Hello again,

I was very, very excited to decide on Dr Aceves for my surgery. But it appears my fortunes have changed and I will have to take cost into consideration, which...annoys me, at the minimum.

Before I continue: YES - I understand that no price is too much to pay for my health. YES - I agree that I deserve the "best money can buy". NO - I DO NOT have a way to get more money...at all. $6k is my cap and will be as such for a while, for reasons I don't care to discuss on a public forum (why does life hate me this much?!?). YES - Now is the best time in the next 18 months to look at surgery. There will be no better time than the next 2 months to get this done and get on with my life.

That being said, I'm looking for some help. I understand that there's been some patient drama regarding Dr Kelly, he no longer has a coordinator, etc etc. I'm not sure if he's on my "short list" or not yet. I can't find much reliable info on him, his facilities and his post-op rate. Dr Garcia is on my "short list" - he operates out of a hospital (not clinic), seems to have good ratings - though not as much experience as others? Dr Almanza is not under consideration at all for me - I had a patient of his pass through my facility this past November, in bad shape due to post-op complications; she ended up on TPN and then with a gtube for nutrition for another 2 months after, plus IV antibiotics - she told quite a story regarding his "recovery house", of people having to sleep on the floor because there wasn't enough beds, no medical staff available, oncall MD being too drunk to be of use, etc. So he's off my list.

I am open to other suggestions. My main criteria is that I want surgery in a full-fledged hospital (not a clinic), and a surgeon that will provide decent follow up as needed. Someone I can get ahold of after surgery, who won't drop me like a hot tater!!

Comments and suggestions are gladly accepted - thank you in advance!

~Asche, the Crazy Cat Lady

LBeauty, your post is awesome. I am considering Dr Aceves as well, but Dr Kelly is still my pick. I am not planning for sx till June so I have time.

Please keep us informed, and if you don't mind send me a private message and stay in touc regarding this? I have been looking for more info on the hospitals, etc and can't find anything. It sounds like you know where to look.

That said, the biggest endorcement I can give Dr Kelly is that I made a friend thru these boards who had a GREAT experience with him two months ago and highly recommends him. So much so that she is sending her own sister to be skeeved with him in a few months!

Please stay in touch and send me a PM so we can chat!!

Hey DDFinn and Debly, I would love to talk to you both but I must admit I am totally new to this forum and I have no idea how to PM here. I can probably figure it out but since you are both probably more familiar with the system (I sent someone a message a few days ago and got no reply so I am not sure if I did it right) would you each mind sending me a message that I can reply to? Thanks!!!

I was sleeved by Dr Verboonen on February 10, 2012. I had surgery in his clinic (I would have preferred the hospital). I am 5 weeks post op and doing great. I had two other friends that were sleeved by him the same day and two other friends that were sleeved by him earlier in 2011. We have all had good experiences. Unfortunately there is not alot of referrals that share their story about him, which is very sad. I feel like he should have more referrals and good things said. His surgery price in the hospital is $5400. He is a great doctor and very personable. If you have any questions you can always PM me.

So I just had a very long, very informative conversation with Dr. Kelly. Has for some of the rumors (which is why I know many people question going with him), some people say he lied about the reason why the girl died in July. He said he never died, people are making two separate insidents seem like the same one. He had an 18 year old girl who he did a surgery on, she almost died (but did not die) from a pulmonary embolism (some people in another post asked if you could have an embolus that fast and the answer is yes according to my pathology professor, there are many types of embolus and some can happen from fat, plaques, and many other things). That girl is well. The other one last year was 34 years old, she did died from a surgical complication, she needed a blood transfusion and the "hospital" where she was at did not have the nessesary blood and thus she died. He said that is one of the reasons he likes the hospital he is at now, his goal is to have no complications but if there happen to be any he wants the nessesary equipment and supplies at hand. I have been involved in the medical field in one way or another in sometime, I know what what he said is very possible and likely, I also know that this is my opinion and everyone should make their own opinion and decision.

We also talked about two of his very serious leaks that he had in the past, he had one several years ago when he first started doing the surgeries, the person had a difficult recovery but did recorver. The last one (I can't remember how long ago it was), the person did not need another surgery but did have to have a PICC Line (a type of IV that goes on the arm but runs into the vein very close to the heart), for 4 months. The patient recovered well without further problems. This are things that can happen to anyone of us regardless of who does our surgery, yes the more experience the more likely it is they would had dealt with it and it will not happen again! that is how I see it.

When I talked to my husband about the death, his first reaction was "well one good thing about it is if he made a mistake he is very unlikely to make it again". I decided to go with Dr. Kelly, I will continue to do my research and if at any point I see something I don't like I will change but I know that he is a great surgeon (over 90% of the comments here and in other places say so), and I also know he has great experience and you cannot really beat that. I will suggest that no matter who anyone goes with, please follow your surgeons instructions before and after surgery, they don't just make up that stuff up. There is a great deal of science behind eating less, and liquids and all of that, I know that will be the hardest thing for me but I am worth it!

