Repost from OH--

I wasn't being rude or trying to rain on her parade--just wanted her to come check out this site. Here is her post:

"I have been letting everyone know that I am a bit nervous about my upcoming surgery and I appreciate everyones advice and words of encouragement. However, today someone sent me the following email through this site that I found offensive.

"Stacy I don't mean to scare you but I strongly suggest NOT having surgery in MX; there have been several women on lapbandtalk.com with band erosions and all had their surgery with mx doctors; 1 or 2 of the erosions were Dr. Ortiz's patients. Erosion is a serious complication requiring removal of the band.

Good luck"

First of all, erosion happens. It even happens to patients in the US. My doctor is a leading world expert in Lap Band. He has trained MANY American doctors and was taught himself by the inventor of the Band Dr. Belachew. When a Doctor performs over 3000 procedures, there are bound to be some erosions.

I guess I am just aggrivated because I have enough going through my head right now, like not gaining any more weight and I feel that an email trying to scare me about my doctor was very rude.

Sorry, I am just venting...."

Stacy

p.s. For anyone doubting Dr. Ortizs expertise...order his book. www.drarielortiz.com He will also be appearing on Dateline NBC soon doing a piece on the Lap Band.

Here is the link:http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/La...3796.html?vc=0

that's too bad. sometimes, people have to find out for themselves. ortiz is considered a great doc, but the coincidence that so many on this site alone - who know each other and had erosions is just a tad alarming. but, for those not yet banded and who think they've done all the research, sometimes, they can't see the forest for the trees. live and learn, right? you tried..

In all candor, I found your email offensive too. It was alarmist, and suggested, however subtly, that she might not have done all of her research.

BTW I am a frequent poster at OH and *I* am a little offended by the cross site posting, demeaning people who aren't even here to explain themselves. It is my understanding that we are all here to support one another.

I have found "sensitive" posters at both sites. There is no heightened defensive attitude at OH compared to this site. How about we all rise above the petty bickering and get back to the business of supporting each other on our journeys towards better health. Ya think?

The more info i find out the more educated i will be. I am Banded with no complications. I appreciate all e-mails good and bad. It helps me make a wise decision. The person that received the e-mail should of said thank you so much, and how can i attain more information from those who did not do well and those that did do well. From reading all the posts, the person that received the e-mail has made the decision and is defending the decision and believes that it is the right decision, She wants the band so much she will justify her decision and truly not weigh the price. I have had no complications, but I did all I could to let each person tell me all the problems. I knew that most who have the band were happy, Its those that arent or had unfortinate situations that I had to learn from. It can get expensive. I still believe that if you dont have an extra 20,000 lying around after the band without insurance you could be in a little trouble. Ok 20 grand is alot. but you will need a few.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, dont feel bad, I know you tried to inform someone of a possible problem. I remember when someone wrote on here that a person died from direct complications from the band. I have not been able to find out if it was true or not. Think about it. how many spouses would post after a direct complication that leads to an unfortuniate situation.

Dont feel bad, she wanted reality but couldnt except it.

Melati, in general cross-posting from other sites is not considered good manners. Stacy might not appreciate your posting her words here. Please refrain from doing so in future.

That said, it's fine for you to point others here just so they can read more bandsters' experiences. More information is always better.

No, Matt you're right.

She posted this expecting everyone to trash me and she ended up not getting much sympathy. I knew she'd made up her mind but who knows? maybe after what everyone else said, she will at least check out lapbandtalk and that's all I wanted.

I just want to say something about the actuall content of the letter. Just because one surgeon has more issues with a complication than others in his country, does not mean the whole country has problems! I am being banded in Mexico in a few months, and I chose not to go to Ortiz because there seem to be a lot of people here with erosions from him. That is my choice. But that does not mean some other surgeon on the other side of the country will have the same issues. And I am not going to miss out on going to a surgeon I trust, and save thousands of dollars in the process, just because of some short sighted stereotype a lot of people have about Mexico. I have had people email me telling me I really shouldn't have the surgery in Mexico because of their own fears. Quite frankly I think it is rude and uncalled for. People are here because they are researching. They will find out for themselves if it is a good decision for themselves or not.

Amy

But the point is we need to do our research and not choose our dr. by how shiny and modern the hospital suite is. Did I do all the research I should have? No. I put my faith in Inamed's recommendation, but now I see who else they have recommended. Knowing this, I would have done things differently. I ended up with a great surgeon, thank God.

Do you know how many times your surgeon has been sued for malpractice--no b/c it's not even a concept in MX. Sure there are bad dr.'s here but they are eventually pushed out of practice by our regulatory and tort system.

How many erosions are connected with his practice? If it weren't for the ppl on this site, we wouldn't know of any. How many erosions should a competent surgeon have associated with him? Absolutely ZERO. My dr. has never had one, but he has treated many from MX dr.'s. Although the cause(s) are unclear, erosions do not "happen". They seem linked to infections and surgical technique, both of which are preventable.

Several ppl mentioned to this woman that it is nearly impossible to get fills/followup care, namely b/c surgeons are busy with their own case load, but also b/c of a bias that I used to think was rooted in resentment b/c MX doctors do an expensive surgery at half the price, but I now consider justified. Now I realize that not only do these dr.s charge as much as the market will bear, but they also have no one stateside for followup visits included in that price. Will is sway her decision? No. she will be back on the boards griping b/c no one will do a fill on her.

If she did her research she would have a fill Dr. lined up before scheduling her surgery. That is what I have done. And I made sure that they would do fills on someone who had their surgery done in Mexico. Its not impossible.

