I'm new to this site but looking through several posts I see that people go down south of the border to have the VSG done, is there a reason for this? Or is it strictly because of costs that people are going there.

Yea I believe it's mostly the self pay patients. It's alot cheaper down there and the doctors are supposedly very good and knowledgeable.

I went to Mexico for my sleeve for a multitude of reasons.

My insurance has complete and total exclusion on bariatrics of any type. I knew I would have to be self pay. When I started researching options, the only surgeons that were in my reach financially within the US were either very inexperienced or had shady reputations...and their prices did not include meds, or a variety of other fees.

Additionally, I wanted my surgeon to have had many years of experience specifically with the sleeve. I found through my research that I was able to find a varied selection of Mexican surgeons that had this experience, as other countries (on aggregate) have been doing stand-alone sleeves longer than US surgeons. That is not to say that this is true for ALL US surgeons (don't flame me!), but it is distressing to see the number of US surgeons who have done a dozen or less sleeves being touted as "experienced".

For me, it came down to being realistic about availability of funds combined with the surgical experience I was looking for. I had my sleeve surgery in a hospital staffed exclusively with BSN prepared RNs, with a nurse to patient ratio of 3:1. That is nearly unheard of in the US. My surgeon and his team visited me personally several times a day, both before and after my surgery. This is also virtually unheard of in the US. As a wound care nurse, I get to deal with a lot of post-op wrecks as far as bad surgical techniques, poor closures, etc. The fact that my doc did not 1, but 3 leak tests (one in the OR, a methylblue first day post op and fluorscopy 2nd day post op), and that I could only find a couple US surgeons that did the same (and they were both WAY out of my price/distance range) made a big difference to me. Being a Registered Nurse makes me a bit more than simply an "educated consumer" - I am intimately acquainted with the other side of the nurse's station, and how the politics in US hospitals and nursing can be a detriment to the patient.

I know that going to Mexico may seem a little crazy. But it comes down to comfort and research. I had very strict standards that I wanted in both my surgeon and hospital facility - I was unable to find these standards in the US, so I looked elsewhere. Medical Tourism is a growing industry - can I tell you that I felt more pampered as a surgical patient abroad than I ever have when going to the local spa, a place that is supposed to be designed for pampering?? lol

There are many, many stories on this board of why people have made the decision to leave country for surgery - whether to go to Mexico, India, or beyond. If you have further questions, feel free to PM me

~Asche, The Crazy Cat Lady

I went to Mexico and Dr. Aceves for the same reasons as Crazy Cat Lady. The guy is good, has done thousands of sleeves, participates in research studies, and the hospital has awesome care.

I agree with CrazyCatLady. We chose different doctors, but we did our research. None of us have taken this lightly AND we didn't shop around for the cheapest doctor. We looked at a variety of categories besides cost in choosing our Mexican doctor.

Yep, heading to Mexico on May 10th here.

I mainly decided to go because my insurance wouldn't cover bariatric surgery for me & it was cheaper then paying for it out-of-pocket in the US.

But after researching I am even more happy with my choice. They just have so much experience in Mexico!

So let me ask you this... If your insurance would have covered this procedure would you still have looked to Mexico? I guess you just hear horror stories about medical procedures going bad down there, so just curious.

I will be having my procedure done by Dr. Jamaal at the University of Iowa... They claim to be the birth place of baratric surgery, so hopefully everything goes as planned.

Honestly, if my insurance had covered this, I probably wouldn't have looked at Mexico, as I didn't know it was an option.

So would have had it done by my home.

Now, knowing what I know about MX & the doctors there... if I were to get approved by insurance tomorrow (or even a few weeks ago), would I switch?

I don't think so! I am totally happy with my choice of Dr's in Mexico.

I would have found an experienced doctor in the US had my insurance approved it. I also had an exclusion. However, I would have put just as much thought into my choice of doctor as I did in my Mexican surgeon. I enjoyed having a direct line to my doctor, not his nurse. I enjoyed an extra day in the hospital. I enjoyed the followups, even now. I enjoyed making a vacation of such a stressful decision. .....and many more.

For me it wasn't a big deal. I chose my doctor because of experience in addition to cost. Had I found one here in the states that had that much experience and my insurance covered it I would consider it.

I have tons of family in Mexico and am very comfortable with their health system so I might have stayed with a Mexican doctor.

All the "horror stories" are based in ignorance and racism towards Mexico, their doctors are just as capable as the ones in the states, if not better.

Also, most bad surgeries are plastics with an inexperienced surgeon.

If my insurance had covered it I probably would not had looked at Mexico but would had put has much effort as I have in finding the right surgeon in the USA. That being said, after all of my research I am very happy to have looked at Mexico as an option, and I would not change my surgeon now even if my insurance was to cover it. My surgeon is more experienced than most surgeons in the USA and him and his staff have expend a great deal of time talking to me, which is something you don't really get here in the states. My surgery is May 10th with Dr. Ponce De Leon in Tijuana Mexico and I cannot wait!

Yep, heading to Mexico on May 10th here.

I mainly decided to go because my insurance wouldn't cover bariatric surgery for me & it was cheaper then paying for it out-of-pocket in the US.

But after researching I am even more happy with my choice. They just have so much experience in Mexico!

I head to Mexico on May 6 for surgery on May 7....... Good Luck my Doctor is Dr Garcia.

For me it's not where, it's who. I wanted a facelift after my weight loss and researched both local surgeons and surgeons abroad. I picked a "surgeon's surgeon"--that is, a surgeon that surgeons go to for facial plastics. He was in Costa Rica and cost was about the same as surgery in the US, but the results are incredible.

For me it's not where, it's who. I wanted a facelift after my weight loss and researched both local surgeons and surgeons abroad. I picked a "surgeon's surgeon"--that is, a surgeon that surgeons go to for facial plastics. He was in Costa Rica and cost was about the same as surgery in the US, but the results are incredible.

Hi. I'd be interested in hearing more about your surgery in Coata Rico. How did you hear of your surgeon? Do you have before and after pics on the forum? And one final question, what's his name??

Thanks so much.

I am also going to Dr Garcia on 17th May. I am Australian but live in Canada. the healthcare system here (Alberta) covers the procedure - but I had an eroded lapband removed in January, and had to drive 4 hours each way to go to the doctor/hospital - it became difficult with my work to organize appointments and the driving was a pain!!

Two weeks ago I said - well I can keep waiting for the "free" surgery, or I can pay the money and have it done at my convenience. My situation may be different - but my choice was definitely to go to Mexico - I am excited and confident - also, I love to fly and travel - so to me everything is an adventure.