THIS IS JUST A WARNING.

Over a year ago I had sleeve plication surgery with Dr Rod in Mexico.

I had bleeding problems from the start. I puked blood for 12 hours. The staff at the hospital and the doctors were informed several times and their attatude changed dramatically from being nice to a not give a dam. They told me I was not pukeing blood many times as I showed them the blood in cups. I went home and from day one I felt like I had no restriction. They just kept fluffing me off when I contacted them. After the period of time to get on solid foods,, it was clear there was no restriction. I went to a specialist in canada and they did a barium set of exrays in canada and found ABSOUTELY NO RESTRICTION ANYWHERE. The stuff flowed to every part of the stomach freely. And it was thick as wax.

Good job,, DR ROD.

I sent the medical report to the hospital and DR Rod. They came back and told me there was nothing wrong. Well specialists and Barium exrays SAY THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG.I asked them what they wanted to do to fix this and was fluffed off again. BELIGHTWEIGHT FLUFFED me off too. I asked for my money back..Fluffed off again.

Nice bunch,,, they botched the surgery , took my money, and fluffed me off. They will not answer e-mails, nothing. But WOW,,, look at the bright side. After 10,000 dollars,, months of agony, My stomach will hold a wopper, fries , and a shake if I wanted to put it in my stomach.

NO WEIGHT loss in over one year post opp.

A WORD OF ADVICE TO ALL LOOKING FOR PLICATION SLEEVE,,,

DO NOT HAVE THEM DO IT,,,

Not with DR ROD and not with Belightweight. They are so nice as long as you pay and then just go away.But iF the surgery is bungled or you have post opp problems,,,forget it.

Pay the extra money and get it done in the USA. AT least it will be done right, and you may get some value for your money.Now I contacted another DR and he says I need to have the Rodreguz surgery taken out and then a sleeve done. Only 10,000 more.

And DONT believe all the crap and hype to read on these med sites. After all,, they are trying to SELL YOU SURGERY.

I will be surprized even to see this posted.

Diva - Well stated response. I too went to Mx and had a wonderful and successful surgery with no complications. My daughter is an RN @ U of M Amplatz Children's Hospital and another in medical school. They both stoke with my dr (Dr Ramos Kelly) prior to surgery and researched with me. The RN could not believe the attentive care that I received after surgery both at the hospital and hotel. Had I had the surgery here in the US the plan was - outpatient surgery with a follow up visit 1 week after and again 1 month after. I was in the hospital in MX for 3 nights after and at the hotel for 2 days after. I saw my surgeon at least 2 x per day for those 5 days.

There is good and bad anywhere in the world. People come here to research and learn from others. I can only comment on my own personal experience.

I specifically said I am not trying to discredit her experience, but rather it would help her (and all of us) to really do a lot of research before choosing a surgeon and a surgery.

A bad surgery can happen whether you do your research or not, but it certainly can help to do all the investigating you can. I was considering plication myself, but decided against it based on seeing a lot of people who were unhappy with the results.

I had my sleeve done in Switzerland, and my doctors still got called "quacks" on here.

I'm sorry to hear about the bad experience had by Kacee. Regardless of where the surgery was done, it's always awful to have things go seriously awry. I wish you all the best in getting it all sorted!

So sorry you are going through this. I think the best thing to do is to move forward and see if you can find a way to revise to the sleeve. I was self pay for my band in Mexico (and I had a good experience there), but my band just didn't work for me. I revised to the sleeve and have been so successful. There is still hope for you. Many of us have had revisions to the sleeve after paying $8,000-10,000 for our bands. It is so hard to lose that kind of money, but it is just a chance you take to be healthy. Start researching revisions so you can make your dreams come true! The sleeve works, so don't give up!

Ah, well. My surgery was performed by a Chinese doctor, in an American facility, in a Latino part of L.A. When I got up for a walk in the hallway, I was side-by-side with a retired NFL player, who was African-American.

Gotta love it.

I am really shocked by what has been said about Dr. Rodriguez and Beliteweight (proper spelling...FYI). I had my band done by Dr. Rodriguez two years ago and had a wonderful experience with him, JoAnne, Jessica, and everyone else that was a part of my experience. The hospital was fabulous, I had my own private room and things were cleaner there than any other hospital/surgery I've had in the US (I've had three other major surgeries in the US). The band hasn't worked for me, but I can't blame that on him. It was not a good fit for me. I think I've found my solution in the sleeve (I pray!) and I am going back to him for my surgery in August. I can only hope that this was all written hastily out of anger with complications that are spelled out as being risks before surgery. I am sorry that anyone had a bad experience with Dr. Rodriguez. Hope things have gotten better.

I think it depends on the doctor. I have heard absolute horror stories from Mexico, Canada, and the US. I think the point to take from this is DO YOUR REASERCH! Whoever or wherever you go to.

I do want to say though, that after hotel, airfare and other non-medical related costs, having surgery done in another country might not save you as much money as you might think.

