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

I didn't have any problems getting in touch with Dr. Kelly or Anaid. I used the hotmail address provided by the previous poster. I actually thought they were pretty responsive, so I am surprised you are having that problem. I would use the hotmail email address. I did book directly with him, I wouldn't personally give Linda at ALM if it was my only option, if that was it, I wouldn't have the surgery.

Also just to clarify -- Dr. Kelly is two nights in a hospital (not a clinic) and two nights at a hotel. No recovery house, etc, and I LOVED the nurses at the hospital.

Hope that helps.

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?

Sorry I didn't answer all your questions.

Dr. Kelly's wife and Anaid picked me up from the airport, they have a large new van that they use for transporting the patients. Anaid is Dr. Kelly's assistant so she does a lot of the coordinating, making sure you get where you need to go, etc.

My sister came with me, She was pretty bored. She brought her laptop so played games, read, etc. I was pretty out of it the first day. The one thing I would caution -- the cafe at the hospital is geared towards cancer patients, and it's an all vegetarian meal plan. Your husband might want to think about bringing Snacks for the room unless he is a very healthy eater, that's the one thing my sister didn't care for. There is a Starbuck's I saw nearby, and also a pharmacy where they might sell snack foods. Ana and the dr's wife will also take him out to get anything if he needs it.

The day I arrived we were early, so Ana (Anaid) and Dr.'s wife took us to a nice restaraunt where I had broth but everyone else ate a great meal. It worked really well, they are very nice people and accomodating. Please feel free to email me if I can answer any additional questions for you. I am not trying to advertise for Dr. Kelly, but I did personally have a great, positive experience, and believe me I was as hesitant as anyone about having the surgery in Mexico.

THanks for your response girls. They do reply in a timely manner just I can tell that ana is confusing sometimes i can tell her english writing must not be that well. Or maybe i'm just excited and i want a bunch of information all at once and she only responds a little bit. I'm getting the info i was looking for in your response... i just wanted to feel more confident about being picked up and making sure my husband had something to do while i'm out of it LOL. Thanks for letting me know also about the cafeteria.. yeah he's not really a vegetarian so we will pack some snacks for him at least for the hospital stay. What kind of medicine were you sent home with? Did they kind of give you an info on your recovery the first month what to avoid what to make sure to do? Thanks for the info i advance!!

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

I am also using Linda with alighterme. I have had a great experience so far. I wish I could do the surgery sooner but I cannot. I also liked the 2 night stay in the hotel.

kansasgirl, if you have some specific questions that you want answered and you think there is a written lenguage barrier, you can always call her. Or you are more than welcome to send me your questions and I will write them in spanish for you LOL... I totally understand your feelings, I have been asking a ton of questions too, but I do mostly write in spanish because is the only chance I get to practice right now. She does not answer in length, even in spanish, so I would recommend asking more specific questions and number them 1-whatever, I did that last time and it worked great! Let her know how you are feeling and I guarantee you she will empathise. When I talked to her about being picked up, she said that they always want to get there early to pick you up, that in rare ocassions there is too much traffic on the border and makes them a little late. The hotel has a gym and pool, as well as a museum and other places at walking distance. here is some reviews and other info I found on Dr. Kelly in case anyone else is interested http://www.obesityhelp.com/profiles/bariatric-surgeon/dr-jaime-ricardo-ramos-kelly/reviews

the museum is not in the hotel but at a walking distance

kansasgirl, if you have some specific questions that you want answered and you think there is a written lenguage barrier, you can always call her. Or you are more than welcome to send me your questions and I will write them in spanish for you LOL... I totally understand your feelings, I have been asking a ton of questions too, but I do mostly write in spanish because is the only chance I get to practice right now. She does not answer in length, even in spanish, so I would recommend asking more specific questions and number them 1-whatever, I did that last time and it worked great! Let her know how you are feeling and I guarantee you she will empathise. When I talked to her about being picked up, she said that they always want to get there early to pick you up, that in rare ocassions there is too much traffic on the border and makes them a little late. The hotel has a gym and pool, as well as a museum and other places at walking distance. here is some reviews and other info I found on Dr. Kelly in case anyone else is interested http://www.obesityhe...s-kelly/reviews

the museum is not in the hotel but at a walking distance

Lbeauty thanks so much you were so right to number my questions i did that and it's been so much better just wanted to tell you thanks!!!

