I know this has been asked in many ways on this forum, but I've never really seen what I'm looking for. I have chosen Dr. Kelly as my surgeon. I'm scheduled for July 29th and have already paid my deposit and paid for plane tickets for my husband and myself. But, with the recent death he has had (along with "encouragement" from GA Girl ) I'm beginning to doubt my choice. I'm looking for help from everyone here to either confirm my doubts and help me choose a new Dr. or confirm my original decision to use Dr. Kelly and give me the courage to stick with him. TIA for anyone willing to help me out with this!

So, my question is...WHY did you choose the Dr. you did? I don't want to know about how great your experience was, I can find that info all over here. I want to know what made you finally decide on that Dr. What I mean is was it because he's in so & so location, his medical history is this, his personal history is that, his experience is this much, his training was here, his rates of complications/infections/deaths is that or maybe just because you heard so much great stuff about him, or your friend used him. I hope y'all get my meaning. I want specifics ! I'm not asking y'all to do my research for me, I can do that on my own. I just want your personal reasons for making the choice you did.

The Oasis of Hope is the side for Cancer patients. It is the Florence Hospital and that's where he's been since before May.

I too chose Dr. Ramos-Kelly. I think your comment was good information. I left him a personal email and he called me back today. However, I was unable to answer because I was at work. I will be speaking with him tomorrow before I leave for work. This is very helpful. I won't be able to have my sleeve done until Feb 2012 due to work, law school and saving the final 2k I need for the surgery. I am glad to hear that your conversation went well and that you posted the information about the condition. I would think that one should definitely get a physical before going to have this surgery. Try to find out if there are any issues concerning your health before having this procedure so far away from home. That could save your life. Doctors need to be informed of any preexisting conditions before a surgery is performed. Good Luck to everyone and I pray for everyone's success.

Ok folks, thanks for your input. I spoke with Dr Kelly yesterday and I'm very pleased with him. I guess I just needed the reassurance of hearing his side of things. This is some info from our conversation. Please remember, this is my best understanding of our conversation, I'm sure there are those out there who understand things differently from their own personal conversations with him.

He's been doing bariatrics for 10 years, 6 of those doing the sleeve as his primary operation. Over the course of these past 10 years he has performed the sleeve 4000+ times (not just as a sleeve only, but also as part of the DS). The hospital he currently works out of is the Oasis of Hope cancer treatment center. It is a last chance effort for those people with terminal cancer who aren't responding to other treatment methods. He has been at this hospital for 1 or 2 years, I didn't write that part down. The reason he moved to this hospital is because the one he was previously at was beginning to have patients getting infections from lack of proper sterilization. His efforts to help contain the problem were not heeded, so he decided to leave that hospital to remove himself from the reputation that hospital was getting. The Oasis Of Hope does have an ICU with 3 beds. Dr Kelly said that he would only operate if he had an ICU bed open because you have to be prepared for an emergency. His anesthesiologist is Dr. Hernandez, who has been doing his job for 10 years. His diplomas and certifications are available at the hospital for anyone to see if they ask.

Regarding leaks...he has not had any leaks in years. He said that leaks most commonly occur in the upper part of the stomach where the esophagus and stomach meet. His way of preventing leaks is by taking the patients own fat tissue and using it to make a patch around the first 2-3 stitches.

Once we're at home...he said it would be best to have a relationship with a bariatric surgeon in your area, but a PCP would be able to handle any regular aftercare. We need blood work twice a year. He would like it if his patients could return to him once a year for follow-up, but he understands that traveling to him isn't always possible. He recommends a support group meeting once a month in our local areas.

Regarding mortality rates...He has only had one death in his entire career, and that was in June. I know that there is all kinds of stuff going back and forth about he said/she said kinda stuff, but this is what HE TOLD ME...She died from a pulmonary embolism that occurred after surgery. He has autopsy reports to show that fact. For more info on these you can go here...http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/pulmonary-embolism/DS00429/DSECTION=causes

At the end of our conversation I asked a "surprise" question that I believe he probably doesn't get asked often..."What would you life for us to pray about for you?" I will not tell his answer because I feel that is between us, but I will tell you that his answer was exactly what I would have hoped for. He showed us, by his answer, that he is a humble man who takes great care in what he does and wants to be the best he can be for his patients.

Finally, as a result of our conversation I feel very confident in my decision to stay with Dr Kelly. I believe I, and any others, will be well taken care of and have a great experience with him. I believe that he truly cares about his patients and their outcomes.

