I'm Changing 4 Me

@ biginjapan OMG you can't even imagine how much this has helped me and for some reason it soothed my soul ! I really appreciate your feedback and will use your advice to the fullest. Thanking you ever so much and good luck on your surgery and new beginnings!!

NewMe

I will be a self pay in Mexico and I'm so overwhelmed with the different Drs and hospitals / centers.
I've researched so much it all seems to run together now !!! Can some sleever's please give me some recommendations on dr's and locations and why you chose them.. I wanna get this done like yesterday but can't get past the continual research mode !!!
NewMe

I wish I could go back in time, too.
I would like to do so so I could have had surgery much sooner in life.
Everything gets much better after the first couple of months.

Dr. Victor Gutierrez
I highly recommend Dr. Victor Gutierrez! He is a well educated, experienced, extremely smart, nice, caring, and patient. He values the health of his patients more than anything else.
Languages - Fluent in Spanish, English and Hebrew.
Well educated at the top university plastic surgery hospital in Jersalem, Israel.
Isreal is well know around the world for educating and producing the top plastic surgeons.
Degree in Microsurgery.
His incisions are extremely straight and sutures are internal and tiny.
http://www.dr-victorgutierrez.com
http://www.realself.com/find/Mexico/Plastic-Surgeon/Victor-Gutierrez
Dr. Victor Gutierrez is well known for responding very quickly to his emails and giving estimates. There are several ways to contact his office. You may also speak with Elsa, his assistant. She is a Angel.
You may also contact him by telephone:
619-564-4059 or toll free at
1-866-209-8598

I had surgery in Tijuana by Dr Lopez Corvala. Everything was included except for the flights & the experience was great! They picked us up in San Diego, drove us straight to the hospital & I met the concierge who walked me through all the tests until I met with the Drs team in my room. I was in the operating room in less than 2 hours upon arriving and I was totally happy with that as I had done a lot of emailing and questions before. They kept me there and my partner was able to go out and get food with very little issues (google translator was a big help, Im told!) Everything was incredibly clean and the staff was better than any experience Ive had here in the states. My price was $6500 but I did have to buy my meds to take back home...that was around $100.
One draw back...you're on your own once you leave other than emails and phone calls. I don't have a gastric dr here so Ive been lucky to have my gen Practitioner check my Vitamins and keep an eye on me. There are no after care visits and check ins and there are no in person support groups here. I've been lucky to find this and other websites with support groups to ask my 11ty billion questions and share frustrations with. I think for surgical tourism you have to be super self aware and committed to following your plans to make it work. If you need accountability, find a way to make it possible because there will be no dr check ins and nutritionist appointments as compared with most surgeries in the US.

Thank you for the encouragement and congratulations on your surgery. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

You're welcome! Actually, I had the same feelings you did when I first started 6 months ago, and I felt frustrated with the "do your own research" but that nobody had actually got down to specifics with real information. I'm glad this helps you, and I hope it helps other people researching WLS in Mexico (although I imagine the costs will date themselves soon enough). Let us know who you eventually go with! (FWIW, I'm going with Dr. Cabrera).

