I get emails all the time asking for these credentials so I am posting them for anyone to read:

According to MSNBC.com last year 240,000 US citizens traveled to Mexico for some type of surgery. Anything from Lasik to joint replacement to Weight Loss Surgery. If that many people are crossing the border for surgery, and if there were that many bad outcomes we would be hearing about it on the news left and right. Instead the media has a tendency to exploit the horrors instead of the positives. We have good doctors and bad doctors in the US but when a bad US doctor does something to harm a patient we do not typically warn people not to go to anyone in the US but for some reason we do seem to do that to Mexico. It isn't right and it isn't fair, but it does appear that we all seem to do this.

Documentaries such as 20/20 and 60 Minutes do not get ratings by talking about how Renee Kohlpath went to Mexicali, MX and due to her WLS she lost 138#. It just wouldn't get the ratings. But get some US doctor that lost his license and set up shop in MX unlicensed and he harms more people then it's newsworthy. I think if you look for balance you will see there really is none. If 240,000 people went to MX for surgery last year and if it really is a horror, we'd be hearing about it.

Dr. Aceves is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. FACS.org) This means that the American College of Surgeons has done an extensive background check on the doctor. He has to exceed the same standards as a US surgeon. His background is completely verified, his licensing, credentials, certifications, absolutely everything. If he does not maintain his reputation and current standards he cannot maintain his affiliation with the FACS. FACS is a really impressive issue in the world of medicine. Not all US doctors can maintain the background and honesty necessary to be a Fellow of the ACS. But Dr. Aceves can. There is a doctor in MX that claims to have almost 600 VSG procedures completed. He claims to have been doing this procedure for 3.5 years. Yet according to his CV he was just trained in the procedure 2.5 years ago. We know full well he has not done as many VSG procedures as he claims but unless you know what to look for you won't know that his statistics are impossible. This is why going to an FACS surgeon is critical whether you are going to a US or MX surgeon. Surgeons from all over the world (including the US) inflate their stats so they appear more experienced than they are. If they told the truth about their inexperience they wouldn't get any business. So, they are less than honest.

Dr. Aceves is the Vice President of the Mexican version of the American Bariatric Assn. This is a position that is voted, so the doctors of MX voted him into this position. They recently voted again and he will be President this year.

There is another organization called the International Federation of Surgical Obesity. This is an organization where weight loss surgeons all over the world belong. A few years ago Dr. Aceves holds the position of Secretary for this organization so this means that even the US doctors voted him into this office.

Dr. Aceves is a proctor surgeon meaning he trains other doctors in various bariatric procedures. He typically travels to one country a month and either attends lectures to further his own knowledge on the new advances in medicine or he trains other doctors in various surgical procedures. He recently returned from Chile and Argentina training their doctors in the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy. He trains US surgeons in the various procedures as well. Mexico has been doing the sleeve longer than US doctors and there are simply very few doctors willing to train other US doctors because then they would have competition. Dr. Aceves believes competition in this procedure is good as patients have more surgeons to choose from.

Dr. Aceves has done over 2200 Lap Bands, over 700 Gastric Sleeves, and over 700 Gastric Bypass procedures. This means he has over 900 staple lines, a technique that is critical in a safe surgery for a VSG procedure. When researching surgeons you want someone that has done at least 250 VSG and at least 250 Gastric Bypass procedures. The reason is that the Gastric Bypass procedure has a very difficult staple line. It is an interrupted staple line and quite difficult to do. If a surgeon can do the more difficult Gastric Bypass staple line, he can do the easier VSG staple line.

There are only 50 VSG surgeon world-wide that have done at least 500 VSG procedures *and* have excellent stats. Dr. Aceves is the only doctor in Mexico that has done over 700 VSG and never had a major complication. Leaks are a potential problem with this procedure but he has a technique where he over sews the staple line and we believe this one of the many reasons he has never had a leak with a VSG.

I think one big issue here to remember is that just because someone is practicing in the US, that does not make them a good or skilled surgeon. Just because someone is in MX does not mean they are not a skilled surgeon or a person without ethics. I had a choice to go to any surgeon I wanted for my own sleeve and the only doctor I wanted to go to was Dr. Aceves. He is the surgeon with the most skill, the best stats, the best reputation, and the safest location. I include US doctors in that assessment as well when it comes to the sleeve procedure. I am a nurse, I've been in his OR many times during surgery and after watching him operate I was quite certain he is the only surgeon I wanted operating on me.

