Travelmego

Reserving spot Dr. Ariel Ortiz - revision from lap band to sleeve

Reserving spot Dr. Ponce de Leon

Reserving spot Dr. Alvarez

Reserving spot Dr. Aceves

Reserving spot Dr. Alejandro Lopez

Reserving spot Dr. Illan

Dr. Quinones https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLY6SHmMgyI

Dr. Fernando Garcia - talked to alma and asked if I could pay extra for glue and mesh and she said no problem if I want. I still have an issue with the lady naked on the table but I am sure we can ask them to please NOT do that.

Dr. Jose Rodriguez

Dr. Pompa (6,500, Center of Excellence, Tijuana Mexico)

The first one I am putting is one from San Francisco, so people can compare it to USA surgeries. Interestingly, in this one the surgeon just does a suture 'oversew' line at the junctures or leak spots rather than a complete line from top to bottom. Many of the Mexican ones do the full line. The USA one does, however, add the glue and the mesh, which I haven't seen on any Mexican surgery videos. I wonder if we can pay extra to have the glue and mesh in addition to the full line of sutures from top to bottom.

I am putting a collection of videos of various Mexico surgeons doing the sleeve procedure. It is gross to watch the first time or two but then you get used to it and start understanding what you need to ask and look for in a surgeon.

Ok, great thank you. I am a little hesitant to look at 'ratings' pages because it is so easy to just create one - anyone can do it - including coordinators who want to promote their own guy. HOWEVER...I do find them very useful to figure out surgeons names to research. They are also useful in anything that we can verify independently. I was just looking at this page: http://www.mexicobariatricsurgerycenters.com/ which lists hospital certifications (or lack of). That should be pretty easy to verify. Please continue to give me links or any info you find.

I did inquire with his practice. I just found the email - it is 8,500. Too much for me.

I don't have either but I will get them.

reserving this spot for later information summary feel free to post below!

reserving this spot for later information summary

I am making a thread to consolidate my research. I have posts all over and a lot of private messages with good tidbits to consider. First, here is a chart to be filled in as I gather information. This document is just being put together so it is a VERY rough draft and is not organized yet. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Jd4oi1BFANNxuZ28L5w-D79fg2Pm6WWeG7pfQVDfW3U/edit?usp=sharing Things to look for in surgeon - Professional experience (education, number of sleeves,reputation, other qualifications like trauma surgeon, privileges at quality hospitals, FACS, Proctor, Center of Excellence etc) - Quality (reviews, leak rate, complication rate, infection rate) - Safety (mask covers nose and mouth, hospital is full service with icu/er and bloodbank, doctor on premises 24/7) - Procedure (32 bougie, 3 lines of staples, sutures top to bottom (oversewing the staple line), glue and mesh), covering of body at all times) - Instruments (recognized quality instruments) - Package - price, number of nights in hospital, number of nights in hotel (what's the dif btwn hotel and recovery center?). - Service - good customer service before and after, no coordinator wars, videos and records available on release)

Do you have a link to the surgery video? How much did they cost? I found the video of him doing surgery and u are right - everyone has their nose covered. I saw one girl sitting far in the back uncovered her nose for just a second and then covered it again - so I would give them a 99 percent on covering. Much better than anyone else so far. I feel kind of weird being so focused on this aspect and that maybe I am over reacting....... but how else are we supposed to judge sanitation other than with the videos they put up? Risk of infection is so great everywhere we have to try to find the safest place we can go right? Look here from the CDC website discussing MRSA: "Studies show that about one in three people carry staph in their nose, usually without any illness...." http://www.cdc.gov/mrsa/community/ And here is another good article: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/10634.php

Ok thank you Janey. I am also considering Dr. Illan but it is hard to find info on him. Do you know if he has a surgery video up any where?

Thank you Janey. It really helps to get an idea. I do travel a lot and I usually over tip. Over tipping is better than under tipping but without feedback like yours, it is hard to know which is which. I would like to fall within the norm. One time a friend tried to tip a guy giving her a blood test (this was overseas) and he was very offended. She thinks he might have been a physician. She didn't know and had been told to tip everyone.

Let me clarify - the Dr. Garcia patient was naked on the table for just a few minutes while they were prepping for the surgery and then the nurse came and put the disinfectant stuff all over her stomach. However, for several minutes she was just lying there naked while people were doing things around the room. No one was paying attention but still. During the surgery itself, she was draped. I will put links to the various videos up. You said it exactly right when it seems no one is ticking all the boxes in the price range we are looking at. I am thinking of saving up enough to go to Pompa. Even pompa had 2 employees with noses uncovered but they were in the distance - not quite as bad. How much is Alvarez again?

That chart is very rough - I will be filling it out as I learn more information this coming week Try to submit it again and give Bill a call. He is the coordinator for Dr. Quionones and I really like him. Very open about stuff. I am also leaning between Quinones and Garcia but I have a few issues with both too. If you see my other thread, not covering the nose with a surgical mask is really bothering me. In Q's video -everyone had their mouths covered but no one had their nose covered. In Dr. Garcia's, everyone had their mouths covered, but he didn't have his nose covered in one and did in another. Some of his staff did and some didn't (from what I remember off the top of my head ...i will go back and see again and may edit this part of this post). Furthermore, in one video for Dr. Garcia, the patient was laying completely nude on the table while the OR staff was going about their business. I am like cover her up! (You couldn't see her private parts in the video from the angle but she was nude). So, I kind of have an issue with that. I mean I want to be covered up. I have no idea if this is normal or not but it just seemed so invasive. I am certainly going to request that I am covered and not just totally naked on the surgery table like that. WTH! Another issue is how do they close the stomach? I will be asking more details later. I know that Dr. Q closes the stomach with the 3 staples then sutures from top to bottom - which is very good. I wish he would add mesh and glue to that. I wonder if one can pay a bit more and get the mesh and glue. At the very least, I want my surgeon to do a complete top to bottom suture oversew on the staple line which Dr. Q does (not just the jointures where the cartridges were loaded). I don't know if Dr. Garcia does. So, I don't know what to do. Even Dr. Pompa - who has amazing credentials (FACS, MD, PHD, Center of Excellence) who is 6500 has 1 or 2 staff with nose uncovered. They are not right over the patient though but away. I know it sounds OCD but it is an indicator of sterilization for me. I would probably lean toward Pompa but another 2 grand is a lot to come up with in a short time. I really need to do this over the summer for my schedule. Also, in her video I didn't see her do a suture line but I can't imagine that she doesn't. Dr. Illan I can't find much info on. He has good credentials it seems (is also a trauma/er surgeon) but he worked with Dr. Kelly for like 4 years and Dr. Kelly's reputation was outstanding then went to crap after he had a patient (or 2) die. The details are confusing and murky on that. So, I don't know if Dr. Illan was involved in that surgery or if I should penalize him for association with Dr. Kelly. Also, (from what I recall off the top of my head), he did surgeries at Hospital Jerusalem as well but now is somewhere else. Whats THAT mean? I know I don't want anything to do with Hospital Jerusalem so...... It's all so damn confusing and it is hard to trust anyone around here especially coordinators. You know?

For me, classifying it as a disease - and a chronic disease at that - makes it clear that it is something I will have to manage for life rather than thinking I will do yet another diet, be wildly successful, and that will be that. Classifying it as a disease makes this distinction clear and makes me feel more empowered rather than less. It is not something I can just ignore. I have to actively confront it and take control. But that is just me and we all have our own interpretation of things.

Just curious but why the night before? Won't you just pick up contagions between cleaning your body with it and the time of surgery? I know NOTHING about this - first time I have heard of hibiclens.