OMG ! Dr. Huacuz arrested in TJ

[borderguy 9]

Dr Huacuz was arrested monday in TJ for medical negligence on a 2006 procedure.

IF IT SOUNDS AND LOOKS TOO CHEAP, IT PROBABLY IS !!

Tj doctors are in a price battle, but lowering quality. I dont want to generalize, but its the 3rd TJ doctor with problems in the last couple of months. There are really good doctors in Baja, be it Mexicali or TJ, but theres also cheap doctors. Be careful, do your research. Tj, Corvala, Mexicali, Dr Abril or Dr. Aceves, a little bit pricier, but arent you worth it ?? A $4499 plication, why the 99 price ? am i buying a car ? vertical sleeve 4499 ? i understand 6 to 8 grand, but 4499 ???

http://www.lacronica...ionImpresa.aspx

go to printed edition "edicion impresa" page 21..

borderguy

huacuz.pdf

[Alex Brecher 10,484]

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/topic/132755-doctor-arrested-for-malpractice-in-tijuana-mexico/

[kemo46 82]

Dr Huacuz was arrested monday in TJ for medical negligence on a 2006 procedure.

IF IT SOUNDS AND LOOKS TOO CHEAP, IT PROBABLY IS !!

Tj doctors are in a price battle, but lowering quality. I dont want to generalize, but its the 3rd TJ doctor with problems in the last couple of months. There are really good doctors in Baja, be it Mexicali or TJ, but theres also cheap doctors. Be careful, do your research. Tj, Corvala, Mexicali, Dr Abril or Dr. Aceves, a little bit pricier, but arent you worth it ?? A $4499 plication, why the 99 price ? am i buying a car ? vertical sleeve 4499 ? i understand 6 to 8 grand, but 4499 ???

http://www.lacronica...ionImpresa.aspx

go to printed edition "edicion impresa" page 21..

borderguy

Just because you over pay for something does not make it better. I do not know the Doctor you are referring to but I used Dr. Almanza and he was not 6 or 8 thousand and I am not sure you can find a better surgeon. I know you will not find one with more experience. I do agree with one thing you said, everyone should do their research.

[borderguy 9]

Just because you over pay for something does not make it better. I do not know the Doctor you are referring to but I used Dr. Almanza and he was not 6 or 8 thousand and I am not sure you can find a better surgeon. I know you will not find one with more experience. I do agree with one thing you said, everyone should do their research.

Absolutely true, im not saying expensive is better, but too cheap sends my alarm bells ringing....

[Disney 20]

Just because you over pay for something does not make it better. I do not know the Doctor you are referring to but I used Dr. Almanza and he was not 6 or 8 thousand and I am not sure you can find a better surgeon. I know you will not find one with more experience. I do agree with one thing you said, everyone should do their research.

Just curious how you came to the conclusion that he is more experienced than all other surgeons?

[Rootman 1,101]

Thanks for the translation Alex, appears the surgery was COSMETIC surgery and not WLS in this case.

There are bad doctors in EVERY country and EVERY field. On a personal note, it seems like I've met quite a few of them too. My original PCP was asked to "leave" the medical system he was in, strongly urged to "leave immediately" is what I heard, before the malpractice suits started rolling in. I had left him soon after I met him, it was obvious he was a bozo.

[SouthernSleever 228]

It's not letting me quote but in reference to this, "because you over pay for something does not make it better. I do not know the Doctor you are referring to but I used Dr. Almanza and he was not 6 or 8 thousand and I am not sure you can find a better surgeon. I know you will not find one with more experience. I do agree with one thing you said, everyone should do their research." I have to wonder what in the world makes you think Dr Almanza is the best surgeon? I remember when i started researching Docs a year ago there were several horror stories about Dr. Almanza. He's one surgeon that not only would I not call a better surgeon I wouldnt' let him touch me.

[Foxbins 625]

I'm with Rootman on this. The guy's not doing sleeves, so how is this related to us here on the forum?

[kemo46 82]

Just curious how you came to the conclusion that he is more experienced than all other surgeons?

I did my research. Dr. Almanza does an average of 145 of the sleeves a month. When I asked all other surgeons that I was considering, not a one of them was close to that number. I believe there is no substitute for experience. I am not sure if there are surgeons that have performed more, I just could not find one. The actual Surgeon that taught him the procedure and did his personal sleeve is a great surgeon but he has not done near the number as Dr. Almanza.

