This question has likely been asked a lot however I am new to this and feel I should ask it myself in search of a specific answer...

Dr. Aceves or Dr. Kelly?

My specific questions are...

1. Does Dr. Kelly work out of a clinic or an actual hospital? It says you stay 2 days in hospital and 1 in hotel.. is that correct?

2. Does Dr. Kelly do the surgery himself of could it be one of his team and not him?

3. How many leak tests does Dr. Kelly do before you leave for home?

4. How long does it take to get from the border to the Hospital as I am nervous of Mexico. I live in a small city in Canada and you can pretty much live with your house and car door unlocked with NO fear at all..lol

5. If you used Dr. Kelly for a sleeve OVER a year ago I would like to hear from you as well to see how things are a year out ... newbies can respond too though

6. Why is Aceves more? Is it simply due to the fact that you spend and extra day in hospital and that is the extra expense?

Ok.. that's enough..lol

I am hoping to go August 6, 2011.

I truly appreciate all the help

Julia

Hi, I was just sleeved by Dr. Kelly (7/13). It is a hospital and you stay 2 day in hospital and 2 days in hotel..If you book your surgery with him he actually does it.. He was even at my bedside when I woke up.. It is not far at all from the border but you do travel through a poor looking part.. It took maybe 20 mins at the longest.. I hope this helps as far a Dr. Aceves I can't comment..

Angela

Hi, I was just sleeved by Dr. Kelly (7/13). It is a hospital and you stay 2 day in hospital and 2 days in hotel..If you book your surgery with him he actually does it.. He was even at my bedside when I woke up.. It is not far at all from the border but you do travel through a poor looking part.. It took maybe 20 mins at the longest.. I hope this helps as far a Dr. Aceves I can't comment..

Angela

Thank you Angela.. I appreciate your help. Would you say that he is a good doctor and that having gone thru it you felt safe and secure with your sleeve?

This is all very helpful in regards to making my decision

Julia

I don't know why Dr. Aceves costs more, but I can say that I had no nausea, vomiting, or complications of any kind. It was worth it to me to pay what Dr. Aceves charged. I was the only person having surgery on 1/13 so I didn't feel rushed or part of an assembly line. I don't know anything about Dr. Kelly, but his patients seem to love him as much as Dr. Aceves' patients love Dr. A.

I don't know why Dr. Aceves costs more, but I can say that I had no nausea, vomiting, or complications of any kind. It was worth it to me to pay what Dr. Aceves charged. I was the only person having surgery on 1/13 so I didn't feel rushed or part of an assembly line. I don't know anything about Dr. Kelly, but his patients seem to love him as much as Dr. Aceves' patients love Dr. A.

Thanks for the information I am deciding today and this is helpful to me. Hugs!

Thank you Angela.. I appreciate your help. Would you say that he is a good doctor and that having gone thru it you felt safe and secure with your sleeve?

This is all very helpful in regards to making my decision

Julia

Yes he is a good doctor and I did always felt safe...

Angela

Hi, Dr.Kelly will be my surgeon on the 29th of this month. I had a time when I was wondering if I made the right choice with him and posted a question similar to yours. I don't know if you've read this yet or not, but below is the link to it...

http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/20498-kelly-aceves-or-alvarez/

Hi,

I am can only speak about my experience. I wanted the very best I could find because I wanted to make sure I was taken care of 24-7 in a hospital. So after a lot of research and talking with others and checking things out for about 6 months, my choice was Dr. Aceves. He is highly skilled, I saw him and one other doctor 3 times a day while I was in his top of the line hospital--the entire staff are great. All these things were very important to me. I had spoke with some of his patients, who themselves were nurses and one doctor. They all had nothing but good things to say about their care--now wouldn't you think they would know about the quality of care they received more than that average person--they sure did.

Dr. Aceves does 2 leak tests on your new stomach before he will release you to go home. He send home very detailed information for you and you can all and check with his staff if you have any questions when you go home. Dr. Aceves will call you back himself too. I have always found his staff helpful when I was there and when I went home.

I would never want to leave a hospital to go recover in a hotel. That is just me. I feel that every dime I spent was well worth it. I have NO regrets at all.

