Each person must make their own healthcare decisions. If you do not feel you are being served by a particular doctor or set of healthcare practitioners, it is your right as a medical consumer to change them. If it means changing jobs, then again, it is your decision, it is your health that determines what decision you will make. You can always get another job, can you get another life? For less than the cost of a new car, you can have the surgery that saves your life and/or makes it worth living going forward. It all comes down to what you want to do? Do you want to control your life, your health, your destiny? Research everything, discuss everything, go to surgical seminars. In any given year, there are at least 4 in the Seattle area. They are all different, with different rules for patients and insurance companies.

Remember, the insurance company would rather pay for your stroke, heart attack, or pulmonary embolism (because one of them might kill you, then they would have no more responsibility), so the more obstacles they put in your path, the less surgeries they will have to pay for. Also remember, your insurance dollar is being spent on strokes, heart attacks and pulmonary embolisms too. Do you want it to pay for yours, or someone else's?

Go to a bariatric physician in the United States, and research the one you go to thoroughly--talk to former patients, get his or her statistics on patients, attend a support group meeting for the surgery you are contemplating. Once you start doing research, it will become apparent that the easiest surgery on the patient is sleeve gastrectomy.

Personally, having had a sleeve gastrectomy by a Cadillac doctor, in a Cadillac country, here are the reasons I NEVER even thought about going to a foreign country for surgery:

1. Everybody in the process, doctor, nurses, hospital personnel and support people all speak English and I have already met all of them.

2. The banking laws in the United States are known; your mo Each person must make their own healthcare decisions. If you do not feel you are being served by a particular doctor or set of healthcare practitioners, it is your right as a medical consumer to change them. If it means changing jobs, then again, it is your decision, it is your health that determines what decision you will make. You can always get another job, can you get another life? For less than the cost of a new car, you can have the surgery that saves your life and/or makes it worth living going forward. It all comes down to what you want to do? Do you want to control your life, your health, your destiny? Research everything, discuss everything, go to surgical seminars. In any given year, there are at least 4 in the Seattle area. They are all different, with different rules for patients and insurance companies.

Remember, the insurance company would rather pay for your stroke, heart attack, or pulmonary embolism (because one of them might kill you, then they would have no more responsibility), so the more obstacles they put in your path, the less surgeries they will have to pay for. But remember, your insurance dollar is being spent on strokes, heart attacks and pulmonary embolisms too. Do you want it to pay for yours, or someone elses?

Go to a bariatric physician in the United States, and research the one you go to thoroughly--talk to former patients, get his or her statistics on patients, attend a support group meeting for the surgery you are contemplating. Once you start doing research, it will become apparent that the easiest surgery on the patient is sleeve gastrectomy.

Personally, having had a sleeve gastrectomy by a Cadillac doctor, in a Cadillac country, here are the reasons I NEVER even thought about going to a foreign country for surgery:

1. Everybody in the process, doctor, nurses, hospital personnel and support people all speak English.

2. The banking laws in the United States are known; your money does not need to be converted or transported in cash.

3. There is no better quality care than the United States. People from all over the world come here for care.

4. If anything goes wrong, you have the court system of the United States to bring suit or appeal.

Why go anywhere else?

I would never believe a zero percent complication rate either, people who leave Mexico and then have complications go to US hospitals for after care. I have very good friends who are from Mexico, she would not go to Mexico for the surgery. Many very good doctors in the US are now doing the self pay options for a lot less money. Dr. Nick has a very good plan for self pay.

Just a little thought... I like my surgeon a lot... he'll be repairing my hiatal hernia and possible revision. I agree that there are great surgeons and not so great worldwide... so this isn't about MX vs. US.

But even my beloved doc loves to talk about his vast experience and we generally like the thought of having a very experienced doc. But just my quirky sense of humor here... Wasn't the most experienced surgeon in the world once a less experienced surgeon? I don't hear the mega-experienced surgeons telling us about their terrible statistics when they were less experienced. Were they really dangerous in their early days?