I will be having surgery with Dr. Kelly on March 29 . I just wanted to let you know there is a dr in Myrtle Beach Sc and is doing it for $8000 i was going to go to him but just could not justify the $3000 more . But i had talked to him his name is Morris Washington his fee has follow ups i beleive for 6months and maybe for any complications. Best of luck in your search

you are welcome kansasgirl, I am glad it worked for you!

I'm sorry I was gone from a thread I started for so long - I ended up getting really, really sick and spending lots of time in and out of Urgent Care. I still feel pretty cruddy.

I keep talking myself in circles over the surgeon thing. I have 3 I really like - Aceves, Alvarez, Rodriguez. Aceves and Alvarez are comparable in price and care. Rodriquez is $2k cheaper, but Juarez and TJ just trip me out. Hello - Juarez was known as the "murder capital of the world" just last year. And I keep hearing that TJ has changed, but all my memories of visiting as a kid growing up in So Cal have scarred me for life, lol! Kinda like how some of us never outgrow a certain fear of the dark....even though we "know" that there are no boogie monsters under the bed

My husband backs me up with spending the extra cash for Aceves. Why do we beat ourselves up over a silly thing like price? Maybe it just comes down to the fact that I'd rather die from surgery than get shot by a gang member on the way there or back. Argh.

I have to make a decision here, soon. Time is ticking.

I wish this site had a statistics chart on the doctors. Everyone who has had surgery would put in what complications they had / didn't have. Then you could see first hand on each doctor real stats. I think it would help us and the doctors.

My husband was the same way about Juarez! He goes there for business a few times a year and travels with an armed guard. Maybe he goes to the bad part of town,who knows??! But I didn't want him to worry about me since he was staying home! I went to TJ and was suprised at how nice it was, not what I expected at all. I didn't just stay inside the gates of the beautiful hotel either, Trish took us all around,shopping and to see the sights. I think whever you decide to go, you will be safe and well taken care of. We are big business in these border towns !

I'm sorry I was gone from a thread I started for so long - I ended up getting really, really sick and spending lots of time in and out of Urgent Care. I still feel pretty cruddy.

I keep talking myself in circles over the surgeon thing. I have 3 I really like - Aceves, Alvarez, Rodriguez. Aceves and Alvarez are comparable in price and care. Rodriquez is $2k cheaper, but Juarez and TJ just trip me out. Hello - Juarez was known as the "murder capital of the world" just last year. And I keep hearing that TJ has changed, but all my memories of visiting as a kid growing up in So Cal have scarred me for life, lol! Kinda like how some of us never outgrow a certain fear of the dark....even though we "know" that there are no boogie monsters under the bed

My husband backs me up with spending the extra cash for Aceves. Why do we beat ourselves up over a silly thing like price? Maybe it just comes down to the fact that I'd rather die from surgery than get shot by a gang member on the way there or back. Argh.

I have to make a decision here, soon. Time is ticking.

I had to laugh when I read what you wrote about TJ. I NEVER want to go back there. I spent no time wandering around, I stayed at the hospital and hotel, and I guess I actually did go to the mall, which was in a nice part of town and fine, I felt safe but geez it's ugly there. I told someone -- you can really see why they consider Mexico a third world country when you go there.

But I didn't go there for tourism, so it's all good. I just found it funny that someone else had the same reaction to it I did!

Hi...i just had my sleeve on march 21. I went to dr. Garcia and could not be more happy. The care was great and very organized. THe hospital was very clean and he staff was nice and clean as well