Hi all... Haven't had this question answer in the fills forum, so I thought maybe I'd get a response by going broad... here goes:

After being banded in Mexico (Tijuana) which was a generally good experience, and having gone back twice for fills, I am feeling a little dissatisfied with my last fill experience (and difficulty in getting an appointment that works for me, etc)... I'm wondering if any of you know if other docs in TJ will take on someone elses patient and if so, who would you recommend? ALSO how much might they charge for another docs patient?? It's not that I don't like my doc, but he has decided recently to no longer do the fills himself, and has his assistant do it, which is what I'm unhappy with... Anyways, any thoughts, advice, etc, feel free to let me know. Happy to hear back through the forum or private message if anyone can help.

Thanks! :confused:

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Hey there,

If you aren't happy with the doc there in TJ why not find another doctor in your own area here in the US that will do it? Why go back to TJ if your not going to see the same doctor? I think there is a group that you can call and they will give the numbers and names of american doctors in your area who might take you on. I don't remember the name or the number but maybe some one will post it here.

There is only ONE doctor in Las Vegas that will do a fill for people banded in Mexico, and he charges $900!! No way... So, I'm stuck. :confused: Unless, of course someone knows of a doc in Cali that is reasonable and willing to do it?

Thanks for your advice...If you do know of someone who has started doing fills in Vegas, I'd be happy to know. Thanks again! :eek:

$900? YIKES! My doctor included free fills for life with my surgery.

If you do a thread search, I know there are some CA doctors that will take on a Mexican-banded patient. Good luck!

gadgetlady -- i'll start checking into cali, but wouldn't mind going back to TJ... i'm not completely against going back to my docs office... they will do the fills free for life as well, but again... i'm not sure i'm comfortable with the new arrangement (person doing the fills). ahhh! i guess i'll figure this out somehow. :confused:

do you know why they don't want to do fills on bands done in Mexico?

Yes, it's because of (supposidly) insurance issues (they don't want to be responsible if something goes wrong), but honestly... from what I can tell, it's because they are pissed because people go to Mexico for the band, pay 2/3 less than we pay here, and get the same (or better) surgeons there. There are lots of threads around here on this topic, and there's some controversy as to why (or why not)... but if I'm not mistaken, the doctor that charges $900 for a fill here in Vegas has insurance too... and would in theory have a problem if something goes wrong, but let's be real... $900 isn't going to cover something major, so in my opinion, it's a clear and obvious bias against Mexico patients... not anything else...

Anyways, that's my 2 cents... Still hoping someone can help me with my question. Until tomorrow. :confused:

so... with all the mexico bandsters on here, no one has any advice on their doc for fills?

Dr. Billy in Ventura CA will take patients from Mexico. Penny has all of the information on him.

I've gone to Dr. Kuri, and had fine fill experiences. The only thing to know in advance (which I didn't) was that everyone gets the same appointment time, and he just does them in order of who shows up first, and he isn't always on time, because he comes from surgery to the fill center. They do Tuesdays, Thursdays, and I think the 3rd Saturday of the month or something.

Unless of course Dr. Kuri was your doctor, and his procedures have changed since I was there in June.

I'm looking for a new doctor in my area (for convenience), and have found a Dr. Owens in San Pedro CA. If I get an appointment with him I'll try to remember to let you know how I liked him.

Dr. Owens is my surgeon and does all my fills/unfills etc. He is awesome and has seen me on emergencies and is always a soft spoken sweetheart!

Yes, apparently Dr Kuri does fills a tad differently now. I think they are all done at the hospital where he now does his surgeries. Check out his website for fills info. I don't rememeber if Kuri is your doc...but I'm pretty sure he and Dr Espinosa? tag teams the fills. I don't know if any of that helps, but here's the website for Kuri...

www.beliteweight.com

So what is it that you are unhappy about? Your doctor's decision or you just don't like the assistant? Please give that person a chance.

I ask because I was banded in Mexico and my fill doctor is in the states but 95% of the time I am filled by the assistant. My only concern is that he is doing it right and I am still getting the same results (weight lost) as the doctor.

If your fills are free and that is not to far for you to travel than I think you should just work with this assistant. Not to many doctor's offer free fills for a life time. I consider you lucky, my fills/unfills cost me and my insurance company every time I walk into the office.

Also, I totally agree about the doctor's office being upset that we had surgery in Mexico rather than here but it was most cost efficient for me and I did what I thought was best.