As for the case of erosion, I was told that erosion happens in lapband patients by my AMERICAN doctor. He has had cases, and says that doctors who do not have cases have simply not done enough surgeries, has not done surgeries long enough, or has been EXTREMELY lucky. It is not just a Mexico thing. And it is something that happens due to unknown reasons. Some believe it is technique, some believe it is fill aggression, some believe it is bacteria and infection. But no one knows for sure. That is why they still happen. If your doctor told you he is immune to having these problems, and that it is all a Mexico thing, then I would find your doctor to be highly suspect.

As for my surgeon telling me how many erosions he has had, he has been very up front about it. He has also explained what would be the course of action if I did erode, and that it would all be taken care of by him. I find that commendable as there are many US doctors that refuse to treat their own erosion cases.

I think it is close to snobbery to say that another country is not as good as America to have a surgery in. Esp with all the issues american doctors have to deal with when it comes to pharmacutical pressure, legal pressure, political pressure. I feel a LOT more comfortable choosing a surgeon based on his background and history, and paying for a private hospital to stay in, and going into a private contract with the doctor in regards to after care.

Amy

Of course he has a treatment course should you erode--hopefully this will still be the case once he has your money. As it is, most of them will not even treat the port infections they caused, let alone an erosion. If a dr. here did that, he could be sued.

It is not snobbery to note what circumstantial evidence has pointed to--I consider it facing reality. I have visited third world countries and they are filthy; filthy countries are more likely to have unsanitary hospitals.

I in no way implied that no U.S. dr. has ever had an erosion; but erosion does seem connected to surgical practice/infections, both of which are minimized by safegaurds in place in this country. Neither did my dr. imply that all erosion occur in MX cases.

I'm glad you have someone here to do your fills, and I hope he or she does not change their mind, as happened to someone on OH not long ago.

How many erosions are connected with his practice? If it weren't for the ppl on this site, we wouldn't know of any. How many erosions should a competent surgeon have associated with him? Absolutely ZERO. My dr. has never had one, but he has treated many from MX dr.'s. Although the cause(s) are unclear, erosions do not "happen". They seem linked to infections and surgical technique, both of which are preventable.

Actually, erosions do just "happen," even to the most experienced doctors in the U.S. and elsewhere. Obviously there may be situations where it's connected to a specific cause, but there are some where the cause is not evident. My surgeon's office has been doing bands since 2001 and has done several hundred so far; they've had two erosions (that they know of) and can't precisely "explain" either one.

Just because we are in America, and that the govt tries to regulate the cleanliness of the hospitals, does not mean I would feel comfortable having my surgery at the free clinic in south central LA. There are good surgeons and bad surgeons in every country. To tell someone not to go to an entire country because some of its clinics might not be the up to the same standards as others is not facing real facts. It is making a prejudged remark without taking everything into account.

In Mexico you can have surgery in an American owned hospital in one of the wealthiest cities in the country, or you can have the surgery done in a back alley clinic in Mexico City. In America you can have the surgery in a posh clinic in Beverly Hills, or you can have the surgery in a street side clinic in South Central. One in each country cost a whole lot, will give you the country's best doctors, and will have you recovering in the lap of luxury. The other will cost a whole lot less, will be done by (hopefully) a doctor with less training and experience. One will be VERY clean, one will not be.

Country has nothing to do with it.

The fact remains that MX does not regulate sanitation issues, so yes for me, the whole country IS suspect--to me it follows; dirty country=dirty hospitals. (For example, MX has yet to wipe out TB,which is something we accomplished almost two centuries ago in this country, b/c we realized it was caused by lack of sewage and took action.)

that is why I decided if my ins didn't approve me, I would not travel there, both for cleanliness issues and not having recourse, should something go wrong.

I never said there were no dirty hospitals in this country, but at least you can sue the hospital if you get a staph infection.

What other countries rate on your "dirty country" list? I understand that it was a personal decision for you not to go to Mexico, but for me it is a personal decision not to go to Italy, or Canada, and to instead have my surgery in Mexico. And to be told that this decision is a bad one because Mexico has some dirty cities (which every country does) is crazy! I did my homeowrk, I talked to former patients, I investigated my surgeon's stats, and the hospital's background and history. But I haven't investigated enough because I still chose to go to Mexico?

Amy

Amy, I am tired of arguing the same point over and over. MX and other

third world countries are filthy. The United States is comparatively

clean. Doesn't mean America is spit shined, but there is a difference; it

is cleaner and safer here, on many levels.In my travels, I saw ppl

s@%&&*ing in the rivers and out in the street, for that matter., (even

though individually the ppl themselves were very clean) Generally, that

doesn't happen here because there are different standards.

As someone on OH recently said,(and I will paraphrase here lest I get

in trouble again) we would not be much of a support group if we didn't

question a decision we think may not be a good idea. The way I see it,

I tried to do what I thought was right and I knew I would meet with

resistance--this person is not entitled to uncritical and unconditional

support, and I am tired of this "how dare you rain on my parade"

attitude. If someone had tried to warn me about the surgeon/hospital I had chosen, I would at least have considered what the person was saying and asked a few questions and maybe done additional research. I had no idea this person was already nervous about her surgery; I hadn't been

following her threads, but I saw an opportunity and took it, hoping she would at least be open-minded enough to visit the site and see what has happened to others.

Incidentally, how many erosions has your doc had? Where did you get

this info? Who will be doing your fills?