A co-worker had her lapband surgery with a doc who was fairly new to the procedure in a facility that had just opened their bariatric surgery department (in the US). And her insurance covered, so she could have gone to a more experienced facilty for the same cost to her. I couldn't believe it... after I had preached research, experience, etc... she said, "hey, I'm an experienced mid-wife, and everyone has their first catch." She felt confortable that he was properly trained and might be more cautious than a surgeon who was too routine. Interesting. I AM NOT there, but have to admit it's an interesting thought. She did just fine, BTW. I went to the same surgeon to have my gallbladder removed (he was much more experienced in that procedure LOL). He was in-network and at the time Dr. Curry was not. I wanted someone who would at least know what the band was.

Bottom-line though, experience is important, some people are simply more skilled than others regardless of the amount of experience. Don't you guys watch Grey's Anatomy? LOL

Yes this is humorous musing, not medical advice.

Edited June 4, 201016 yr by Ellisa

So here's the deal...from someone who works in banking....if you transfer funds or take funds across any border, you are ok to do so, as long as you declare it....also...I am paying for my surgery in Mex, via wire transfer. I am wiring funds to a US account. My Mexican surgeon is accredited in the US, not that it matters but has a US bank account..; not that that has anything to do with his qualifications. I reasearched my Dr. I haven't been sleeved but am comfortable in my choice of Dr. I was raised in Mexico, I actually called my family in Monterrey and asked them to find me the best Dr. in Monterrey once I found out I didn't want to wait for the insurance and or the process to unfold in the US. They actually told me, that since I was in CA, why not just go to San Diego to Dr. Aceves....he had the best record they could find out. that even if I ddin't have my family around, I would have the best surgeon.

oh my gosh, reading this i was like darn it, first, ignorance is bliss, to have posted the original post was really out of ignorance. i will tell you i NEVER thought of going out of the country for surgery-NEVER- in my life so far i have had 11 surgeries, BUT now i am thinking about going out of the country-not so much for money (yes and no) here it is quickly-where i live there are 3 surgeons that do the sleeve, the one that has the most experinece has done 10 and my surgeon has done 1, no one here can get it approved, so that is the issue. so in the next few weeks my surgeon will request the sleeve, he already told me it will be denied, i know it will be denied, but i will appeal, but the lingering thought in my mind is appealing to have a surgeon who has done only 1 sleeve or 10, same thing. I have a HMO and can not go outside the state i am in, so i NEVER thought about going outside the country, but let me tell you this, it is ignorance to think the US is the all knowing country, peer-reviewed competent journals are not all from the US or a small amount are, look at the "experts" for the sleeve for example MOST are NOT from the US. As a post grad clinical scientist I can tell you that is not true and that your statement reside in ignorance, and many Drs here in the US contact many drs outside the country for "expert concerns or questions they have" still i NEVER thought about going out of the country, jsut a personal choice, but it was not becasue i thought they were not skilled, or that it would be done in "the back ally" that is where the ignorance lies or that i could not use the court system (oh that was a good one) or dirty or whatever the reasons you posted. Still contemplating having surgery here in the US paid (but the surgeons i am allowed to use only have done 10 at the max or going out of the country for experience) For me it is, experience and pure distance thing, my little ones, Mexico is a 6 hour flight for me-distance is the issue-I wish everyone luck with whoever they choose, research your drs, I mean there are horror stories no matter which country you have surgery in, live in, etc

1 - 10 procedures? Wow. While I originally posted musing about how all docs have their first few procedures... I really can't imagine going to one who has so few procedures. Not to say they couldn't be brilliant and do a great job. But how would you know? My doc has done over 300 in Ohio. His prices are affordable. BUT that being said I have insurance that will cover at least some of my procedure (was sleeved July 6th, but as a result of a hiatal hernia repair which required my band to be removed). If I lived relatively close to Mexico and were self pay, I would opt for a reputable surgeon there over one with little experience on this side of the border. The total cost for just the sleeve (including his services, hospital, anesthesia etc.) is under $13,000. In my case as a self pay I would go to him rather than Mexico because by the time I'd pay $9K and travel expenses the savings would be minimal. And if there were complications requiring further travel, there would be no savings and perhaps more expensive to go to Mexico. But if I lived closer to Mexico, I would go there rather than to someone with very little experience. Absolutely there are good and bad surgeries on either side of the border.

