Hi guys! I'm seriously considering lap-band surgery, and my insurance won't cover it. I've been looking into Tiajuana (sp?), and I've only heard glowing reports. Does anyone know anything negative that I should know? Thanks so much for your input.

Tj Doctors Are Great. Depending On A Good Referral. I Live In Yuma, Az And I Had A Doctor Referral. The Doctor Here Had A Nephew, Who Was General Surgreon In Tj. He Gave Me A Good Referral To Him. I Am 7wks Out And Have Had Some Generalized Problems That They Have Been Able To Fix. I Am So Far Very Pleased. You Need Someone Who Will Address Your Needs And Give Good Support. Just Like In The Us, You Can Have Some Really Good Doctors And Not So Good Doctors. I Have Lost 23 Pounds To Date. Good Luck In Your Provider Hunt.

Could you elaborate on the "generalized complications"? I live in Houston, and that was one of my big concerns being so far away if there were problems. Dr. Kuri or Dr. Ortiz were the Dr's. that I was primarily looking at.

I had mine done in Monterrey, Mexico with Dr. Zapata. He worked with Dr Sanchez until Sanchez was killed in a shooting of some sort. Anyway Sanchez was very instrumental in getting the lap band FDA approved in the Us. I believe he was a leader in the development of procedure. I had a very good experience there. I went through www.ready4achange and they basically took care of everything for me. My only regret I have is that when people say contact your surgea, it's kind of hard to do. Of course I haven't had any problems yet to contact my surgean about. Of course you also have the language barrier outside of the hospital and motel but my son and I did manage.

I went with Dr. Ortiz and was very pleased. He has done over 4,500 lapband procedures and is just a great guy. His staff also was awesome!

Mine was done with Dr.Ramos at Chihuahua, Mexico 90lbs lost since then . No complications!!!! Excelent service,treated like royalty

I also used Dr. Ortiz and getting hold of them has never been a problem. They give you several numbers to reach them. Also, I believe they can recommend someone in your area for aftercare if you are unable to fly to TJ often. Good luck with your decision.

I just got back from Tijuana. Had my surgery with Dr. Ortiz Tuesday. I cannot say ENOUGH good things about him, and his staff. The whole experience was AWESOME. It truly was like a vacation with a minor surgery thrown in, of course it is considered major, but you know what I mean! LOL

The nurses were great, and Dr. Ortiz is one of the few who use the alternate inflatable thingy in your throat, rather than intubation. THerefore you have no throat pain after surgery. Generally no pain at ALL after surgery, unless it's gas pain. Which generally don't last very long.

LOVED the hotel they put us in, and me and my husband both thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

I was VERY skeptical about going to MX, so I reasearched like a fiend! LOL

If you'd like to know more, I'd be happy to give you all the details. You can e-mail me at sparks2n2@yahoo.com

Good luck!

Donna

Hi guys! I'm seriously considering lap-band surgery, and my insurance won't cover it. I've been looking into Tiajuana (sp?), and I've only heard glowing reports. Does anyone know anything negative that I should know? Thanks so much for your input.

I used Dr. Ortiz. I had my band put on March 23, 2007. I had a wonderful experience at the OCC. Dr Ortiz and his staff are the best. I am returning on 5/26 for my first fill. I have lost 15lbs. thus far. Good luck on your journey.

dwysinger@aol.com

I had my band done on March 23rd by Dr. Ortiz. He and his staff are wonderful. I had a great experience. If you would like details, feel free to e-mail me. dwysinger@aol.com

I had surgery March 22 with Dr Ortiz, I would do it again in a minute. I had the best care ever. The whole staff was wonderful. Hotel they have you stay at is nice. I was really scared to go to Mexico too. But I was self pay, I did a lot of checking and felt that Dr Ortiz was a good choice for my surgery. I am so glad I went. I am down 20 pounds today.

mema

Hi.

I had my surgery on March 8th with Dr. Aceves in Mexicali. He operates out of a full hospital. Everything was top-notch and beyond clean!

Hi guys! I'm seriously considering lap-band surgery, and my insurance won't cover it. I've been looking into Tiajuana (sp?), and I've only heard glowing reports. Does anyone know anything negative that I should know? Thanks so much for your input.

I was with Donna on April 3rd in TJ at Dr. Ortiz's clinic and agree with her whole heartedly. The staff is excellent, the care was outstanding, and the experience as a whole was fairly painless. I'm back to work today teaching my kids and enjoying my first Protein shake. Really, it is good....I promise.

(1 cup soy milk, 1 T unsweetened cocoa, 1 scoop choc. Protein powder, 1 banana -- all blended together in my Magic Bullet). I'm going to try it with frozen mango chunks tomorrow.

After reading about other post op diets, I do think Dr. Ortiz is fairly strict, but he wants to be as safe as possible so you heal correctly and minimize the chances of a slip. He doesn't go to the extreme of expecting people to be on Clear liquids for two weeks like some docs do though.

Twigs

Hello All, I was looking into to Dr. Rumbaut in Monterrrey. Does anyone have anything to contrinute; good or bad?

I USED DR. OMAR DIAZ IN TJ - HE IS A GENERAL SURGEON. HE HAS A TEAM OF GASTRO DOCTORS, ALONG WITH HIM TO DO MY PROCEDURE. LOOK AT THIS E-MAIL ADDRESS WWW.OBESITYGOODBYE.COM. IT HAS BEEN SEVEN WEEKS SINCE MY SURGERY AND I HAVE LOST 23 POUNDS. I AM DOING GREAT. IF YOU WANT MORE INFO, YOU CAN E-MAIL ME @ KANCELET@HOTMAIL.COM. THE WEBSITE GIVES YOU THE DOCTORS CURICULUM VITEAU. YOU WILL BE IMPRESSED. I WENT TO A PRIVATE SURGICAL FACILITY INSTEAD OF THE HOSPITALS. IT WAS GREAT, NICE AND QUITE AND REALLY CLEAN. GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR SEARCH FOR A GOOD DOCTOR.

I went to Mexico too.

I wouldn't say that all reports are "glowing" because I have heard my share of horror stories but my personal experience I would rate as "okay". Not terrific, not terrible, but got the job done.

There are plenty of doctors in the US that take self pay now are are competitive with their rates. There are a few in Denver that are around $11k, one is Michigan that is $12k, a couple in Texas and in Chicago is $14k. I would suggest to look around. The aftercare once you have been banded in Mexico is frustrating but for me it is okay because I am closer to the border.

I don't think Mexico is bad, but I also would have paid the money to have it done in the US if it had only been $1k more. Just the safety and psychological security of it would of been nice. But I am not steering you away from Mexico (or Belgium or Europe) but I just want to suggest looking deeper into options here in the states.

And if BMI is an issue, nowadays doctors here in states will do that too because of the Mexico success.