Thanks vsgvega!
As for Mexico, I had a few reasons to choose it over having the surgery done in Japan. First, although bariatric surgery is done in Japan, there are very few surgeons who specialise in it, which isn't surprising considering only 3.5% of the population is considered obese (at 30 BMI). My experience with Japanese doctors isn't very positive - they rarely tell you anything, and you have to push for more information. For example, my cholesterol is kind of high, but most doctors I go to tell me "not to worry about it." I sometimes have pain/pressure that feels like a hernia in my stomach area, but when I expressed my concern about it to my gastroenterologist, he told me to eat less (while tracing over my breasts where the stomach was - not appropriate!). I had minor surgery just over a year ago, and while the surgery results were fine, the post-op experience in the hospital was not. Also, Asian people (in general) are more sensitive to pain medication than non-Asians, so the meds here are not very strong. For pain killers, we are often given the equivalent of baby aspirin (I had that after surgery, so did a friend of mine who had a C-section). OTC meds, like Tylenol, are much stronger and more effective than anything they give me here (which I have to import, since they don't sell it here, or if they do it's hard to find - a former doctor of mine always brings some back with him after he goes to Europe, since even as a doctor, he can't get it here). Some suffering is expected at all times - I feel bad for patients with chronic diseases who are in constant pain because the doctors here won't give them anything stronger.
Another reason is insurance - with insurance it probably would have cost me at least $7000, without it, at least $25,000. So the cost of my surgery + the flight will be slightly more than if I had stayed in Japan (with insurance). But even if my insurance covered it, I would be reluctant to have the surgery since nothing is private here - since health insurance is provided by the company you work for, they know everything about you. We do health checks every year, and the company gets those results. Any operations or other procedures I get done - they know about it. The lack of privacy here is appalling, and for years I refused to do the health checks for that reason, but they're free and worth the information I get from them. But I'm keeping this surgery secret (for now) - I want to be the one who determines who knows about it.
So basically I'm going to Mexico because I want to deal with people who speak English, have a surgeon who has loads of experience, keep the surgery private, and also because, by flying to the States, I can also pick up some items I will need post-op that I can't get here in Japan. Every doctor I asked did not seem concerned about flying post-op, and I will have compression stockings and will walk around a lot (easier in business class too). I will also stay in San Diego for 4 days after I am released, so I will be flying back to Japan a week after surgery, which I think will help with pain or other issues. I'm travelling by myself but I think I will be able to get help with my suitcase every step of the way (hotel, cab, airport).
Anyway, sorry for the long post - it was much longer than I expected it to be!

I didn't come across his name until after I made my decision. His credentials look great, though I'm a bit suspicious of the website he comes listed on. One, they deal with multiple doctors, instead of just one or two, which doesn't seem quite right to me (just my preference - I prefer going through sites that are dedicated to one or two doctors and the hospital they are connected to). Also, looking at some of the before and after photos - one of them lists a patient having lost 100 lbs in 2 months! Is that even possible?
However - I'm far from being an expert on anything!

@ biginjapan my research shows favorable results on the doctors you listed. Best of luck to you in your journey. Was Mexico the cheapest alternative for you? That's long travel time so be sure to get up frequently to walk. Did you discuss prevention of clots w your surgeon?
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When you use a Medical Tourism place, The deposit mostly goes to the coordinator as commission. If you research the hospital and the surgeons, you could just schedule directly with them. I do agree that I've found it helpful that the coordinator is available whenever I have questions. it's a personal choice and if I'd thought it through and did my research up front before paying the deposit, I may have scheduled directly but I'm okay with having the benefit of a coordinator. I'm self pay also so March is when I'll have the full amount. If I had the money now I'd schedule it for 2weeks. I'm so ready.

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@@VSGVega thanks for your response! What do you mean wasted commissions? Does it cost to use a coordinator? Why couldn't you get ur surgery sooner if you want it sooner ?

I had my surgery with Dr. Ariel Ortiz at Obesity Control Center in Tijuana just over 6 years ago. My daughter is a gastroenterologist and he was specifically recommended to her by colleagues in the bariatric field. He was a world renown, cutting edge surgeon even then. I had a great experience, easy recovery and zero complications. As a nurse myself, I know the difference between quality healthcare and substandard, cut-rate care. Would recommend him and OCC to anyone interested in WLS.