Awesome response!! !thank you!!

I got the same exact answers from Dr Kelly several Weeks ago, when I spoke to him. I'm completely comfortable in his ability, and im impressed with his credentials. Well said indeed

Thank you to everyone who replied! I admit, I was hoping for more sharing from Post-ops - it's very easy to be confident about our choices and then have perceptions changed by reality.

Dr Kelly is now off my list. I have communicated with him directly regarding some very pointed questions, and many of them he downplayed or ignored. Questions regarding potential surgical complications should -never- be handled in that fashion. I do not feel comfortable considering him, so I shall leave it at that.

I've narrowed my list down to Garcia and Rodriguez. Dr Ponce doesn't quite have the credentials I'm looking for. One of the questions I have asked each office is, "How do you handle complications when they arise, are the treatments and costs included in the quoted price, or are they extra? If they are extra, how is that price determined? And do you offer after-care visits - if so, what do they include and how much do they cost?" If anyone has come across the answers to these questions with Garcia or Rodriguez, I would be interested in hearing your experience.

On a side note - I remember not too many years ago, there used to be ads for Dr Joya plastered everywhere! Now you never hear about him. Just one of those random thoughts.

Sorry you didn't get the answers you were looking for. I responded because I noticed you weren't getting the feedback you were asking for. I wish you the best with whatever Dr you choose, its hard I know! Maybe post on the post op forum?

Good luck crazycatlady, perhaps you should also call those doctors and hear their response. I asked Dr Kelly about similar things and got answers to my satisfaction. This however is a very personal journey and I wish you good luck!

Dr Joya is still around and supposed to be very good! There are some really good youtube video's posted by a husband and wife who went to him a couple of years ago. If you are very concerned about leaks/complications/aftercare, he may be the way to go for you. He has a "complications fund" that each patient pays into and if anything were to happen, it is paid for out of the fund. I had no intentions of going back to MX for aftercare. I just plan to follow up with my PCP.

You might ask the coordinator for the doctor those questions. We used Alma at Ready 4 A Change who always had the answers to any questions we had. My daughters surgery with Dr. Garcia was Jan 23 and she's had no problems at all. She recovered much quicker than I did and went back to work 2 weeks after surgery. I believe you should tell your PCP what you're doing and then set them up for follow-up visits if needed. Dr. Garcia gives you a DVD with a video of your leak test done in the hospital and there are the notes from your surgery that you would also give your PCP for follow-up.

I was sleeved last week with Dr. Kelly. I am not sure why you think he does not perform surgery at a hospital; he does. I had a great experience, very little pain and no nausea. Everyone does need to make their own decision and I am sure you will find the right surgeon for you, but I think you should at least consider Kelly. He really did a great job on mine, and the hospital and staff were wonderful (friendly and knowledgeable) and the facility was clean and modern.

Just my personal opinion based on my surgery. Hope you find someone you love.

I was sleeved last week with Dr. Kelly. I am not sure why you think he does not perform surgery at a hospital; he does. I had a great experience, very little pain and no nausea. Everyone does need to make their own decision and I am sure you will find the right surgeon for you, but I think you should at least consider Kelly. He really did a great job on mine, and the hospital and staff were wonderful (friendly and knowledgeable) and the facility was clean and modern.

Just my personal opinion based on my surgery. Hope you find someone you love.

I am seeing Dr. Kelly on May 4th and i have questions for you.. did you have a coordinator or did you schedule with dr. kelly himself? I realize some people are left over with coordinators from before they split.... if not then did you work with anaid? I'm finding it sort of hard to communicate with them. I sorta wish i had a coordinator at this point but i was just wondering how your experience was with getting picked up and everything.. my hubby will be going with me and i think he's going to be really bored..did you go by yourself or with a companion?

Kansasgirl, my surgery is the 10th of May with him, and I have had no problem at all with communication. I am sorry you are. Are they not getting back to you in a timely manner? This is some of the info I have from them maybe you can try this, I communicate with Anid mostly, but also with Dr. Kelly. wls-clinic@hotmail.com 619 395 5347 or his email is jrkelly45@hotmail.com but I only have used the first one. Good luck!

HI. I am having Dr. Fernando Garcia do my sleeve this coming Apirl 9th. I researched quite a bit....also didn't want a strip mall clinic but the half way house thing really bothered me. I do like Garcia because after your sleeve you stay 2 NIGHTS in the hospital and since I'll be traveling alone I like that idea. I pretty much booked it for asap and the girls at alighterme really helped me, Linda there.

Good luck in your decision.

Take Care

FinallyMe