was a great experience. He and his whole team went above and beyond to make sure I was comfortable. And, if you add him on Facebook, Dr. Garcia is awesome about answering any follow-up questions you might have.
I've got a ways to go, but I'm very happy with my progress so far.

I finally hit my three month mark. Started at 294 and now I'm down to 229! So happy but I got a long ways to go.

Excellent blog post.. but everyone please note: Serendipity Happens welcomes everyone to tell her how fabulous she looks.. as long as it's not from the Korean lady who came into my store the other day and told me "oooh, you look good now, not so fat like before.. before you was sooooooooooo fat." I kid you not.

I agree with a lot of Paul's post. There is a huge reason you see so very few real vets around here. You see a large number of people that post all day, every day for most of the first year...and then they drop off.
Anyone remember Tiffykins? Or Diva? Or even O.T.R.? Hey, my buddy ButtertheBean isn't around as much anymore, either. And PdxMan? He's one of my heroes. They are hardly here anymore, and many don't show up at all. Even cheerleaders like Lissa or regular posters like Catracks are gone!
And let us not forget that it basically falls to a handful of people that are reasonable, with sound experience, to give a lot of the support here. I figure upwards of 75% of the posters here are not regular. They come in, post a vent or complaint or a yay me post and boogie onward without a thanks or a farewell. This is a community of TAKERS with very few people that actually give their time or experience. I can attest to that as most any time I have asked a question I've gotten a handful of responses - more people manage to "like" my post than bother to help me answer a question and quite frankly, it's frustrating to see that a post about sex drive or hating your sleeve can generate hundreds of replies when people have REAL questions or REAL concerns that actually matter. Seriously!
FACT: It is absolutely EXHAUSTING to give your time, effort, advice and experience here. If you're the voice of reason and don't couch your responses in perfectly P.C. encouragement, people actually attack you for trying to help. See, you're supposed to help - you just have to do it the "right" way.
Utter B.S.
I have gone back and forth on this one, myself. I have had super ultra politically correct and supportive months and months where I get so sick and tired of it that I post blunt, hard truth. I've been told I make people scared to post. Well, my opinion? Stop posting silly things. Really - it's embarrassing to everyone here to have the value of this entire community and the easily accessible information diminished by silly, immature posts or by the same darn questions over and over again.
If you want to post a question and already know the answer or already know that nobody is going to okay your poor choice DO NOT LOOK FOR VALIDATION HERE.
But in all honesty? These aren't even the questions that get me anymore. It's the (HT, FYE) hubris of some people.
In the last three days I have read some of the most insulting comments by people that, comparatively speaking, have almost ZERO real experience with the sleeve. I'm glad you're here contributing after four to six months, really, people. That's super swell. But it takes quite a bit of chutzpah to assume you know every challenge on the road ahead, and to insult people for not walking the exact same path as you.
People are not stupid because they eat foods that aren't ideal choices. They're human. This is not all or nothing, there is not only one proper way to achieve and maintain. Do not assume that your way is the only way or that if someone chooses a more moderate approach that they're wrong, they're going to fail, and they're stupid.
Because that's what I'm seeing.
You think this is super easy and anyone who struggles or loses slowly isn't trying hard enough? Come tell me that in a year, or two.
You think the answer to everything is more exercise, more Protein or more Water? Gee, thanks for that. I'm sure nobody ever considered it.
You think that every pound you lose is gone forever, because the only way to stop losing or regain is to go on an ice cream orgy? Ha!
You think this is as simple as eating the "right" foods and getting exercise? I only have crude responses to that. Because this person - the person that says this - is a hypocrite. Because this is the abuse that was heaped upon us by family and doctors prior to our choice to have surgery, so give yourself a nice pat on the back to being absolutely unhelpful, and yeah, a hypocrite.
Look - it's a line to walk. Insult the vets and lose the vets. Ask a question, expect answers. But watch how you ask and answer things, too. I try to be more considerate and thoughtful nowadays. I still have my moments. But people are more likely to listen if their hackles aren't up. Everyone that disagrees with you isn't stupid or wrong.
Paul is a tremendously successful vet and while his approach and mine are different that does not mean that one of us has to be wrong. It means we have two different viewpoints and two different sets of experience we can and do use to help here.
And hey, while I'm thinking of it, lurkers and infrequent posters should consider contributing here a bit more. And hey, to those that are constantly stirring up issues and being argumentative, try to keep your high school drama and clique garbage to yourselves, and, as I tell my five year olds "pack up your bad attitudes and put them in your pockets." All the attempts to prove you have the one perfect and correct answer by going back and forth does is alienate people.
Ya'll make me crazy sometimes.
Good post, Paul. None of the vets here are here to give validation for poor choices.
~Cheri

I am a teacher and it is programmed in to eat in 10..... Think about it- by the time we walk to the cafeteria, go through the line (which I won't be doing anymore), and did a seat, all of our one is gone. All that is left to shovel and swallow- everything!

I was sleeved by dr Garcia in march and had a fantastic experience. I went to Florence Hospital and was taken very good care of. I went alone and had no problems. I am loving my sleeve and have lost 56lbs.

Hubby went down almost 2 weeks ago with Dr. Garcia and Dr. Luna and the whole team was WONDERFUL! We couldn't of gotten this level of quality care in the states if we paid 4 times what we did in Mx. I am so glad we choose to go with Dr. Garcia and the team and look forward to going down on Sunday to have MY sleeve done on July 8th!! I can't wait to meet the whole team and thank them for the fabulous and professional jobs they have all been doing...they have changed our lives!

Dr. Garcia is awsome and i had zero complications as of today (knocking on wood) :-)

Hi Everyone! I had my surgery 4/10/13 and as of today I am down 120 lbs. I have a long way to go, but not giving up! :wub:

Nice job!!!
Sent from my iPhone using VST

Good luck everybody! Dr. Garcia did my sleeve on July 2nd. I live in western Oklahoma.