I hope you find this helpful. This is ALL ABOUT YOU and your health and the best care you can get.

Hugs,

Suzanne

I had a great experience with Dr Kelly and I felt very safe. It only takes about 20-30 mins from the airport to the hospital. There was a security guard at both the hospital and hotel. You stay at the hospital 2 nights, released on the 3rd day. You have 2-3 leak tests, but only awake for one on the day you're released. You can see your new sleeve on the screen yourself and see it's not leaking. You also get x-ray to take with you.

The hotel stay is just a bonus as far as I can tell, to allow you to relax before you have to travel home, and you are checked on while there too.

Dr Kelly has a lot of experience and truly cares about his patients. He also has trauma training. I had little pain/discomfort, no nauaea, no throwing up, no complications.

I have a more detailed account of my experience in the "about me" section on my profile. It's kinda long. I also have a few pics posted. I was sleeved on 5/16 and I love my sleeve. I am doing well with the weight loss and my type 2 diabetes is cured/in remission. I am able to get around so much better now and I feel great.

Im going to TJ tomorrow. My surgery is with Dr Kelly. I will post as soon as I am able to type.

Im going to TJ tomorrow. My surgery is with Dr Kelly. I will post as soon as I am able to type.

Good luck with an easy surgery and speedy recovery and please say hello to Dr K and Trish for me. Look forward to your updates!

Thanks!

I was sleeved a month ago by Dr. Aceves and I had a great experience. I spent 3 nights in the hospital. Also, the hospital is about a mile across the border. Good luck!

Hi,

I am can only speak about my experience. I wanted the very best I could find because I wanted to make sure I was taken care of 24-7 in a hospital. So after a lot of research and talking with others and checking things out for about 6 months, my choice was Dr. Aceves. He is highly skilled, I saw him and one other doctor 3 times a day while I was in his top of the line hospital--the entire staff are great. All these things were very important to me. I had spoke with some of his patients, who themselves were nurses and one doctor. They all had nothing but good things to say about their care--now wouldn't you think they would know about the quality of care they received more than that average person--they sure did.

Dr. Aceves does 2 leak tests on your new stomach before he will release you to go home. He send home very detailed information for you and you can all and check with his staff if you have any questions when you go home. Dr. Aceves will call you back himself too. I have always found his staff helpful when I was there and when I went home.

I would never want to leave a hospital to go recover in a hotel. That is just me. I feel that every dime I spent was well worth it. I have NO regrets at all.

I hope you find this helpful. This is ALL ABOUT YOU and your health and the best care you can get.

Hugs,

Suzanne

Not much I can add to this post, it is all very accurate and my experience was just as great. Just wanted to add something about leak tests. I was told Dr. Aceves does a leak test immediately after surgery while you are still in the OR and he is still 'looking around' at your new tummy. Then he does a special dark liquid leak test that he checks via your drainage bag. Then there is the swallow study. So, I had three. I don't know if this is something new ( I had surgery in March) but that is what they told me anyway! Maybe most people don't count the first one! Good luck to you!

Hi, you are so correct. It has been almost 3 years and I had forgot about the one he does in the OR, so he does 3 leak tests. Thanks for catching me on that one.

Hugs,

Suzanne

Not much I can add to this post, it is all very accurate and my experience was just as great. Just wanted to add something about leak tests. I was told Dr. Aceves does a leak test immediately after surgery while you are still in the OR and he is still 'looking around' at your new tummy. Then he does a special dark liquid leak test that he checks via your drainage bag. Then there is the swallow study. So, I had three. I don't know if this is something new ( I had surgery in March) but that is what they told me anyway! Maybe most people don't count the first one! Good luck to you!

I Had 3 too. The second one was I think on day 2. You drink some blue colored gatorade and check to make sure there is nothing blue in your drain. The biggie in on the 3rd day- you drink this barium stuff which tastes nasty (everything tasted gross to me, my taste buds were a mess) and have an x-ray. Don't move cause if you do, you have to drink it a second time! I shuddered when i took the first one and has to fo it over again : (. They give you the x-rays so you can see it. Cathi