@I'm Changing 4 Me
I created a spreadsheet to help me figure out what I wanted. Personally, I contacted each and every one of these companies/doctors. How are you going to know if you like them unless you deal with them directly? I think in reality, you have to go through some kind of coordinator. Do you expect your surgeon to be dealing with email and phone queries all day? (In fact, out of all these doctors, the only one I was in contact with was Dr. Illan - and while he seemed very nice, the wi-fi connection was so bad I have no idea if he actually answered any of my questions). So, while it would be nice to talk to them, it's not always possible. However, in some cases the coordinator will contact the doctor if you have any specific questions.
This is far from a full list, but based on this, and other sites, I felt that these were the most consistently well-regarded companies and surgeons. As I've mentioned in other posts, I think the biggest reason for price differences are the reputation of the doctor, the hospital used, and the hotels used.
Unless otherwise mentioned, all these doctors are in Tijuana, and these are quotes I got for a Gastric Sleeve (prices may vary depending on your personal health conditions):
Bariatric Pal Team MX: Dr. Jalil Illan ($4399)
Endo Bariatric (in Piedras Negras): Dr. Alvarez ($8900)
Mexico Bariatric Center: Dra. Louisiana Valenzuela ($5500) and Dr. Ismael Cabrera ($4995)
Obesity Control Center: Dr. Ariel Ortiz ($6500-$9000)
Pompeii Surgical: Dr. Sergio Quinones ($4500)
Ponce Bariatric: Dr. jaime ponce de leon ($5000)
Tijuana Bariatrics: Dr. Fernando Garcia ($4250)
WLSC: Dr. Ramos Kelly ($4870-$7710)
Another option seems to be Trinity Medical, also promoted by a pretty active member here, but unfortunately I didn't come across that company until after I had made my decision.
In my particular case, I live in Japan so unlike most of you in the US and Canada, I have some pretty long international flights, and my pear-shaped bottom can no longer squeeze into a 17" economy seat. I might have done that one-way, but I definitely did not want to be squeezed in for 14 hours after major abdominal surgery. Knowing that I would have to buy a business class seat on an international flight meant that I couldn't afford the more expensive doctors - so anything over $6000 was out. I did not like the way I was treated with Tijuana Bariatrics - all I got was a form letter "you've been approved - send money" - and all requests to speak to a coordinator or doctor were completely ignored. In the end the surgeons I was most interested in were Dr. Q, Dr. Ponce, and either Dr. Valenzuela or Dr. Cabrera at MBC. What swayed me the most was how well I was treated by the coordinator, and the amount of information they could give me about the operation, hospitals, etc, how many surgeries the doctor does daily (some doctors work out of more than one hospital, so make sure you find out the daily total and not the hospital total), and finally the price. Oh - and whether or not the surgery could be done on a day that was most convenient for me (for some reason it seems like a lot of the doctors will be away or on vacation or are already booked in February).
I know in the beginning it seems overwhelming, but the best thing to do is bookmark the sites you like, fill out the forms, and see what happens from there. I started with 3 different companies, but over time I expanded my search a little. That said, the problem is the paradox of choice: the more options we have, the more difficult it becomes to choose. Keep it small for now as you get your feet wet. Ask questions. Do research (other bariatric forums, Facebook, etc.) It should get better as you go along.
My surgery is less than 6 weeks away, so I can't tell you how it went, but I'm confident enough that I will be treated well. Anyway, I hope this helps.

@@biginjapan did you consider Dr. Manuel Garcia Garza? I am starting research and am considering him. Thanks for your lengthy post it was very informative.
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@@CStoned that's old school method right there !!
NewMe

@ BubblesOhSoSleeved where are you having your surgery? I'm in Mesquite but don't have a date yet- heck I haven't even settled on a doctor yet!
NewMe

Girl at the end of the day all that matters is your health and YOUR happiness! Granted the support of your loved ones is something you want but at the end of the day your going to be happy with yourself and the decision YOU made! Good luck and you have a community of supporters for you right here! ????
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You don't need their approvals. This is going to make you grow an even thicker skin. Personally I'd wait for them to say something then shoot back with I don't remember asking you for criticism, I asked for support

I honestly wish I would've kept this decision a secret from everyone but my immediate family...so much negativity....I can't deal. All I wanted was support and instead I got people questioning my decision and telling me what they feel I need and don't need. And it's truly frustrating and irritating because I'm going to do what I want regardless but all the negativity is coming out impact this journey negatively and I don't need or want it. I can't even talk to one of bff because they don't approve. ✌✌✌
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Thick plastic string.... (just hear me out now) Thick plastic string...like the kind you make those friendship bracelets with - clear if u can find it... Thread it thru & tie it on the side & tuck the knot under ur tounge. Do it AFTER they do the mouth check (they gone do that)...let em SEE u take ur bar out & errthing. If they snip it away in surgery then u tried..have a friend at the ready when u get 2ur room with ur bar 2put it right bk in. BOOM! Prob solved!

I done messed up & told my age...????

The the trick is to shape it so its flush to the skin on both sides...gonna need sumn to poke it thru & out when u come outta recovery. If u do swallow it, its small....

@@CStoned that's old school method right there !!
NewMe

@@CStoned that's old school method right there !!
NewMe

Back in the day..... Lolol!
The old folk used to cut a straw from a straw broom & put a lil clean peice of it dabved in a bit of rubbing alcohol in ur ear piercing hole to keep em open. I did that for a nose piercing for a friend b4 surgery once...it worked! Try it. You'll only need it for about 3hrs.