Hello everyone ! It's been awhile since I've been on here, but I wanted to tell you about my wonderful experience with Dr Illan.

February 11th, 2014, I flew alone to San Diego. Dr Illans coordinator (the amazing Omar) called me as soon as I landed and directed me to where I met up with my driver who took me across the border to TJ. Omar was waiting for me and took me directly to Florence Hospital. I had blood work, urine test, chest X-Ray and EKG. ALL my different doctors and surgeons came in to talk with me. The nurses were amazing and I realized then why everyone raves about Dr Illan and his team, you have simply never had such total and competent care taken of you. I was whisked away to surgery and woke hours later feeling sleepy but great !! - During my two nights in the hospital I was under constant care and observation. Then I was discharged and taken to my hotel which was like the most comfortable oasis of quiet. Omar even surprised me with a facial on the second night - it was marvelous !! - I spent the next two days being chauffered all over TJ and out of town to a fantastic beach resort for dinner on Valentines night !! Honestly I felt so great (no painkillers needed EVER !!) I had to keep reminding myself that I just had surgery, I felt more like I was on vacation !

I could go on and on, but you get the idea. I chose the most perfect team.

I got home on the night of Feb 15th, I drove myself home, next morning I cooked Breakfast for my husband, did some laundry, walked the dogs, I felt phenomenal. This past Tuesday was 4 weeks since the start of pre op diet and 3 weeks since surgery and I am down 20.4 pounds so I am thrilled.

Dr Illan and his team are young, skilled and progressive. They operate more by word of mouth and by that alone they are busy. The hospital was clean and sunny and comfortable. I cannot come up with a single negative thing to say. If you have any questions at all, please contact me, i'm delighted to help in anyway !!

Cheers !

Congratulations! Glad everything is going so well for you!

Thanks for sharing Leslie! I am scheduled with Dr. Illan for 3/24- exactly two weeks away! So excited. I have already seen how great the team is, as I was able to skype with Omar and Dr. Illan. I can't wait to be back on here sharing my weight loss success!

Thank you for sharing your experience. It is really nice to hear for those of us with the jitters behind you. I'm set for surgery this coming Saturday 3/15. I fly into San Diego on Friday.

Appreciate you.

My only reservation with Dr. Illan is his age and that he just finished med school 5 years ago

Great news! So glad you had a great experience. I would go back over and over again to Dr. Illan. He is such a talented surgeon and his team is totally awesome! Thank you Baja Bariatrics for taking such good care of my friend! ((hugs)) Sherry in VA

Thanks Sherry !!

My only reservation with Dr. Illan is his age and that he just finished med school 5 years ago

Funny how people use the same information. I liked his age and the amount of experience. I figured a couple hundred surgeries on his own and hundreds+ as an assistant was just right. He would still take his time, have steady hands and stamina, and not be too bored by the same procedure. His Trauma surgeon experience was the part that sealed the deal for me.

I started with a list of 20 surgeons. (including 4 stateside)

Best of luck on picking your surgeon. The one you choose in the end will be very personal to you.

Cookies and cream- I understand your concern but Dr. Illan is a the head of ER Trauma at one of the veteran hospitals there. I am very comfortable in his skill as a surgeon and his ability to handle any medical emergency that may arise. He also worked with Dr, Kelly assisting in over 5000 surgeries before branching out on his own and now has over a thousand. Also his patient reviews are nothing but stellar and anyone choosing him will be in great hands.

My only reservation with Dr. Illan is his age and that he just finished med school 5 years ago

Funny how people use the same information. I liked his age and the amount of experience. I figured a couple hundred surgeries on his own and hundreds+ as an assistant was just right. He would still take his time, have steady hands and stamina, and not be too bored by the same procedure. His Trauma surgeon experience was the part that sealed the deal for me.

I started with a list of 20 surgeons. (including 4 stateside)

Best of luck on picking your surgeon. The one you choose in the end will be very personal to you.

you are correct but years of experience and exposure to a lot of different cases, does play its role, right ?

Edited March 12, 201412 yr by Bignosemonkeydog

I think age (excess or lack of it)is a sticking point for many of us as we choose a healthcare professional (in my case, especially a surgeon). Because WLS is quite "physical" since so many patients are large people, physical stamina and agility were back-of-my-mind concerns as I considered surgeons. My confidence in Dr. Illan only went up as I talked to others about how fast, precise, agile and in-shape he was. I was also heartened to learn that he was a right-hand man to Dr. Kelly for so many years, clocking in hundreds of WLS surgeries at that time in addition to those stemming from his position at the IMSS hospital as a trauma surgeon.

I'm so glad there are many good affordable choices in MX. I know many of the physicians in the U.S. are accumulating expertise significantly more slowly than the Mexican surgeons because they don't get nearly the volume of cases.

Happy sleeving to all!