Greetings to all: My name is Larry and I decided to start a post about surgery in Mexico. There are many people here that would love to have the surgery but their US insurance will not approve or pay for the surgery. There are also many of you who might have thought about Mexico but fear going there for many reasons. I am hoping that this post and other that will follow will help to answer some of your questions, calm some of your fears and give you first hand stories from some of us that have gone to Mexico for this life changing surgery.

First a little about me. I had lapband surgery about 2 years ago here in Iowa. I lost 90 pounds before I hit the wall and could not lose anymore. My band was at the maximum fill so I asked my doctor about the gastric sleeve. He told me that I should have probably have gone for the sleeve initially as I had amost 200 total pounds that I needed to lose. When I applied through my insurance they declined my sleeve surgery even thought my BMI was high enough and I had hypertension, pre-diabetes and sleep apnea. Needless to say I was very disappointed and down in the dumps.

I was talking to my brother who lives in California and he told me that a close friend of his had returned from Mexico about 2 weeks ago and had the surgery there and was very happy. I called and spole to her on the phone several times and she helped me to calm my fears of going to Mexico for surgery. I also did a lot of other research on the doctors and the hospitals. I also was in contact with several others that had gone to Mexico.

On Dec 10, 2011 I boarded the plane to San Diego. I was picked up at the airport by Hector who took me to Tijuana and checked me into my hotel. He was very nice and easy to talk to and had a wealth of knowledge. I spent that night in the hotel and the next morning Hector came and picked me up and took me to Hospital Mi which was about 8 blocks from the hotel. The facility was newer and I was totally impressed with the staff in admissions. What struck me most was how clean everything was. It was cleaner than any hospital that I have been in as a patient here in the US. I was taken to my room and given a gown and asked to change and that the nurse would be in. I layed down on the bed and soon Anna appeared. She was very pleasant and said that she needed to start my IV and get some blood. She was very professional and followed all clean procedures. I work in the healthcare field so I was watching everything as I still had a few doubts. She got my IV started and drew the blood and I was settled into bed. i had a private room, private bathroom, tv and seperate heating and cooling for each room.

A short time later Anna returned with a gentleman who introduced himself as the cardiologist. He himself performed the EKG and read it for me. Since I take medicatio for my blood pressure which slows my pulse a great deal he had several questions for me. To have the cardiologist do your EKG amazed me and never happens in the US. Before my surgery since I still had my lapband they wanted to make sure that I had no damage from the band so I was taken to a suite where they performed a scope. I do not remember anything until after the scope was done. The doctor came in and showed me pictures and said that everything looked great and the surgery was a go.

About 5pm they came in and took me to the surgery suite. It was very clean and all of the equipment looked new and state of the art. I have had a few surgeries in the past and have worked in a hospital. I moved over to the surgery table and they put both of my arms out on supports to have access to my stomach. I remember meeting the anesthesiologist before the surgery in my room and he told me that he would take good care of me. I do not remember anything after that until I woke up in recovery. They told me that my surgery went as expected and I was taken back to my room.

During the night they were constantly monitoring my vitals, making sure that my pain was under control and giving me meds for some nausea and antibiotics through my IV. The doctors came in and went. The morning after my surgery I had very little pain but did have some nausea. Later in the day I had the first 2 leak test for my sleeve. Both were negative for any eaks. On Wednesday morning before I could be released to the hotel I had to pass on final leak test. When I passed the last one i was told that I would be going to the htel after lunch.

My surgery was on Monday afternoon and on Wednesday afternoon Hector came to pick me up and took me to Hotel Amigo. My room had 2 queen beds, internet, tv and was very large and clean. I rested in my room the rest of the day but I did get up and walk the halls for some exercise. The hotel was very nice and secure and I found all of the staff more than willing to help me with anything. There was a casino on the main floor and the next day I did go down and play the slots for a while. On Thursday I was taken to the shopping mall where I did some window shopping and just sat out in the plaze soaking up some sun and people watching. I went back to the hotel that afternoon and watched some tv. The hotel staff were more than helpful in getting me anything I needed including going out to the pharmacy and getting me some zofran as I was having some nausea due to the high dosage of antibiotics that I was on. This helped a great deal and the next morning I got up and was picked up by Hector again and taken to the San Diego airport to come home. My flight was uneventful and I have not had any problems since I have returned home. today makes 4 weeks post op for me and I am down 29 pounds and feeling great. i am sticking with my diet that was given to me by Dr F Garcia. If anyone would like to post their experience in Mexico whether it was in Tijuana or anywhere else I think it will be a great help to many considering surgery in Mexico.

