Help :z

I have been researching surgeons and facilities for a while now and am going cross-eyed, lol.

I think I have finally narrowed it down to these 3:

Dr Alejandro Lopez-Ortega

Dr Ramos Kelly

Dr Ariel Ortiz

(I also really liked what I read about Dr. Ismael Cabrera Garcia but he isn't ASMBS certified)

I'm looking for ANY feedback, information or experience you have regarding any of the above surgeons or the facilities they use (positive or negative). I'm hoping to book the surgery for the first week of December, so I need to make a decision soon and am hoping your replies will help me

Thank you very much!!!

Can you consult with all three? I usually try to get reviews from www.vitals.com and Angie's list as well. Good luck.

I was sleeved by Dr. Ortiz in February 2013 and was very pleased. You are welcome to check out my blog for more information on how I selected Dr. Ortiz, my travel and surgery experience. Keep doing your research and figure out the right surgeon for you. You need to be 100% sold on your choice - it will make the whole decision much easier. Good luck! www.hoosierfatty.wordpress.com

Thanks MBF and HG!

 

I started reading your blog, Hoosier and it's great...thanks

 

I'm still confused about which surgeon to go with. Every time I think I've settled on one, I change my mind! I am on a budget otherwise I would chose Dr Ortiz. Knowing this, I need to decide whether I should wait until I can afford Dr Ortiz or determine whether I feel comfortable going with one of the more affordable surgeons.

 

My criteria for choosing is a combination of their assistant/coordinators, certifications/fellowships/designations, information available about them, feedback/reviews and price. Obviously, I want the best surgeon for the best price, lol.

 

Anyhoooooo....I'm sure I'll figure it out.

I used Dr Kelly on 4/6/13. I was very impressed! I have not had any complications and am 10 lbs from goal weight. My husband has decided to get sleeved and we will go back to Dr Kelly! Let me know if you have questions. Linda

I used Dr Ramos Kelly. I would recommend him highly. I am a surgeon in Virginia and when I wanted to speak to the surgeons to get into , d Ramos was the most accessible and answered any and all of my questions. He actually has more experience with the most difficult cases. Which any surgeon will tell you is the best way to choose a surgeon.

I'm scheduled with Dr. Ortiz at the OCC in February 2014. I have read nothing but amazingly positive things about him and everyone who works with him. All of the things I read on here about him have put my mind to ease. I'm so excited to have my surgery Dr. Ortiz and cannot wait! I reviewed many of the doctors and made my pros and cons list… it came down to Dr. Ortiz and another doctor and ironically right now I can't even remember the other doctor's name. I remember that his surgery was cheaper but in the end my gut and my level of comfort was with Dr. Ortiz.

I went to Dr Ramos Kelly and was sleeved 7/17. He is fabulous. He spent a lot of time talking with me and my sister (who was there to take care of me). The hospital staff were fantastic even though I didn't speak Spanish. Dr Kelly came to the hotel every day after I was released. Happy to share info about my experience.

Oh, my heck! - Those are the EXACT same 3 surgeons that I had narrowed my choice down to, too! You probably used the same criteria I did - Reputation, success rate, reviews, accessibility (for questions, etc.), price, type of facility the procedure is performed at, and the rankings of those facilities. I finally decided on Dr. Lopez with Specialized Bariatrics, Inc. My surgery date is set for January 20, 2014 where my mom and I will both be getting sleeved. My coordinator, Cathy is a sweet lady and has been able to answer all of my questions. Dr. Lopez has performed thousands of weightloss surgeries and one thing that impressed me was that he was a part of MBC, but he and his wife (also a bariatric surgeon) decided to go out on their own. Yes, "Specialized Bariatrics, Inc." is fairly new (Sep '13), but the surgeons are not new and have plenty of experience. Call me old-fashioned, or a religious fanatic, but after I did all of this reasearch (over about 6 months), I prayed about what to do and I got the best feeling about Dr. Lopez for my situation. So, that's where I'm going. I am so excited for this next chapter of my life. I would have scheduled the surgery for sooner, but I didn't know how long it would take to renew my passport, and then I had issues with my work schedule and I did NOT want to be flying around the holidays. Hence, January 20 is the golden date! Good luck with your decision!

I totally get your confusion. I started off with Dr. Lopez. Flipped back and forth between him and Dr. Ponce de Leon. Occasionally I mentally switched over to Dr. Ortiz and Dr. Kelly. I then leaned towards Dr. Garcia..... Ultimately I went with none of them (lol) and I chose Dr. Aceves. Good luck making your choice. You will find a lot of info and feedback here...

I was going to go with Dr. Kelly, but I heard some bad things about him from his patient coordinater. Something about how he put a patient in the hospital with pus pockets because he used black market staples. 0.o

I have no way of telling if it was true, mind, and lots of people are happy with him, but it was his own patient coordinater who said that. Lora, I believe her name was.

Anyway, for me at least, Dr. Kelly was a pain to get a hold of, wouldn't answer my emails for days. Then Lora tried to get me to do it with some other Dr and it was just a mess.

So I dropped the whole lot of them and went with Dr. Illan. He's great about answering emails, and he has a facebook group for patients of his and they all love him. I'm going to see him in just a few days and I'm so excited!

Hi everyone

Thank you for all you replies! I decided to go with Dr Ortiz. My second choice was Dr Lopez but I went with Dr Ortiz because of the OCC designation.

Hi everyone Thank you for all you replies! I decided to go with Dr Ortiz. My second choice was Dr Lopez but I went with Dr Ortiz because of the OCC designation.

Nice! My friend and I are both going to the OCC the week of feb 16th for our sleeves