female only $$ - VS done in USA vs Mexico or Canada

[SqueakyWheel&Ethyl 160]

My VS is done, but I'm curious about all the international travel procedures I've seen here in chats. I'm sure someone has weighed the pros and cons for why they chose to go outside the US. How much (ball park estimate) is it in Mexico? Canada? What are the pros/cons?

[KatInFL 216]

My VS is done, but I'm curious about all the international travel procedures I've seen here in chats. I'm sure someone has weighed the pros and cons for why they chose to go outside the US. How much (ball park estimate) is it in Mexico? Canada? What are the pros/cons?

I paid less than $5,000, including airfare and incidentals, for my surgery in Mexico. My health insurance has a specific exclusion for weight loss surgery (they don't cover it under any circumstance). Paying out of pocket with the surgeon I initially saw locally would have been approximately $28,000.

Not only was the cost savings significant, I really feel like I got personalized attention I wouldn't have gotten in the US. I met and spent a fair amount of time talking with every doctor who treated me. I felt like my surgeon truly cared about me and less like I was a number in the list of surgeries to be done that day.

I've had multiple other surgeries in the US, only one of which required a hospital stay. Having my VSG in Mexico allowed for a little bit of an extended recovery in the hospital, since in the US it would have been an outpatient procedure.

If my insurance would have covered it, would I still have paid to go to Mexico? I doubt it. I just don't have the extra cash to be throwing around, if it had been a minimal out of pocket expense, it would have made sense to stay local. I AM glad that I was able to have the experience of going to Mexico.

~Kat

[SqueakyWheel&Ethyl 160]

Thanks for sharing. That's good to know the experience was good. I might consider it for a Tummy Tuck or boob job after this is over. I doubt my insurance will cover either of those.

[KatInFL 216]

Thanks for sharing. That's good to know the experience was good. I might consider it for a Tummy Tuck or boob job after this is over. I doubt my insurance will cover either of those.

I will probably be looking at Mexico for plastics, when the time comes. Barring some huge issue caused by excess skin, I don't foresee my insurance paying for plastics, either.

~Kat

[SerendipityHappens 1,594]

My surgery was $4,500 in Mexico.. Would have been $20,000 or more here in Pennsylvania.. My doctor in Mexico has done a few thousand bariatric procedures.. the doctor I was looking at in pennsylvania had only done 200 procedures!

My price included the cost of the preop testing, the operation itself, two nights in the hospital post op, plus an additional two nights in the hotel, plus ground transportation from the airport/hotel/hospital.

[No game 14,437]

I may be sensitive but the only issue I have is when I repeatedly hear that Mexican doctors and the hospital care is "better" than the USA...

It's not true in my book there are good and bad in both places!

Please be mindful if this...

I must also say I'm not specifically speaking to you guys. It just something I see from a lot of members here that chose Mexico

[SerendipityHappens 1,594]

I may be sensitive but the only issue I have is when I repeatedly hear that Mexican doctors and the hospital care is "better" than the USA...

It's not true in my book there are good and bad in both places!

Please be mindful if this...

I must also say I'm not specifically speaking to you guys. It just something I see from a lot of members here that chose Mexico

I agree, that's why we have to research, research, research!

I think the main difference is that for most of us you're going to go in the USA, you will likely go with someone who is close to you and your choices are limited.. in my case it was a doctor who charged 20K and was not all that experienced. Most of us are not checking all doctors in the USA we're just checking the ones close to us.. When you're going to Mexico, you choose from many doctors and facilities in a variety of cities to get the one that's the best fit for you. I would never say that my doctor in Mexico is better than any Doctor in the USA.. , but I DEFINITELY felt more comfortable with my surgical team than the doctor I was researching that was near me. If I lived in a different city and was researching a different doctor, I may have felt differently.

[KatInFL 216]

I may be sensitive but the only issue I have is when I repeatedly hear that Mexican doctors and the hospital care is "better" than the USA...

It's not true in my book there are good and bad in both places!

Please be mindful if this...

I must also say I'm not specifically speaking to you guys. It just something I see from a lot of members here that chose Mexico

I certainly didn't mean to disparage anyone's experience who has had the procedure in the US. Obviously, I can't say one way or the other anything about someone else's experience. I can only compare my VSG experience with other surgical experiences I've had.

I think SerendipityHappens is correct; my experience in the US was limited to doctors I was familiar with in my area...both for the VSG and other procedures. A whole lot more research went into my choosing a doctor for my VSG, for example, than who I chose to remove my gallbladder.

My apologies if I tread on any toes.

~Kat

[SqueakyWheel&Ethyl 160]

I would be surprised to hear anything less than enthusiasm about the Mexico experience. There are so many who chose it, and obviously a competitive market for it internationally. If I wasn't fortunate enough to have double coverage, I would have probably gone that route, too.

If I were a surgeon in a foreign country wanting to get a piece of the US VS surgery profits, I'd certainly put together a package that would be a far more appealing experience for the person shelling out the money.

[CharmingTortoise 83]

I've never heard of anyone going to Canada for surgery. I would love to hear of their experiences. Canada is much closer to me than Mexico. Should I have the desire for plastics later I might look to Canada. Guess I never even thought of it as an option.

[kerrbeari 14]

I'm Canadian and in my province very few wls are done (50 a year) & to get on the approx 2 year waiting list you have to have co-morbidities. To self pay (and not wait) would have cost approx $17,000 and I would have had to go to Toronto or Quebec. I chose Mexico for financial reasons.