I AM SCHEDULED TO BE BANDED 1/27/06 IN TJ BY DR KURI.:alien AFTER NUMEROUS ATTEMPTS I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO FIND A SINGLE NEGATIVE THING SAID ABOUT HIM OR HIS STAFF. I AM NOT LOOKING FOR ANYTHING BAD IN PARTICULAR, JUST WANT REASSURANCE I HAVE PICKED THE RIGHT DOCTOR FOR ME. I FEEL GOOD ABOUT THE SITUATION, BUT ANY INPUT WOULD BE APPRECIATED!!!!

THANKS FOR YOUR TIME

FATBGONE!!!!

I am on a number of lists, including MexicanBandsters and SmartBandsters, and I know people he banded 7 to 8 years ago. I, too, have heard nothing but good things about him. He is one of the two most lauded lapband surgeons in Mexico. I think you made a good choice. I would recommend him even over the doctor who did my surgery!

Any one that has gone lately to tj Dr kuri I go 2-20-06 how did it go?>

I would not recommend him. No follow-up. Assembly line atmosphere. Doesn't listen to or seem to believe his patients. May be a good surgeon, but you need someone who will be there for you if there are problems, and Mexico is a long way to go when there are.

Look into Dr. Roberto Rumbaut. He's in Monterrey, Mexico. His web address is: www.gastricband.com. They've been great to deal with and he has lots of experience and a very low complication rate.

DonnaB

I agree that Rumbaut is an EXCELLENT surgeon (he is banded himself and is looking fine), but when it comes to planning your aftercare, you MUST figure in how much income you have that can go towards getting your fills and fluoros, and having ready access to a lap band surgeon after banding.

You should ALWAYS locate a State-Side doctor before you are banded who will agree to help with your after care --- and ask about charges. An initial office visit, fill and fluor can range from $150 to over $500, so go over ALL possible charges.

But back to selecting your Mexican physician. If you have slippage or erosion, these are both things that must be taken care of PRONTO -- and both may involve repeated surgeries, to remove and then replace the band. You need to be able to get a QUICK flight, good connections, and a SHORT DRIVE to the Monterrey or Tijuana doctors.

Tijuana is MUCH cheaper for people to get to from just about anywhere in the US. And when you can't keep anything down or have bloody vomit, you won't be able to get those "early purchase" specials but will be paying top dollar for the flight (but will be saving BIG TIME on the procedures, hospitalization and aftercare). These are ALL things that you MUST consider.

What I most dislike about SOME patient coordinators and SOME doctors is how they pressure you to make a quick decision and schedule surgery as soon as possible ----- you must NEVER EVER let the idea of a "quick decision special rate" or some such promotion guide your decision. Believe me, if you want a special deal, contacting the DOCTOR personally first and bypassing the website companies is the best way to negotiate a price.... and they ALL want your business and will "extend" that special for you.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE. I think I am going to create a website telling people what can happen, about the patient coordinator horror stories out there, and how "charming bed side manner" is a WORTHLESS indicator of surgical skill or morals or integrity or follow-up or employee oversight.

On a rant based on MY OWN experiences. My doctor is from Mexico, but not Kuri & not Rumbaut --- and he does not practice in either Tijuana or Monterrey.

Theresa

I used Dr Kuri last year and my experience was excellent from beginning to end. I feel his followup is excellent, he is extremely attentive, the staff is wonderful and very caring, and they all do their best to help you do well. There are a huge number of happy Kuri patients in my area (West Coast) and all I am aware of are happpy and doing very well.

But I also agree with Thersa above that we all take on additional responsibility if we choose ANY doctor not very close to us. Amanda, I would have wanted you to see your local family doctor and/or a local GI doctor if you were truly having so much trouble, but your surgeon told you repeatedly that he could find nothing wrong with your band and the fluoro test was fine. You had some very unusual problems that no one could understand, from what you posted on the Kuri and other Boards, and several of the things you have said now make no sense at all. For example, you posted on the BayBandsters board that you had a narrowing of the esophagus above the band that you felt caused the trouble. This has nothing to do with banding, as The band is not placed on the esophagus. You posted on another board that you were much better after a fluoro showed there was no band trouble and you had no trouble swallowing then - but then you said later that you had horrible trouble and pain every day.

The band is not for everyone, and I'm truly sorrry it wasn't for you. But only a few weeks is not a sufficient test, in my opinion. I wish you well. Renee

Hmm Renee, Have you not read posts before about people needing esophageal dilatation after the band? The esophagus certainly CAN narrow due to band placement if you develop GERD as a result of the band, which according to my local doctor I did. The esophagus can thicken and narrow as a result of the acidity irritating it. I do not know for sure if this is what happened to me, I do know that my doctor here said the esophagus looked signficantly narrower in one spot just above the esophageal sphincter. I know before I was banded I did not want to hear anything negative about the band or specific doctors, but I now I feel it is my duty to let people know these complications can and do occur, and in my opinion, it is the responsibility of the banding surgeon to be alert to these possibilities and do the necessary testing to rule them out. Besides, I could not find a local band doctor who would even agree to see me with my symptoms. They all said, "This is very unusual. Obviously something has gone wrong. You must see your original surgeon." What is really annoying me is the suggestion that just because my experience was unusual, that it was all in my head or something. When your waist is swollen 5 inches, when you are so tight you can't burp or vomit, when you have constant pain at the location of the band, I'm sorry there is something wrong and it is the responsibility of the man who placed the band to find out what!!! The week before I had the band removed I stopped posting on the Kuri board because I didn't want to be "negative." Well keeping that disappointment, pain and anger inside has not helped my healing process. I have a right to be angry at the the lack of care I received, and I am. I am in the medical field myself, and I would never treat anyone the way I was treated. When something you've done has caused harm, it is your responsibilty to find out what has happened. One of Dr. Kuri's associates, the lovely Mrs. Dr. Peterson, suggested the night before the surgery that I was most likely having GERD, which is why I was having pain and also choking on my own spit whenever I lay down. Well why didn't Dr. Kuri ever suggest it? Why didn't he suggest I try Pepcid or Prilosec, both available over the counter? If someone had made the pain go away, I would have given the band a longer chance to work. Putting up with the undiagnosed GERD may now have done my esophagus permanent damage. Serious pain is a symptom that MUST be paid attention to, and I'm concerned about the bandsters who are putting up with theirs month after month because they are so desperate to lose weight. They are risking permanent damage to their digestive tracts.

You're greatly exaggerating much of what you say. A couple weeks of ?GERD causes no one permanent damage. I'd be quite surprised if you are really in the medical field , as you say, becuase there is a great deal of misinformation about medical things in your angry posts. Nontheless, i am very sorry about your experience, and hope you'e fine by now. Renee