Pepper- I SOOO needed this. THANK YOU. I have been on the fence between Almanza and Kelly for 2 years! You just made up my mind. An extra thousand is sooo worth peace of mind. Did you have your surgery?? How did it go??

WOW.

I can tell you this, I went to Dr. Aceves and not for 1 minute did I feel as though I was being sold something, nor do I see a ton of advertising from him. Why? Because he does not have to. His reputation and the hundreds of positive patient reviews speak for themself. Us patients of Dr. Aceves are not paid to speak highly of him nor do I think he would be the President of the Mexican Society for Bariatric Surgery if he was an idiot. One thing you are right about is that you do have your right to your opinions like everyone else on here. Just don't get mad when someone calls you an idiot back. Idiot!

My information is not gossip, it is the information I received directly from Dr. Kelly's office. I am not here to sell someone like those aceves idiots. I wanted to help reassure a person who was thinking about going through with surgery. I have every right to have my opinions in my posts especially since I actually had surgery with Dr. Kelly.

Hi all! I'm a newbie, so please forgive me if this has been addressed before (though I searched and couldn't find anything on point)...

I was just about set to schedule a VSG with Dr. Acevez--I had been waffling between him and Dr. Alvarez. However, I just found out about Dr. Kelly through these discussions. As others have said, he seems to have a good track record, but his prices seem too good to be true ($4500 here and $5000 here) compared to the Dr. A's ($8750 w/ Acevez, $8900 with Alvarez, per emails from their respective patient coordinators, both cash price).

Soooooo....what gives? The capitalist in me thinks there's gotta be some relevant reason (quality of care, experience of surgeon, hidden costs, etc.) that the prices are so different.

Anyone have any thoughts?

Also, is anyone out there planning surgery in October? I have my eye on 10/6 or 10/7.

Thanks a bunch!!

the cheaper price on dr kelly's page is actually for another surgeon at a different facility--without the hotel to recover in--it is a group house--mine with dr kelly is $5500 and includes two night in hospital and two night in hotel--plus you can stay in the hospital the night before surgery free if you wish--

i don't know why some of the others are more--i just know about this

I went with Dr Ramos Kelly as well. If you have any questions I can answer them honestly. I just had surgery 3 weeks ago.

My day by day detailed experience is on my profile in the "about me" section if anyone is interested in reading about what it's like going to TJ MX with Dr Kelly. I had a great experience and love my sleeve!! Dr Kelly and Trish are awesome!!

Before there are several replies similar to above let me say that I have no personal knowledge of any leaks or deaths for Aceves.

Well then why are you posting about them? This is totally untrue, Dr Aceves was selected recently as one of the top 25 bariatric surgeons in the world, there were 3 from the USA and he was the only 1 from Mexico. These selections were based on other bariatric surgeons' votes.

The day he did my surgery he was also doing a medical Dr from the USA, the fellow and I had good chats in the hospital and his decision was made based on insider knowledge that he has of Dr Aceves and his reputation.

I chose Dr Aceves because of the reviews I have read on a lot of these boards and analysis I did online as to the facilities each surgeon uses. The Almater hospital has an ICU, modern and fully equipped surgical facilities, X-ray, laboratory, everything you need on-site and in one place for the surgery and to handle any complications if they were to occur.

Dr Kelly also seems to have very good results and his patients really love him, I think the big thing about using him is that he is a lot cheaper than Dr Aceves. I would not have considered Dr Almanza as his facilities sound a bit dicey to me and he doesn't have nearly as much after surgery enthusiasm from his patients as either Dr A or Dr K as far as I can see from these boards.

You will be in good hands if you choose either of these 2 doctors I think.

You have done excellent research, that's very important. I think you have made a good decision and will be in good hands. All the best!!

Ok folks, thanks for your input. I spoke with Dr Kelly yesterday and I'm very pleased with him. I guess I just needed the reassurance of hearing his side of things. This is some info from our conversation. Please remember, this is my best understanding of our conversation, I'm sure there are those out there who understand things differently from their own personal conversations with him.

