Jump to content
×
Are you looking for the BariatricPal Store? Go now!

December Mexico Sleevers



Recommended Posts

Hi everyone!

My name is Michell. I am officially sch for my vertical sleeve on 12/12/12!!!!! Best date, best surgery EVER!!

I am very new to this forum and would love to talk to others with an upcoming December surgery...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi everyone!

My name is Michell. I am officially sch for my vertical sleeve on 12/12/12!!!!! Best date' date=' best surgery EVER!!

I am very new to this forum and would love to talk to others with an upcoming December surgery...[/quote']

Hi! I have a surgery scheduled for Dec. 3rd with doctor Alvarez in, well I forget the name of it, but we cross the border in Eagle Pass Texas.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Oh nice! Please contact me afterwards so I can hear about your experience!!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I will! I'm so excited! :-)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi! I have a surgery scheduled for Dec. 3rd with doctor Alvarez in, well I forget the name of it, but we cross the border in Eagle Pass Texas.

Dr Alvarez is doing my sleeve December 21. \o/

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I am with Dr Garcia on Dec 4th! Merry Christmas to me!! :P

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Dr Alvarez is doing my sleeve December 21. \o/

Yay! Aren't you excited? He's such a good doctor. He comes highly recommended :-)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Yay! Aren't you excited? He's such a good doctor. He comes highly recommended :-)

My husband, daughter and myself are booked for December 24th with Dr. Garcia......in hospital for Christmas Day :-( lol

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I am trying to decide right now whether to go with Dr. Alvarez, Aceves or Ortiz. It is agony making this decision. How did you make your decision?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I am trying to decide right now whether to go with Dr. Alvarez' date=' Aceves or Ortiz. It is agony making this decision. How did you make your decision?[/quote']

I've bounced around from all those surgeons as well... I was interested in Aceves and Alvarez because everyone raves about them, and I know they great surgeons, but I would have to save up another year or so to go with one of them and I want the surgery as soon as I can get it. I was for certain that I was going to go with Ortiz after that because hes about $2000 cheaper than Alvarez and Aceves... That was until I asked how many sleeves he has done, and I was told around 500. I don't doubt that he's an awesome surgeon, but he's mainly known for Lapband and now plication surgery (which I absolutely do not want to get) so I started looking into other surgeons like Dr. Garcia and Dr. Lopez. I've read a lot of wonderful things about them both. I've been speaking with coordinators from alighterme, and they have been wonderful. Dr. Lopez has done over 3,000 sleeves and if I'm not mistaken, has never had a leak. He also works with his wife who is a bariatric surgeon as well, so you're getting two for the price of one! Haha plus it was more along my price range... It was a little under $5000. I'm sure whichever surgeon you choose, it will be a good choice. :)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I am trying to decide right now whether to go with Dr. Alvarez' date=' Aceves or Ortiz. It is agony making this decision. How did you make your decision?[/quote']

I was originally scheduled with Dr. Aceves. Someone from my church went to him and had great success! He couldn't say enough wonderful things about him, his staff, and the hospital. I did notice though that he had done 2500 lap bands and 1600 sleeves. To me that meant that sleeves weren't his specialty. I could be wrong. Also I know he's an excellent doctor. Then I kept seeing. Dr. Alvarez's name pop up on these boards. I looked him up out of curiosity. He's done 3700 sleeves and only 10 leaks. He's written a book on sleeves, which I downloaded and bought. Then i called Susan and she answered all my questions. And then I decided, for my own reasons, to switch. They are both great doctors. I don't think you can go wrong with either one.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Originally I was going to get banded by Dr Ortiz but had insurance to cover it. When I started looking at converting to the sleeve I called his coordinator Lori and asked how many sleeves Dr Ortiz had done. I dont recall the number, but it was quite satisfactory.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I am trying to decide right now whether to go with Dr. Alvarez, Aceves or Ortiz. It is agony making this decision. How did you make your decision?

It was definitely hard choosing. I looked at a number of things like reviews on each doctor from real people and following their losses and/or complicatinos, their specialty and how many procedures they'd done, etc. I also looked here and didn't research anyone that was below a 7. I also liked that Dr Alvarez has a presence on twitter and youtube... feels like a more robust program aimed at educating people about the procedure and making sure they get great care. He just seemed to go the extra mile and not be about 'come here, it's really cheap."

Location was also important and since the friend that is going with me lives in Texas, it was just much simpler for me to choose Dr Alvarez and then return to Houston, rest up for a few days and then fly home.

When it looked like I might not have enough money, I considered going elsewhere but I just couldn't make myself do that.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I went to Dr. A...you will do great. He is an awesome surgeon! If you have any questions just pm me!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

  • Trending Products

  • Trending Topics

  • Recent Status Updates

    • BeanitoDiego

      Oh yeah, something I wanted to rant about, a billing dispute that cropped up 3 months ago.
      Surgery was in August of 2023. A bill shows up for over $7,000 in January. WTF? I asks myself. I know that I jumped through all of the insurance hoops and verified this and triple checked that, as did the surgeon's office. All was set, and I paid all of the known costs before surgery.
      A looong story short, is that an assistant surgeon that was in the process of accepting money from my insurance company touched me while I was under anesthesia. That is what the bill was for. But hey, guess what? Some federal legislation was enacted last year to help patients out when they cannot consent to being touched by someone out of their insurance network. These types of bills fall under something called, "surprise billing," and you don't have to put up with it.
      https://www.cms.gov/nosurprises
      I had to make a lot of phone calls to both the surgeon's office and the insurance company and explain my rights and what the maximum out of pocket costs were that I could be liable for. Also had to remind them that it isn't my place to be taking care of all of this and that I was going to escalate things if they could not play nice with one another.
      Quick ending is that I don't have to pay that $7,000+. Advocate, advocate, advocate for yourself no matter how long it takes and learn more about this law if you are ever hit with a surprise bill.
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • BeanitoDiego

      Some days I feel like an infiltrator... I'm participating in society as a "thin" person. They have no idea that I haven't always been one of them! 🤣
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • ChunkCat

      Thank you everyone for your well wishes! I totally forgot I wrote an update here... I'm one week post op today. I gained 15 lbs in water weight overnight because they had to give me tons of fluids to bring my BP up after surgery! I stayed one night in the hospital. Everything has been fine except I seem to have picked up a bug while I was there and I've been running a low grade fever, coughing, and a sore throat. So I've been hydrating well and sleeping a ton. So far the Covid tests are negative.
      I haven't been able to advance my diet past purees. Everything I eat other than tofu makes me choke and feels like trying to swallow rocks. They warned me it would get worse before it gets better, so lets hope this is all normal. I have my follow up on Monday so we'll see. Living on shakes and soup again is not fun. I had enough of them the first time!! LOL 
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • BeanitoDiego

      Still purging all of the larger clothing. This morning, a shirt that I ADORED wearing ended up on top. Hard to let it go, but it was also hard to let go of those habits that also no longer serve my highest good. Onward and upward!
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • Onedayatatime365

      Looking to connect with others who are also on the journey of better health. Post-Op Gastric Sleeve (4/11/24).
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
  • Recent Topics

  • Hot Products

  • Sign Up For
    Our Newsletter

    Follow us for the latest news
    and special product offers!
  • Together, we have lost...
      lbs

    PatchAid Vitamin Patches

    ×