[kemo46 82]

It's not letting me quote but in reference to this, "because you over pay for something does not make it better. I do not know the Doctor you are referring to but I used Dr. Almanza and he was not 6 or 8 thousand and I am not sure you can find a better surgeon. I know you will not find one with more experience. I do agree with one thing you said, everyone should do their research." I have to wonder what in the world makes you think Dr Almanza is the best surgeon? I remember when i started researching Docs a year ago there were several horror stories about Dr. Almanza. He's one surgeon that not only would I not call a better surgeon I wouldnt' let him touch me.

That is why everyone should do their own research. There are stories about all Doctors. Dr. Kelly who I feel is a great Surgeon just had someone die a couple of weeks ago, do you think that makes him a bad surgeon? Things happen and it is usually the patient not following directions. The next time you talk to your surgeon, ask him how many he has done, I know how many your surgeon has done. I elected to go with someone with more experience( Almanza does 145 WLS a month) . One of the main reasons I did not consider your surgeon is I could of had the surgery in the States for 2,500.00 more than what Aceves Charges, that makes no sense to me to pay that much in Mexico and go to a Surgeon that has less experience. It is MY OPINION that Dr. Almanza is a great surgeon and the care was fantastic. I feel that there are a lot of great ones out there including your surgeon. Just a heads up, the majority of the so called horror stories you read on these forums are generated by coordinators working for other Doctors. I think the bottom line is everyone has to do their research and choose the Surgeon who they feel the best about, that is what I did and would not do it any differently today. Again, I AM NOT knocking any surgeon and it is the persons responsibility to do research and choose their surgeon wisely. There are great surgeons out there, I feel I had a great one with a lot of experience and could not be happier. Remember, just because you pay more for something does not mean it is better.

[ybnormal 21]

Just because you over pay for something does not make it better. I do not know the Doctor you are referring to but I used Dr. Almanza and he was not 6 or 8 thousand and I am not sure you can find a better surgeon. I know you will not find one with more experience. I do agree with one thing you said, everyone should do their research.

Actually, there were TWO deaths recently there and they were wls related, obviously. Want opinions? Ok, I'll be honest. I think this place should be SHUT DOWN. I know people are going to hate on this, but look into it, these weren't the first deaths this surgeon has had. Experienced? In WHAT? Certainly not performing surgery correctly and SAFELY. I'll admit it, I did a YouTube video on this YESTERDAY and yes, I was talking about THIS DOCTOR.

DO NOT go to a 'chop shop' when you're dealing with your body. You have one stomach, one life...you're worth it to have a competent surgeon. Your life is worth more than bargain shopping and then a reason to have serious buyers remorse.

I think it's insane to shove people into a HOUSE to recover after a major surgery. Does that even make sense to you? Seriously? YES some people have gone there and have FORTUNATELY had great results and lived through it. But let me ask you this, what about the 17 year old girl that didn't go home? What about the mother of 3 children that DIDNT go home? This was recently... If I was scheduled with this place I would RUN, not walk away and demand my money back and save up for another surgeon.

Now then, I'm ready to take my beating.

Renee`

[ybnormal 21]

****Sorry, 1 death, the mother with 3 kids was with Dr. Kelly.

Renee`

[Disney 20]

I did my research. Dr. Almanza does an average of 145 of the sleeves a month. When I asked all other surgeons that I was considering, not a one of them was close to that number. I believe there is no substitute for experience. I am not sure if there are surgeons that have performed more, I just could not find one. The actual Surgeon that taught him the procedure and did his personal sleeve is a great surgeon but he has not done near the number as Dr. Almanza.

Ok, well there is a big difference in saying "I know you will not find one with more experience" and saying " I am not sure and I just could not find one".

You are correct, there is no substitute for experience, that is why I chose Dr. Aceves over some of these surgeons in the States. Yes, he was only a couple thousand less than them, but why would I pay MORE for a surgeon with less experience? The sleeve is relatively new in the States. Dr. Aceves has been doing it for many years and teaches other surgeons how to do it. The two surgeons in my area that I considered had only done a couple hundred between them. As for other Mexican surgeons, there is no way I am having major surgery anywhere other than a hospital. And as for Almanza's experience, he just started his surgical career in December of 2006. So, that's 4 1/2 years. Dr. Aceves, for example has been a surgeon since 1986. There is no way Almanza has more experience in that amount of time. And as for him doing 145 a month, if he worked 5 days a week, he would be doing 7 VSG's a day. No way would I let a surgeon operate on me with 6 patients behind him. Or even 5 or 4. I don't want to be on an assembly line. The day I had surgery, there was one other patient having their surgery that day. The next day, there were 3 having surgery. So yes, experience is important, just not all crammed into a few years. That is how mistakes, complications, and even deaths happen.