Another upside to going to Dr. Aceves. In the US if you have the VSG you will likely spend one night in the hospital. Dr. Aceves does not agree with this. He keeps you in a fully equipped hospital for three nights following surgery. He believes you need to be medically supervised, have a total of three leak tests to be 100% certain you have no leak upon returning home, and he wants someone monitoring your vital signs, drain tube, and he wants someone available to manage your pain should you have any. He does not believe in sending you home before three nights/four days.

Keep in mind, we completely and totally depend on reputation for business. We have no insurance companies referring patients, we have to do it by reputation. Dr. Aceves has been operating on US citizens for many years. He wouldn't have the reputation he does if he didn't do the best possible job for each patient. He has a great rep because we all do the job the right way. He has another belief, he only hires educated people around him. I am his patient coordinator and I am an RN. Most in this position (US or MX) are merely patients that have had surgery, they do not necessarily have any medical training. His Office Manager (my boss) is an engineer by trade. Her Office Assistant is a Law student. His OR techs (OR techs are used in the US and typically have 9 months of training) are actually 4 year RNs. His hospital coordinator is a retired teacher that previously taught English in the MX school system. His Aftercare Specialist is a PhD. She is a licensed psychologist in MX and available to all Dr. Aceves patients by phone or email.

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Edited May 20, 201016 yr by Oregondaisy

way to go oregondaisy!!! He and his staff are definitely the best!!! :thumbup1:

Thank you for sharing.

My pleasure. I get requests for this regularly, so now it will be in one place for everyone to see.

How much is VSG with Dr. Aceves? I emailed the address on his webpage a while back but never received any reply.

call them :1-888-344-3916

oregandaisy,

This is great information. I assume the info was compiled by someone on his staff - the patient coordinator. I got a little off track because I thought it was something you had written until I got to the last paragraph. One of the most important things to research about a surgeon is either verification of the training and education s/he has received on a particular technique, or even better, the fact that s/he has been given the responsibility to teach others the technique.

No, actually it was written by a former patient of his. She is a nurse and they became very good friends. He asked her to write it and she gathered all the information together and verified it all, then had it approved by Dr. Aceves before it was printed. It's a standard email now that his office will send out if anyone asks about his experience or qualifications.

I am bumping this up because Dr. Aceves deserves to be at the top!

Is Gaby the PHD?

I believe they are talking about Gabby when they mention the aftercare specialist.

For those of you had your surgery with Dr. Aceves; how much should I expect to pay minus the flight. I know his surgery is around 9k but are there meds/foods I need to buy for the way home and afterwords? I will probably be taking out a loan so I need to know how much to expect. Also if there are any complications how does that work?

You don't need to bring much money. You have dinner at the hotel the night before surgery. I didn't eat

there, but most people have said $25 is plenty for dinner. I think the nexium they want you to buy before you go home is around $30.

You can bring tips if you want, to tip the hotel staff or tip Ernesto, the driver who will pick you up at the airport and take you back to the airport.

Somebody can correct me if I am wrong because I ate at the mall at Burger King, and I didn't buy the Nexium either because I had protonix at home. These are figures I am trying to remember from other people's posts.

On the way home, you should bring something to put in your Water, like K20 Protein water. They have little packets you can add to water. Better yet would be some unflavored Protein powder that you can add to some juice they serve on the plane, or something sf you can buy at the airport.

I bought Nexium Mupps 3mo supply and a box of Supertol cost $158. I could have done with just 2 week supply of the Mupps as they will give you a 2 week supply and a 4 dose box of the Supertol.

By the 30 day point I was able to swollow sm. whole or 1/2 lg pills with no problem. Should have bought Omiperzol 20mg. My mom purchased this, 1 box had 2 60cap bottles and was $16. This is what I take now and have to get it at Walmart 42 caps for $18.

For the trip home I took Chickem bollion cubes, and the drink mix for Water, asked for apple juice on the plane, they also brought cup of hot watere for the broth.

Hope this helps you DJackson.

Brenda

Edited July 10, 201016 yr by Brenda'sgonnalose

thank you so much oregon daisy! this was quite helpful...

Maybe I'm looking at the wrong website, but Dr Aceves website doesn't discuss anything about the sleeve procedure, only bypass and lapband. Does anyone have a link to this information, specifically from Dr. Aceves? Also what sort of after care do you need when you come home? Can your primary doc do this? Or do you have to find someone specific?