I'd like to eventually have some reconstructive surgery that would not be covered by insurance. I will definitely be comparing prices/experience etc. with local and Mexican surgeons.

Cknorte, you seem to have some understanding of the financial process. Do you happen to know if "flex spend" money can be used with a Mexican doc who has a US account? Does anyone know what types of reconstructive surgeries can be paid by flex spend accounts? I'm a bit away, but would be helpful to know.

My lapband was going to be placed by an extremely experienced doctor. Then at the last minute they said he couldn't do it, and switched me to a doctor who hadn't ever done one on his own. In other words, I was his first!!!! I wasn't pleased, but he did a good job. Of course the damn thing leaks now, so maybe he didn't do such a good job? I doubt the leak was from the beginning.

Oh well, not making that mistake again...I will go to someone I trust this time...that just happens to be Dr. Aceves, and he just happens to be in Mexico. I'm not going to him to save money, which seems to be the assumption. I'm going to him, because I want him to do the revision.

I haven't done any research on the subject, but just my limited perusing here he seems to be highly skilled and experienced. When it's about health, I'd pick the closest most experienced surgeon I could afford. Hope it goes better for you this time.

I think everyone that is considering sleeve surgery should consider surgery options in Mexico. You just can't beat the experience and the care that you get. I can only speak for Dr. Rodriguez but I don't think you could go wrong with Dr. Aceves, Dr. Alvarez or some other Dr.'s in Mexico. Just do research and read peoples testimonies here on this forum and others.

I guess the point of my post was to say that sometimes you choose the most experienced and closest doctor and neither of those turn out to happen. I got the least experienced and they shut down the fill center, so I ended up getting absolutely no postives by staying close by, this time, I will go with the proven team.

This thread made for some darn fine reading while my heart is pounding over my decision to have VSG. Thanks for the show.

ok that was just funny

I don't remember all the rules with the flex spend accounts, but I think that as long as you are using the money for a "medical" no reimbursable expense, it should be covered. I believe that even the treatment in Mexico and travel expenses to and from the treatment could be covered.

Check with your HR benefits person, since a lot of this stuff is left to "interpretation"....

Good luck!

Cknorte,

Thanks, when the time is close I will look into it more thoroughly. Just wondered if anyone had any experience using it. I know that a lot is open to interpretation. I cannot use mine for any travel expenses and this year there are things that used to be covered (certain OTCs) that no longer are. We're told it's due to the new and improved health care reform. Go figure.

The only reason I'm having my surgery in the US is that insurance will pay for a good doctor/hospital. If I was self pay I would seriously consider Mexico. I have a friend who had a lap band in Mexico a year ago and she's lost 100 lbs with no complications. I know it's just one case, but I see so many on the boards that they must be doing something right down there.

Donna 4545,

I hear you! And the only person I know personally who went to Mexico it didn't go so well for. But that's just one person and the problem could have happened anywhere. Her port flipped. She's been nearly 3 years can't afford to go back and can't afford to have it fixed here. She's lost nothing, maybe gained. But that certainly wasn't the fault of her doctor. He (the Mexican doc) would fix it free. She discovered it was flipped when she finally found someone to do her fill and he was unable. The cost of fixing the port (here) was more than the cost of going back. He (the American doc) also told her that it's not an uncommon thing to happen.

BUT the sleeve procedure doesn't have a port and if an emergency happens you can get it fixed here if necessary without paying the entire surgery up front. Fixing a port isn't considered a medical necessity.

After I lose another 30 lbs I'll be shopping for plastics that aren't covered by insurance and I'll definitely be researching Mexico.