Mexico

[Taylee 5]

I'm trying to get my husband on board with me going to Mexico and he's driving me nuts.

He wants to know why is the practice in Mexico if it's a bunch of Americans getting it done, and why is it so much cheaper??

Anyone help me please

[IMSKINNY 160]

The cost to practice medicine is cheaper in other countries because their malpractice costs are so much lower. I know that's one reason.

[StrangelyNormal 182]

The surgeons have about 7 yrs more experience with the sleeve. The cost of living there is a fraction of the cost hence the surgery costs being so low. U actually have better care such as more attentive nurses and Ur spouse is catered to. I'm documenting my surgery in Mexico on YouTube. Www.YouTube.com/shesstrangelynormal is my channel

[StrangelyNormal 182]

It's called Medical Tourism. Becoming more and more popular

[cissiesue 119]

It basically boils down to pesos and dollars. Our dollar is worth more than their peso, usually 12 -14 pesos to one dollar. Hence, cost of living, medical expenses are less. Its the ol' trickle down effect.

[I_Sd8_em 28]

Malpractice is one reason but a very small one. Mostly it is Govt involvement and insurance companies that really drive prices up. Remember in Mexico 5500 dollars is a heck of alot more than it is here. Maybe even 3-4 times more? B/C of construction and over head prices, labor costs, living costs, etc.... Also tell your husband that even here 100-150 times a year the wrong limb or body part is removed, and many more wrong limbs/sites are operated on, and thousands of medication error occur! So over all America has the best trustworthy care, YES! But it will change, and it will be harder to find appropriate honest unbiased governmental influenced care!

[Purpleswirlie 10]

Oh hunny - I was SO in the same boat a few months ago. For me, the money wasn't the issue so much as the hassle that US doctors put patients through. My local doctor pretty much blew me off when I asked about wight loss surgery, but Dr. Alvarez in Mexico spent a ton of time explaining the procedure and was willing to Skype with me and my husband to introduce himself and answer all my questions. A book I HIGHLY recommend is Patients Beyond Borders http://www.amazon.com/Patients-Beyond-Borders-Everybodys-World-Class/dp/0979107903 . Basically it dispels a lot of myths about Medical Tourism and gives you things to look out for,

The US does not have the best hospitals, far from it. The US ranks 37th overall in quality of healthcare. The only thing our doctors are #1 at is price! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Health_Organization_ranking_of_health_systems

Anyway, as far as your husband goes, his reservations are totally normal. Arm yourself with facts and present them to him in a non-threatening way. The thing I learned the hard way was that my husband had to be "in the mood" to talk about it. I finally built up the courage to tell him my plan while we were walking the dog - no TV to distract us. After attending local seminars and researching this for YEARS I said to him, "Look, this is what I want to do and I'd really like your support." It helped to have everything figured out first - I have money saved up (it doesn't hurt that I'm the major breadwinner). I checked with my life insurance lady to make sure this didn't void my policy (it doesn't).

Now he's kind of excited to be going to Mexico - neither of us have been there before. I'm gettin' sleeved the 26th of this month and I'm THRILLED!!!!

Good luck, Taylee!

By the way - your dog is SOOO cute!

[SylviaMom 83]

I had the same struggle. Hubby was afraid I would come back with one less kidney, if I came home at all. LOL. My decision to go to Mexico, and particularly with the doctor I chose (dr. Aceves) was about finding the most experienced and well respected revision surgeon. getting bariatric surgery is not an area that i wanted to be penny shy and pound foolish. No pun intended. Dr. Aceves had 100 times more sleeve surgeries than the local "specialist". This was a no brainer particularly when all the data shows experience is highly corelated with successful, complication free surgeries. We had budgeted and planned for surgery in Washington state but I simply could not find a local doctor with the experience and kind/quality of referrals that Dr. Aceves had. Also, the self-pay rates I was being quoted weren't inclusive....meaning if I had a leak or some other complication during surgery, I would be out of pocket. That was on top of a 2 or 3x price difference.

The truth is medical care in the U.S. is very expensive for a number of reasons...and quality of care is not the reason. Without getting too political, the medical and insurance lobby are extraordinarily powerful in the states...and we Americans are pretty darn litigious too.

Ultimately, I went to Mexico alone because of a number of reasons but I needed to do what was right for me. I followed my heart and my instinct and luckily it worked out. My Mexicali and hospital experience was far better than any hospital experience in the states. The stay for the sleeve was 4 days (in contrast to the overnight stay typical in the states) and the hostipal was clean and professional. Because my band was eroded, Dr. Aceves was not able to complete the sleeve (just did the removal). I will be heading back in Decembre for my surgery. Good luck in your journey and remember that your heart knows.