I had surgery just over 1 week ago. I am no expert, but I thought I would post some tips for VSG in Mexico, based on my experience. I hope others will post their tips too. These are my personal suggestions, but as always, the old disclaimer applies…”your mileage may vary!”

The top 5 criteria for choosing a surgeon in Mexico are usually location, price, the DR, the facility, and the coordinator. You can narrow down your choice by focusing on answers to these criteria.

Location-It seems that most people on the forum go to Tijuana/Mexicali, Cancun, or Puerto Vallarta. There are other locations, too. Location is a good criteria to start narrowing down your choices if the location is important to you.

Price-The cost varies by location, doctor, and coordinator. Your BMI and other health factors will also affect the price. The coordinator web site will explain those.

DR-For everyone, the DR will probably be the primary concern. Do a search on the forum and read what others say about the DRs you are considering. My thinking is that any of the DRs mentioned on the forum are probably equally competent. It is in their best interest to take care of their patients and not have any issues. You can also check out information about them on their coordinator’s web site. I think many doctors may be represented by more than one coordinator. I also did a google search on the DR I chose. I felt very comfortable with him based on the information I found, I went to Cancun with that confidence, and it never wavered. I think that was a key component of having a good experience.

Facility-If you narrow your choice down to a specific DR, you might not have much choice in the facility. If the facility is critical to you, you might want to decide on that before narrowing down to a choice of DR. I want to say one thing about comments on “strip mall clinics.” I went to one that some people would call a strip mall clinic. It was a building that adjoined other shops along the street. I would not call it a strip mall in the American sense. You have to keep in mind that you are in Mexico, not the US. I would compare the clinic to an older small hospital that you could find in many small US towns. It was very clean and while a few nurses did not speak English, communication was not a problem. They use the same medical practices as in the US, although they may not be as high tech. For instance, they took my temperature with a thermometer in the armpit instead of the high tech thing they stick in your ear in the US. Both methods work!

Coordinator-The coordinator may be your least important criteria—it was for me. However, I realized that the coordinator can help you immensely. I chose a coordinator with a top BBB rating and with lots of positive comments on the forum. You can find lots of information on their web sites and you can ask them any questions you have.

To sum it up, I think my experience was good for me because I was confident in my choice and once I made my decision, I didn’t look back or question. My husband went with me and he was great support. He had traveled in Mexico more than me and he helped me to maintain a go-with-the-flow attitude that made the experience stress- free.

Suggested Reading -For post-surgery, you really need to make sure you understand the diet you will be on when you get home. You won’t have a nutritionist to consult with, unless you choose to find one yourself. Or this forum can be a great help too, although when I have seen some of the posts about diet by newly sleeved forum members, I don’t think they all quite understand what they should be eating. For that reason, I recommend that you buy Dr Alvarez book, Successful Weight Loss with the Gastric Sleeve. It will explain the surgery in Mexico and gives good information on the diet. The other book you will find useful is The Big Book on the Gastric Sleeve by VST’s own Alex Brecher. You should have both of those books.

Post Op Diet-I had diet instructions form the clinic and from my DR. I already was pretty familiar with the diet, thanks to the above mentioned books and working with a nutritionist 5 years ago when I considered lap band. But when I got home, I found I was confused because I was trying to stick to all the suggestions. I finally threw away the clinic instructions and modified my DRs instructions using the timeline in Dr Alvarez book. People think the DRs all have different diets, but in reality the diets are all the same. It is just the timing of each phase of the diet progression that differs. The progression is clear liquids, full liquids, soft food, pureed food, regular food. My understanding is that full liquids is the stage where you add the protein shakes. I am following my DRs food choice guidelines, but using Dr Alvarez progression so I am not starting soft/pureed food until 3 weeks.

I am very happy with my choice I have a lot to learn, but I’m looking forward to it. The key is to make your decision, arm yourself with information, and never look back!

I have to agree with everything you've written, in fact, except that our locations are different, I could have written this

Very informative! Thank you!

I have no regrets on going to TJ for my surgery..... both my PCP and cardiologist were for it as well, my cardiologist took the time to help me go over WHAT to look for..... and I used his criteria to seek out a doctor and went with confidence, I traveled with my 20 year old son because he speaks Spanish.... had no language issues with the doctors, a few of the medical assistants.... did nto speak English... but they had preprinted sheets for every possible want or need.... everyone was so friendly, the clinic was clean... very small, very old.... but I never felt like it was a bad choice, not once, my driver was great and took great care and visited everyday..... I would def recommend this way if your insurance does not cover.

I'm glad other sleevers are leaving their comments. I think people who are considering Mexico, but are afraid will be reassured. One book I forgot to mention--The Bariatric Foodie Guide to Perfect Protein Shakes gives recipes and more importantly, the "science" behind creating smoothies, hot drinks, puddings, and ice cream with protein powder.