He's been doing bariatrics for 10 years, 6 of those doing the sleeve as his primary operation. Over the course of these past 10 years he has performed the sleeve 4000+ times (not just as a sleeve only, but also as part of the DS). The hospital he currently works out of is the Oasis of Hope cancer treatment center. It is a last chance effort for those people with terminal cancer who aren't responding to other treatment methods. He has been at this hospital for 1 or 2 years, I didn't write that part down. The reason he moved to this hospital is because the one he was previously at was beginning to have patients getting infections from lack of proper sterilization. His efforts to help contain the problem were not heeded, so he decided to leave that hospital to remove himself from the reputation that hospital was getting. The Oasis Of Hope does have an ICU with 3 beds. Dr Kelly said that he would only operate if he had an ICU bed open because you have to be prepared for an emergency. His anesthesiologist is Dr. Hernandez, who has been doing his job for 10 years. His diplomas and certifications are available at the hospital for anyone to see if they ask.

Regarding leaks...he has not had any leaks in years. He said that leaks most commonly occur in the upper part of the stomach where the esophagus and stomach meet. His way of preventing leaks is by taking the patients own fat tissue and using it to make a patch around the first 2-3 stitches.

Once we're at home...he said it would be best to have a relationship with a bariatric surgeon in your area, but a PCP would be able to handle any regular aftercare. We need blood work twice a year. He would like it if his patients could return to him once a year for follow-up, but he understands that traveling to him isn't always possible. He recommends a support group meeting once a month in our local areas.

Regarding mortality rates...He has only had one death in his entire career, and that was in June. I know that there is all kinds of stuff going back and forth about he said/she said kinda stuff, but this is what HE TOLD ME...She died from a pulmonary embolism that occurred after surgery. He has autopsy reports to show that fact. For more info on these you can go here...http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/pulmonary-embolism/DS00429/DSECTION=causes

At the end of our conversation I asked a "surprise" question that I believe he probably doesn't get asked often..."What would you life for us to pray about for you?" I will not tell his answer because I feel that is between us, but I will tell you that his answer was exactly what I would have hoped for. He showed us, by his answer, that he is a humble man who takes great care in what he does and wants to be the best he can be for his patients.

Finally, as a result of our conversation I feel very confident in my decision to stay with Dr Kelly. I believe I, and any others, will be well taken care of and have a great experience with him. I believe that he truly cares about his patients and their outcomes.

This is a great thread..I made my mind of to go to Dr. Kelly...Please PM me if you went to him to tell me your experience I am so nervous...I have the money for the down payment but I can’t seem to pick a date trying to decide if I should go before Thanksgiving or After…I just know I want it done this year!!

My surgery was done July 29th, so I'm almost 2 months out. I've lost a little over 30# and am very grateful for it, but I do miss the experience of eating. It isn't enjoyable to eat anymore. There is so much thought involved in every bite right now...small bites, chew slowly, chew 30 times, swallow, wait a minute to let it all settle, repeat and wait for "that feeling" to signal that your done. So, my opinion is to wait until after Thanksgiving. Use that as your food funeral and savor every bite and every different item you eat. Enjoy the experience and then get down to business with the sleeve.

My first original choice was Dr. Cirangle right here where I live. He works with LapSF...

However, it turns out he charges a bit more than I could afford, unfortunately. He's an amazing and gifted surgeon, I'd still go to him today if I had the money and hadn't already had my sleeve completed.

I ended up with Dr. Aceves. I'm glad I did!!

The reasons were simple:

-He is extremely skilled and gifted as a surgeon, his technique gets results of nearly 97% of his patients reaching their goal. I am amongst that stat!!! In fact, I passed my post goal, goal #1 and now working on goal #2 even... though I'm not really trying extra hard... LOL

-He is a member of the FACS (I did my research and verified this). You can't be a deadbeat surgeon to be in this prestigious club of surgeons.

-He had the best experience with my situation. I had my band removed and revised to the VSG.

-I had a LOT of friends who had him as a surgeon and received 100% positive feedback from all of them.

-I did hours and hours and hours and weeks of research on all WLS forums and never once read a negative comment from any of his patients.

-I'd seen photos of and read about him working out of a REAL hospital and how clean they kept it. Every single comment was spot on. That has to be the cleanest hospital I've ever been to. My Mom joined me on my journey and she worked in a Hospital for 35 years and said the same thing.

-His coordination staff was above and beyond. Nina is an absolute sweetheart and when I met she and her husband in the hospital she gave me a big hug and wished me well. She's adorable in real life too!!!

Those are the main reasons, and I have zero regrets. I won't tell you anymore than give you my own personal experiences. Good luck to you and in all your endeavors.

My first original choice was Dr. Cirangle right here where I live. He works with LapSF...

