As I relax at the Hotel Lucerna in Tijuana, I thought this might be a good time to talk about my journey with Dr. Kelly. Only two short weeks ago I decided to get the sleeve done in Mexico. Approximately 12 days ago I booked with Dr. Kelly, directly. Immediately that evening I received a personal call from Dr. Kelly, offering to answer any questions I had. I suspected I had an inguinal hernia based on the fact I had one 25 years ago, and I remember what it felt like. My insurance in the States would cover the hernia repair, but I figured I would see if I could get it done at the same time as the sleeve. I would take less time off from work, and only go under anesthesia once. Dr. Kelly agreed to repair the hernia, for an additional $500.00. My Co-Pay in the States would have been $200 just to the hospital, and additional payments to see the doctor each time.

I reserved my date of April 9th. I booked my flight, and I think hitting confirm for the airline tickets was the hardest thing to do. My stomach was in a knot once I booked the flight, that just made the whole thing real. I was immediately given the required info by his staff which consists of Anna, Omar, and his wife Cecilia. All of them were very nice to me, online, and in person.

I arrived at San Diego airport on April 8th (Sunday). Dr. Kelly's wife picked me up. I was immediately put at ease when she started bragging about her children. I knew Dr. Kelly was a family guy then, and realized how important it was I return to my family healthy. We picked up another patient about an hour later at San Diego Airport. Cecilia then took us for our last meal at a Mexican restaurant. The chicken Soup was delicious, and the homemade chips and salsa were unbelievable. I probably ate too many.

We were then taken to the Oasis or florence Hospital where we met with Dr. Kelly and Omar. Keep in mind this is a Sunday evening. Good luck having a doctor meet you in the U.S. on a Sunday evening unless it is an emergency room doctor. We were taken to our private rooms. They were very nice and had an extra bed in each room for a guest. Immediately a nice fan was brought into my room, I could not believe Omar and Cecilia remembered me asking if the hospital had a fan a week earlier, but they did without me saying anything. I settled in nicely, the Wifi in the hospital works great, make sure you bring some sort of smartphone with a VOIP app on it to make free calls and texts. The health care system in the U.S. can really learn something from the way the nurses and doctors are at this hospital. They are very attentive, gentle, and caring. I even spoke to other attending physicians throughout the days I was there, and they gladly answered my questions.

On Monday around 3PM I was wheeled into surgery. I woke up in my room several hours later, of course I was uncomfortable and groggy from the anesthesia, but I always am. A few hours later I texted my wife to tell her everything was ok, but I did not feel like speaking on the phone. She texted me back and told me Dr. Kelly had personally called her after the surgery. This put my wife at ease, and I was very impressed by this.

Dr. Kelly checked on me at least two times per day while in the hospital, sometimes 3 times. Never in a rush to leave, and he speaks to you as an equal. I stayed in the hospital and did the regular things you are supposed to do like walk around, but thats been beaten to death on this forum so I wont re-hash it. On Wednesday we were transported by Dr. Kelly's wife and Anna to a different hospital for the swallow test. Literally took 30 seconds, and the small amount of liquid goes right down. Again Dr. Kelly is there explaining everything and showing you the monitor with your image on it.

We then checked into the Hotel Lucerna, it is as nice as everyone says it is. Dr. Kelly told me he would be stopping by here to check on us later today. I feel teriffic, and if it was not so expensive to change my flight I would go home tomorrow. Dr. Kelly and his staff provided each of us with several drink choices to bring into our rooms, and all the medication we would need to take home with us.

Dr. Kelly's program is like a well oiled machine. If I could think of even one thing to complain about I would let you know, but there just is nothing to complain about. (If he could get a masseuse to come to the hospital that would be sweet).

Well that ends my story for now. I know it has been said before, but if you are thinking about this surgery, but are nervous about it being done in Mexico, don't be. If you need help choosing a doctor, do your research and include my little rant in your decision making.

Thank you to Dr. Kelly, Cecilia, Omar and Anna.

Tony from Florida

Tony, I also went with Dr. Kelly . He was wonderful! Back then, in Feb, Trish was my coordinator, everyone was wonderful. I loved the hotel and hospital. I have had no medical issues what so ever since surgery and was very pleased with Dr. Kelly!

Ok I'm a little jealous. You got to eat chips and salsa the night before your surgery? I had Water

Anyhoo your story is similar to mine. I had a wonderful experience. I love Dr. Kelly. Down 14 lbs in 2 weeks. 24 lbs including two week pre-op diet.

Sent from my iPhone using VST

This thread makes me confident that I chose the right surgeon, thank you for sharing your experience and reassuring us all that we are doing the right thing! Good luck with your journey!