I'm 9 days out from being sleeved by Dr Rodriguez in Juarez Mexico. I had excellent care and absolutely no problems. I feel great. Dr Rod and his staff were awesome and took good care of me. I went to Mexico because my employer chose to exclude wls on its insurance coverage, and self pay in Omaha was going to be $21,000. I wasnt willing to put my family in debt for this surgery. I paid $6800 plus airfare. I wouldn't change a thing.

I do want to say though' date=' that after hotel, airfare and other non-medical related costs, having surgery done in another country might not save you as much money as you might think.[/quote']

Actually the savings can be considerable. My case for example.

Airfare was 625, surgery+hospital (blood work, EKG, 2days of after treatment)+prescriptions+ hotel + ground transportation=5500 (it's a package deal)

That's a bit over 6K total

I've seen prices in the US as low as 15K for the surgery. But that's just for the surgery, the total almost never ends up being under 25K, and where I live nobody is even willing to do a sleeve (here its 20K for a lap band & close to 60K for a full bypass). So if I were to have had mine done in the good ole USA it would have cost me 25K plus traportation & lodging to a city where this surgury is offered. So let's say a total of 27K as a posed to well under 7K

With the median household income in the united states today being under 40K & net expendable income being average about 500/mo, that means on average a person who wanted the surgury, using the numbers laid out here would have to save almost an additional 4 years to pay for the surgury here.

I've seen the argument made numerous times that you health is well worth an extra 15-20K, and I agree, but how much life are you giving up by waiting an additional 4 years to get your life on track? Time is our most valuable comidity & yes in my opinion it is well worth a small amount of risk, & a bit of stigma.

If you happen to have the money laying around, GREAT! Do what makes you more comfortable. But for me, 4 years of a higher quality life is priceless

Please don't consider this a personal attack, I've simply seen the argument of money so many times that I felt I had to break it down from my point of view.

Actually the savings can be considerable. My case for example.

Airfare was 625' date=' surgery+hospital (blood work, EKG, 2days of after treatment)+prescriptions+ hotel + ground transportation=5500 (it's a package deal)

That's a bit over 6K total

I've seen prices in the US as low as 15K for the surgery. But that's just for the surgery, the total almost never ends up being under 25K, and where I live nobody is even willing to do a sleeve (here its 20K for a lap band & close to 60K for a full bypass). So if I were to have had mine done in the good ole USA it would have cost me 25K plus traportation & lodging to a city where this surgury is offered. So let's say a total of 27K as a posed to well under 7K

With the median household income in the united states today being under 40K & net expendable income being average about 500/mo, that means on average a person who wanted the surgury, using the numbers laid out here would have to save almost an additional 4 years to pay for the surgury here.

I've seen the argument made numerous times that you health is well worth an extra 15-20K, and I agree, but how much life are you giving up by waiting an additional 4 years to get your life on track? Time is our most valuable comidity & yes in my opinion it is well worth a small amount of risk, & a bit of stigma.

If you happen to have the money laying around, GREAT! Do what makes you more comfortable. But for me, 4 years of a higher quality life is priceless

Please don't consider this a personal attack, I've simply seen the argument of money so many times that I felt I had to break it down from my point of view.

[/quote']

No worries! :-) Thanks for the specifics. I had a friend that had hers done in Mexico and it was 10,000 for her with air, hotel, and transportation. Mine, out of pocket, would be about $9500. So that's what I was basing that on.

I am so happy to hear some one who is using the same doctor as me and in the same hospital as me June 6th... Thank you we should not scare people.. We did not stop eating when we seen we was gaining weight... Let's wish everyone good luck some of us come here for positive word and a peaceful of mind... Imjustsaying...

I am so happy to hear some one who is using the same doctor as me and in the same hospital as me June 6th... Thank you we should not scare people.. We did not stop eating when we seen we was gaining weight... Let's wish everyone good luck some of us come here for positive word and a peaceful of mind... Imjustsaying...

I am so happy to hear some one who is using the same doctor as me and in the same hospital as me June 6th... Thank you we should not scare people.. We did not stop eating when we seen we was gaining weight... Let's wish everyone good luck some of us come here for positive word and a peaceful of mind... Imjustsaying...

I am so happy to hear some one who is using the same doctor as me and in the same hospital as me June 6th... Thank you we should not scare people.. We did not stop eating when we seen we was gaining weight... Let's wish everyone good luck some of us come here for positive word and a peaceful of mind... Imjustsaying...

This post should be deleted because their is no support here. It's one person bashing "Mexican" doctors when their are very high skilled doctors who have degrees and certificates who know what they are doing no matter where they r from. People saying that if you don't do the procedure in the US you're wasting ur money , give me a break. If US healthcare is so great, why is it that I can NOT get insurance because I have type one diabetes and I'm considered "high risk" and I have to pay out of pocket for my insulin. This post is a waste of time.