However, it turns out he charges a bit more than I could afford, unfortunately. He's an amazing and gifted surgeon, I'd still go to him today if I had the money and hadn't already had my sleeve completed.

I ended up with Dr. Aceves. I'm glad I did!!

The reasons were simple:

-He is extremely skilled and gifted as a surgeon, his technique gets results of nearly 97% of his patients reaching their goal. I am amongst that stat!!! In fact, I passed my post goal, goal #1 and now working on goal #2 even... though I'm not really trying extra hard... LOL

-He is a member of the FACS (I did my research and verified this). You can't be a deadbeat surgeon to be in this prestigious club of surgeons.

-He had the best experience with my situation. I had my band removed and revised to the VSG.

-I had a LOT of friends who had him as a surgeon and received 100% positive feedback from all of them.

-I did hours and hours and hours and weeks of research on all WLS forums and never once read a negative comment from any of his patients.

-I'd seen photos of and read about him working out of a REAL hospital and how clean they kept it. Every single comment was spot on. That has to be the cleanest hospital I've ever been to. My Mom joined me on my journey and she worked in a Hospital for 35 years and said the same thing.

-His coordination staff was above and beyond. Nina is an absolute sweetheart and when I met she and her husband in the hospital she gave me a big hug and wished me well. She's adorable in real life too!!!

Those are the main reasons, and I have zero regrets. I won't tell you anymore than give you my own personal experiences. Good luck to you and in all your endeavors.

Ditto to all of the above. I verified the FACS also. I would do it all over again with Dr Aceves in a heartbeat.

I have upgraded my opinion of Dr. Kelly for the following reason:he (though I can not verified this) apparently got fed up with the sub-par practices - sterile practices, at the facility that he was at and moved to a better one, a full hospital. If this is true, then that alone deserves my respect. Can't say that about other TJ physicians unfortunately.

faciti

Ok folks, thanks for your input. I spoke with Dr Kelly yesterday and I'm very pleased with him. I guess I just needed the reassurance of hearing his side of things. This is some info from our conversation. Please remember, this is my best understanding of our conversation, I'm sure there are those out there who understand things differently from their own personal conversations with him.

He's been doing bariatrics for 10 years, 6 of those doing the sleeve as his primary operation. Over the course of these past 10 years he has performed the sleeve 4000+ times (not just as a sleeve only, but also as part of the DS). The hospital he currently works out of is the Oasis of Hope cancer treatment center. It is a last chance effort for those people with terminal cancer who aren't responding to other treatment methods. He has been at this hospital for 1 or 2 years, I didn't write that part down. The reason he moved to this hospital is because the one he was previously at was beginning to have patients getting infections from lack of proper sterilization. His efforts to help contain the problem were not heeded, so he decided to leave that hospital to remove himself from the reputation that hospital was getting. The Oasis Of Hope does have an ICU with 3 beds. Dr Kelly said that he would only operate if he had an ICU bed open because you have to be prepared for an emergency. His anesthesiologist is Dr. Hernandez, who has been doing his job for 10 years. His diplomas and certifications are available at the hospital for anyone to see if they ask.

Regarding leaks...he has not had any leaks in years. He said that leaks most commonly occur in the upper part of the stomach where the esophagus and stomach meet. His way of preventing leaks is by taking the patients own fat tissue and using it to make a patch around the first 2-3 stitches.

Once we're at home...he said it would be best to have a relationship with a bariatric surgeon in your area, but a PCP would be able to handle any regular aftercare. We need blood work twice a year. He would like it if his patients could return to him once a year for follow-up, but he understands that traveling to him isn't always possible. He recommends a support group meeting once a month in our local areas.

Regarding mortality rates...He has only had one death in his entire career, and that was in June. I know that there is all kinds of stuff going back and forth about he said/she said kinda stuff, but this is what HE TOLD ME...She died from a pulmonary embolism that occurred after surgery. He has autopsy reports to show that fact. For more info on these you can go here...http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/pulmonary-embolism/DS00429/DSECTION=causes

At the end of our conversation I asked a "surprise" question that I believe he probably doesn't get asked often..."What would you life for us to pray about for you?" I will not tell his answer because I feel that is between us, but I will tell you that his answer was exactly what I would have hoped for. He showed us, by his answer, that he is a humble man who takes great care in what he does and wants to be the best he can be for his patients.

Finally, as a result of our conversation I feel very confident in my decision to stay with Dr Kelly. I believe I, and any others, will be well taken care of and have a great experience with him. I believe that he truly cares about his patients and their outcomes.