<div><br></div><div>Just curious again how you have this information that there are Dr's coordinators coming here posting horror stories? How could you possibly know this? </div>

[kemo46 82]

Actually, there were TWO deaths recently there and they were wls related, obviously. Want opinions? Ok, I'll be honest. I think this place should be SHUT DOWN. I know people are going to hate on this, but look into it, these weren't the first deaths this surgeon has had. Experienced? In WHAT? Certainly not performing surgery correctly and SAFELY. I'll admit it, I did a YouTube video on this YESTERDAY and yes, I was talking about THIS DOCTOR.

DO NOT go to a 'chop shop' when you're dealing with your body. You have one stomach, one life...you're worth it to have a competent surgeon. Your life is worth more than bargain shopping and then a reason to have serious buyers remorse.

I think it's insane to shove people into a HOUSE to recover after a major surgery. Does that even make sense to you? Seriously? YES some people have gone there and have FORTUNATELY had great results and lived through it. But let me ask you this, what about the 17 year old girl that didn't go home? What about the mother of 3 children that DIDNT go home? This was recently... If I was scheduled with this place I would RUN, not walk away and demand my money back and save up for another surgeon.

Now then, I'm ready to take my beating.

Ybnormal, there is no beating, that is your opinion and you already corrected your mistake. It was Dr. Kelly's patient, not Dr. Almanza. The other death was a Tummy Tuck, not a sleeve and it was not performed by Dr. Almanza either. I talked with Dr. Bettancourt about this so I am aware of the facts. I got great care at the recovery house, servano the male nurse is an ICU nurse and we were well taken care of. I do not think anyone should bash any Doctors because we do not know all the facts. You say this place should be shut down, you are basing that on your incorrect information you published that you have already corrected. I hope your youtube video was about the correct Doctor because that could be a problem. I tried to pull it up but it would not come up. Were you referring to Dr. Almanza or Dr. Kelly in your video?

[kemo46 82]

Ok, well there is a big difference in saying "I know you will not find one with more experience" and saying " I am not sure and I just could not find one".

You are correct, there is no substitute for experience, that is why I chose Dr. Aceves over some of these surgeons in the States. Yes, he was only a couple thousand less than them, but why would I pay MORE for a surgeon with less experience? The sleeve is relatively new in the States. Dr. Aceves has been doing it for many years and teaches other surgeons how to do it. The two surgeons in my area that I considered had only done a couple hundred between them. As for other Mexican surgeons, there is no way I am having major surgery anywhere other than a hospital. And as for Almanza's experience, he just started his surgical career in December of 2006. So, that's 4 1/2 years. Dr. Aceves, for example has been a surgeon since 1986. There is no way Almanza has more experience in that amount of time. And as for him doing 145 a month, if he worked 5 days a week, he would be doing 7 VSG's a day. No way would I let a surgeon operate on me with 6 patients behind him. Or even 5 or 4. I don't want to be on an assembly line. The day I had surgery, there was one other patient having their surgery that day. The next day, there were 3 having surgery. So yes, experience is important, just not all crammed into a few years. That is how mistakes, complications, and even deaths happen.

<div><br></div><div>Just curious again how you have this information that there are Dr's coordinators coming here posting horror stories? How could you possibly know this? </div>

Like I said, ask your surgeon how many SLEEVES he has done and then do the math. Dr. Almanza has done many more sleeves than Dr. Aceves and he will tell you that. These surgeries take about one hour to complete and he works 6 days a week, not 5. If you do not believe he does 145 a month, I ask all the people on the forum that has had surgery there to post how many people had their surgery the same day as them. The math is not that hard. I hate to break this to you but Dr. Aceves was not doing sleeves in 1986. I talked to your surgeon along with several others and yes, experience is important to me. I would not call it an assembly line, I would call it being efficient and making money.

As far as how I know about the coordinators, it was simple, I asked. I talked to 3 coordinators from different surgeons and was told the same thing. There are people on this forum that will tell you the same thing. The competition for these surgeries has been tough and they get paid by the number of surgeries they book. Like I have said in all of my posts, I do not bash any surgeons because we do not know all the facts.