Suspicions....

[BellaItaliana 57]

My question to you is...do you have a dr. here in the states that is willing to take over your care once you are done??? From what I have heard, they have a terrible time getting your records from MX. Just be careful.

Not always the case. My doctor sent me home with a folder full of information to give my doctor in the US. It included my pre-op test results, and the surgeon's description and notes of my surgery. Everything that was done to me, and it was all in English. My US doctor actually commented on how thorough it was.

[Ms.AntiBand 2,984]

My question to you is...do you have a dr. here in the states that is willing to take over your care once you are done??? From what I have heard, they have a terrible time getting your records from MX. Just be careful.

I have never found it necessary to request my medical records from any of my MX surgeries. Surgeons up here have never hesitated in treating me

[AvaFern 3,516]

My surgery was 18K and I had it done in the same city in which I live in the #1 ranked hospital. My surgeon has a perfect record (he has never had a leak and mortaliy is 0%) and while he's kind of full of himself, I absolutely feel like I got what I paid for. I don't have to worry about any type of complications being untreated or unrecognized because his office is 20 minutes from my house. Also, as a self-pay patient I had BLIS insurance which covers any kind of issue I may have for the first several months. When I first found out the price it was a bit of sticker-shock, but I feel like there are some things in life where low cost leadership is not the marketing strategy that appeals to me.

There are great surgeons in Mexico, but the personal cost of traveling out of the country for a surgery that could ultimately kill me if I didn't have access to my doctor after the surgery, was not worth saving 10K.

[SerendipityHappens 1,594]

My question to you is...do you have a dr. here in the states that is willing to take over your care once you are done??? From what I have heard, they have a terrible time getting your records from MX. Just be careful.

I was discharged with everything I needed. They included a description of what was done to me, my blood work, EKG results, a video of my leak test, list of medications given and discharge and diet instruction.. This was all included in my $4,500 surgery cost. What more "records" does one need? I received follow up care from my GP. Couldn't be easier.

[mylifeinpink 350]

The skill. You get what you pay for.

Nope- there is nothing that's further from the truth. Sorry I respectfully disagree with ya

[SleeviePete 35]

Nope- there is nothing that's further from the truth. Sorry I respectfully disagree with ya

Everyone is entitled to their opinion.

[paradoxgal 4]

Everyone keeps saying you get what you pay for. I bet there is truth to that in a way that if someone has been doing it since the 80's as opposed to the past 3 years. I've been trying to decide which surgeon and facility to go with and and I think there is not truth in a way that complications can arise from any surgery and surgeon and facility. I would like to think that if I am paying more to have someone - like a skilled and experienced surgeon perform my surgery in a hospital, keep me on an iv to administer fluids and meds to control my pain and antibiotics for 2 nights instead of taking me right to a hotel to recover with pills... I think I can make the generalization make more sense.

[Nervia 9]

I was discharged with everything I needed. They included a description of what was done to me' date=' my blood work, EKG results, a video of my leak test, list of medications given and discharge and diet instruction.. This was all included in my 4,500 surgery cost. What more "records" does one need? I received follow up care from my GP. Couldn't be easier.[/quote'] Same here and I have had no problems. It was easy and economical, and I couldn't be happier!

[Nervia 9]

Everyone keeps saying you get what you pay for. I bet there is truth to that in a way that if someone has been doing it since the 80's as opposed to the past 3 years. I've been trying to decide which surgeon and facility to go with and and I think there is not truth in a way that complications can arise from any surgery and surgeon and facility. I would like to think that if I am paying more to have someone - like a skilled and experienced surgeon perform my surgery in a hospital' date=' keep me on an iv to administer fluids and meds to control my pain and antibiotics for 2 nights instead of taking me right to a hotel to recover with pills... I think I can make the generalization make more sense.[/quote'] Two people I personally know, had the surgery here in reputable hospitals, by experienced surgeons, have had repeated problems! Both had to return to the operating room several days after the initial surgery, due to complications. I went to a surgeon in Mexico, who probably has more experience with the sleeve than the US surgeon and have not had any issues. Lots of people here were still getting the lap band, at their surgeons suggestion, because the approval for the sleeve was still up in the air. The claim was, the research was not complete, and insurance was calling it experimental. They have been doing them in Mx for much longer. The fact i, though that each individual is different, any surgery comes with some risks, you just have to decide if you are willing to take the risk...I was, I couldn't afford the surgery here at home and my weight was slowly killing me anyway. My trip to TJ was a lifesaver for me...

[nillee 43]

If you get what you pay for then you get a rich hospital!! When I inquired at the hospital near me in Indiana the surgeon wanted 6000 but the hospital 20 000 dollars!!! Truth is, you really just get ripped off by the hospitals and not by the surgeons...so not sure what you pay for, but the surgeon isn't really expensive.

[Nervia 9]

If you get what you pay for then you get a rich hospital!! When I inquired at the hospital near me in Indiana the surgeon wanted 6000 but the hospital 20 000 dollars!!! Truth is, you really just get ripped off by the hospitals and not by the surgeons...so not sure what you pay for, but the surgeon isn't really expensive.

Since the surgeon has to do the procedure in the hospital, why separate the two costs? That could be misleading for those seeking to self pay...

[nillee 43]

No clue why they separated it - but that was the way I was given the quote...

[Mel1071 149]

Most docs who have self pay rates that I have researched do break things down - since insurance isn't involved, all the money is going straight to the entity. My center gave me the fees broken down by surgeon, hospital, and anesthesiologist.

[MNMema 82]

my fees have been broken down also.

[HoosierGirl 780]

I like this thread. I was quoted a self-pay price in Evansville, IN of $32,000 out the door for sleeve surgery. Turns out the I would have been the surgeon's 23rd sleeve procedure EVER...(only found that out after deciding to pursue other options). How scary is that?! My cost in Tijuana by a much more experienced surgeon was about 80% less. Oh, and I got my surgical notes about 10 days after my procedure and took them to my US primary care physician who told me I did a great job selecting my surgeon!

Conversely, I was quoted about $8,900 for plastics in Tijuana and $11,200 in Indy for the same procedures.

My thought is this...US hospitals charge more because they CAN - usually insurance companies pay the bills. Plastics is an elective thing, so doctors have to compete to get business and don't have insurance companies paying unlimited amounts. So, I think the US hospitals would be more competitively priced if they determined they HAD to be more competitive. My two cents!

I finally got to the point where I had to decide if I was open to the possibility that there was good medical care outside the US. And I was so pleasantly surprised by Tijuana. Would definitely go back and would be confident sending friends/family there. It's a really personal decision.