Me too! I am so happy to read about these great experiences!! Thank you for sharing! I am so excited and ready to get sleeved!

Hey Everybody, I have NOT been sleeved yet so I feel like I can't really make a direct comment on Dr. K just yet, but I noticed that on this website, if you go to Surgeons and search his name, it pulls up his profile (pretty sparse) and it still says he is affiliated with A Lighter Me which I know is incorrect. I've already informed Omar about this - I know they are working on updating a lot of his info including his facebook page and his twitter...

Anyway, it looks like he could use some recommendations - so those of you who have been to him and feel you can recommend him, please go there and say that!

Your experience was similar to mine. I enjoyed everything about my coordinator Trish and Dr. Kelly.

If you are reading this post, I encourage you to choose Dr. Kelly. However, if you do not, I encourage you not to make a rushed decision due to financing and research research research your doctor of choice. Take your time. Speak to many of their patients (not just one or two). Make sure that you have a supportive primary care doctor in your local area that is willing to do follow-up. You may also want to look into a supportive bariatric surgeon in your area in case you have complications from surgery.

Best wishes Tony!

It sounds like you are doing great! I am month post op from my surgery with Dr Kelly. The whole process was so easy, I wish I had done this years ago. I'm looking forward to going back for a tummy tuck when the time comes!

Thank you so much for taking the time out to post, it also has made me feel more comfortable that I have made the right decision in choosing Dr Kelly!

I will be sleeved on May 10th with him & a bit nervous, so always good to read a successful & happy story on Dr Kelly!

I'm glad my post may help people make a decision. I go home today. I feel terrific. Besides a little discomfort from the inguinal hernia incision I feel great. No pain meds needed and the gas is all gone. Just to add to my previous post, things have only gotten better. Dr. Kelly continues to check on us at the hotel. It's like we are old friends. Yesterday his assistant Anna accompanied a few of us to an area called Revolucion. We had a great time and she walked everywhere with us. We could stay as long as we wanted or leave when we wanted. I cannot say enough good things about Dr. Kelly, his wife Cecilia, Anna, and Omar.

You will not regret your choice.

I am returning to work on Sunday, just 6 days after surgery. Honestly if I was home already I probably would have returned to work already.

Tony

Did you stop in Ray's on Revolution Street? I loved that store, he had the most beautiful inlaid stone jewlry there. My only regret about going to Tijuana was that I didn't get more from his store while I was there,lol!

No. I'm not much into jewelry. But still had a blast.

Hey Everybody, I have NOT been sleeved yet so I feel like I can't really make a direct comment on Dr. K just yet, but I noticed that on this website, if you go to Surgeons and search his name, it pulls up his profile (pretty sparse) and it still says he is affiliated with A Lighter Me which I know is incorrect. I've already informed Omar about this - I know they are working on updating a lot of his info including his facebook page and his twitter...

Anyway, it looks like he could use some recommendations - so those of you who have been to him and feel you can recommend him, please go there and say that!

I, too, was a bit confused by the association with 'alighterme.com'. When I specifically addressed Dr Kelly at that site, I got amiable responses-- but with no info saying that he was no longer affiliated with them. It looks like this is just the politics of business; I don't expect that Dr Kelly's skill has been affected, though I imagine it causes him a bit of stress.

Paula

Ontario, Canada

I had the pleasure of meeting Tony while I was being sleeved!

My experience is almost the same, no need to type what he already wrote!! It was wonderful, I wouldn't hesitate to do it all over again with Dr. Kelly.

I know there are some website issues but I did meet his new webmaster while we were there and can only conclude that he is working on a new website.

AZSunshine I am SO happy to read this! I have moments of "WTF am I doing to myself???" and then I read these wonderful posts and it puts my mind at ease. It's cool that so many of us are going to physically cross paths while we are there! Makes it all seem real, finally.

And Paula - this is part of the problem that Dr. K has been facing. The same thing happened to me - I was searching for him in the beginning and kept getting dumped to different doctors because the coordinators wanted to steal the business from Dr. K. Then all of a sudden all of his statistics disappeared from obesityhelp.com (that was a coordinator that did that) That makes me really, really mad as I am doing this not by choosing a coordinator, rather by choosing a surgeon!!! So once I found that out, I contacted him directly and I've been EXTREMELY happy with my communications with them. Many of us feel this way about Dr. K and are trying to just let the drama die down and move on.

I'm really glad he's got Omar now, and they are working hard on getting his facebook page going, their website, etc. I'm trying to talk them into twittering too because I think that's a good thing!