I would also be willing to speak to anyone either via private emails for I would be willing to send my phone number so that we can talk one on one in person. I do not work for any doctor or any service that schedules surgeries in Mexico so my opinions are mine and hopefully others that post here will be the same.

hi Larry

My DOS was 12/15/11 - so we were pretty close in dates.

My surgery was local in Syracuse, NY. - did well, spent 2 nights. No bad pain, PO at home went pretty well, so all in all, happily uneventful.

I'm glad you also had an uneventful success story in Mexico. I've heard many good successful stories about surgery in Mexico.

My question : you've been at home these past 4 weeks - if you had any questions or serious problems, who would you call? What if you really needed to see a dr. like many have. What do you do? I've always wondered this.

thanx

kathy

Kathy.....thanks for the questions. After I had my surgery in Mexico the doctor here in Iowa that did my lapband refused to follow my care any longer. This just shows that they do not really care about the patient but only the money that they missed out on by doing the surgery. When I returned I went to my family doctor and she checked me over and looking for signs of infection in my incisions. She did a very extensive blood panel to make sure that everhting was in order. I explained to her my diet and all of the supplements that I would be taking daily. I set up another appt to go in and see her for a followup in 3 months and before if any problems. If I would have had a serious problem I would have had to go to the ER and they would have had to call one of the gastric surgeons to come in and see me. They can not refuse to treat you in the hospital. I am in the process of looking for an internist to take over my care as I really do not see the need to continue to see the surgeon for my day to day care.

Kathy,

I too had surgery in MX, albeit by another doctor, my stay was similar in nature to Larry's. In terms of aftercare, I get bi-weekly check-ins from my patient coordinator and I have direct access to my gastric doctor if I need it. Also, before I left for MX, I made sure to tell my primary of my intentions ( and she was very supportive). I have an upcoming appointment with her to do a physical and several panels.

andersonlj, thank you for your story. i appreciate it so much. before i forget here are a

few questions, how is your skin holding up? my husband says i cannot return for plastics

i am five foot ten and weigh three hundred and six lbs, i have three todlers. so i worrie about

finaly recieving freedom from being so heavy for so long, only to have to cover up, not to

sound debbie downer, its really nice that we have something in common, i am haveing dr

fernando garcia also, and going to the same hotel. i leave in february!!!!! what a well written

and encouraging story, ive been a little worrried about the after care and lack of support

group after the surgery,. do you just reach out to the forums? what do you eat that is satisfying

did you find any cool good priced items when you went shopping in mexico? my dad is kinda

well to do and he and my mom are coming with me for my surgery, do you think he will be comfortable

in the hotel? is it nice? im so glad you are happy with dr. garcia he looks to be young? did you

like the lap band? do you think the sleeve will last long? you have a wonderful evening. thank you

for your time and story. sincerely, alina momofthree

Alina.....thanks for your nice letter.

I really like Dr Garcia and all of the staff at Hospital Mi and the Hotel Amigo Pueblo. I felt very safe and I did go out to the shopping center and did so a little shopping. I did not buy any clothes for obvious reasons. I have not had a lot of problems with skin so far and that all depends on your skin type, how fast you lose, if you exercise and other factors. The hotel is nice and there is a casion on the main floor. the room that I had had 2 queen beds a desk sofa and a very nice bath with tub and shower. The hotel furnishes bottled water for you to drink. They also work very had to get you anything you need....ice etc. I did not go out much except the day after I was released from the hospital to do the shopping. I had been to Mexico several times before and bought some things on my other trips.

As for the lapband I had too much weight to lose for it to take me to my goal. I am much happier with the sleeve as with the band I had a problem with vomiting if I ate something that would not go through the opening. I do not miss that at all and have not vomited once since I have had the sleeve.

I am actually leaving Friday for Chicago and I will be meeting Dr Garcia again as he is doing a seminar there and I want to thank him for giving me my life back and to meet his family who will be there with him. Judy one of the coordinators will also be there. My coordinator was Linda and she is also very nice and helpful. Oh one thing that I would suggest is that you take some chicken broth cubes of crystals with you as the broth they have for you at the hotel is BAD!!!!!!! I also took some crystal light and I also bought some gatorade while there so if you have some room in your bag I could pack a bottle or 2. You do not drink much very fast after the surgery but you need to stay hydrated or you will get lightheaded. I always added a little extra to my chicken broth as the salt holds the fluid in your system longer. If you would like to talk on the phone please let me know. I can call you or your can call me as I have free long distance. I am glad to answer any questions. Larry