I found this from a Yahoo message board I am a member of and thought I would share it here. Very interesting.

THIS IS NOT MY EXPERIENCE. It is someone else's.

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Message: 9

Date: Fri, 01 Oct 2004 01:57:35 -0000

From: "deceivedbandster"

Subject: DECEIVED BY DR ponce de leon and Andres

I want to tell people to beware! I was banded by them 2 1/2 weeks ago and have just found out that they DID NOT put in the inamed LAPBAND I requested and agreed to!!!. I had to see a local doc about a port infection, and he did a swallow and found out i have the Sweedish band!!!!!! Andres will not return my calls or emails. He said he would send me the Inamed serial number 2 weeks ago - no wonder I dint get it.

I was promised and told i would get a US-approved band!!!!

I have talked with 2 other people here in florida today and

yesterdaywho went home from Dr Ponce de Leon without getting banded. they flew to MX, were in the hospital, on IV's and ready for surgery, and asked about the LspBand they were supposed to get. andres said they didn't have no more LapBands AND WERE NOT GOING TO USE IT ANYMORE!!! He tried to talk them into anothert, cheap band not approved in the USA!!! One other woman left the hospital and went to see Dr Kuri, who very kindly worked her into his already packed surgery schedule. Two other of Leon's patients also left and will be banded by Dr. Kuri this week.

I wonder how many more of you really don't have the band you think you do! I have talked with don mills about this today and hee says they have got other complaints like this, and ar investigating it.

Andres is calling the sweedish band the LapBand and hoping people don't know the difference. I tried to save some money by using Ponce and I regret it now. Use only the trusted and wellknown doctors.

Beware!

- Deceived

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SO for all you bandsters that used Dr. Ponce make sure you have a lapband and not the swedish one.

WOW!

This is horrible. Thanks for posting this Penni and making us all aware. I feel sad for those who thought the were getting an Inamed band. Being decieved by your doctor is just plain wrong! Is there anything these people can do for any kind of recourse?

It is unprofessional and unethical to deceive patients when they are trusting their lives to this kind of doctors. I know lots of patients who have the sweetish band and are doing ok with it, but it does not justify deceiving a patient and installing something in their bodies for the rest of their lives. I know that saving $1000 or maybe $2000 is a lot of money for some people, but do your research and go with the most recommended doctors. Does any one know if there is a way to report malpractice to the Mexican authorities?

One of my coworkers is a Mexican lawyer (although she specializes in corporate law, not malpractice). When I see her next week, I'll ask what remedies are available to a non-citizen via government agencies or the courts.

Just in case there are patients of Dr. Jamie Ponce in Georgia, I want to make certain this is NOT him. This is about a Dr. in Mexico, dr. ponce de leon.

Amazing what people will do for money. Sadly, they probably already have way more than the folks they are stealing from.

Even though what dr. Ponce de leon was wrong, I don't think that getting the Swedish band would mean all doom and gloom.

My husband and I researched all of the different types of bands before we decided on the Swedish band. The Swedish band is now owned by Johnson and Johnson and FDA approval in the US is not far off.

There are a lot of risks to going to Mexico to have surgery, it's a total leap of faith that one must make when the decision to have surgery there is made. There are good points and there are bad points. I've been fortunate that I had a great experience and have absolutely no regrets. I hate to hear that some patients are being deceived by their surgeons.

Nope. There is nothing at all wrong with the Swedish band. Many people opt for it, however, many American doctors will not touch it because it is not the one that is FDA approved in the US. I have heard of some Radiologists who will do fills on it, but it could become an issue if a person cannot find local treatment in the event of complications or something more serious than a fill.

I'm not well versed on all of this, however, I do know that J&J is currently in trials with a band which could be this same band. This could be a good thing for those who find that they do not have an Inamed band in the future.

It's still a dirty rotten thing to do to patients, knowing they will need an FDA approved band to be seen in the states. Makes you wonder a bit about the person's over-all character. ???

I think that it is difficult to find a physician to do your fills or any kind of aftercare if he/she was not the surgeon that placed the band in the first place. I really don't think that if I had the lapband instead of the Swedish band that it would have been easier to find a U.S. doctor to take me on as a patient after being banded by another surgeon.

I'm fortunate in that my doctor found a surgeon in the city where I live that is going to do my fills for me and is encouraging me to participate in his aftercare program. I go in Tuesday for my first fill with him, so I'm a little anxious to see how everything goes.

And you're right, it's a dirty rotten thing that ponce de leon did, but if enough of his patients voice their opinions about him deceiving them, then he won't be doing a lot of lapband surgeries in my opinion. There's a lot of competition in Mexico for patients, and I would think something like this would really hurt his "business".

I had Dr jaime Ponce de leon, but I used the obesity goodbye group, Andres is the pt coordinator with the Bajanor Group. Dr Ponce is a surgeon in several groups. I'm not sure if it's about the surgeon as much as the group or not. I had to discuss my decision with the pt coordinator, he is the one who informed the surgeon that I'd chosen the Midband. I was given the box, the numbers and 2 cards with band info, so I'm hoping I got what I asked for.

I think it's just plain evil to do something so deceitful as giving a patient something different than they asked for, and I do hope that there is some kind of retribution for those patients. That must feel like a total violation.

I had a good experience with my surgery so far, but I have to wonder what it would have been had I asked for the inamed lapband...

wow! Thats a bit scary. I never even thought of the wrong band being put in.

Geesh the things we have to worry about.

Amy

This whole situation makes me wonder about other Mexico doctors too. I never got a serial number for my band and I know of several others who used the same doctor who did not get serial numbers for their lap bands. I am pretty certain I got what I ordered but it does cause you to wonder a little too. Penni, I took you up on your advice and called Oasis of Hope for my surgical records. The fellow I talked to referred me to someone else and gave me a phone number. Ends up it was to Diane Beck and she is helping me get those records. Hopefully whatever she does works... Don Mills and Diane are sending me my Inamed card but for some reason Diane said that Dr. Lopez doesn't have my serial number. She says that she never got one either (she was banded years ago) and I know of a few others who never got theirs either. I guess I was supposed to be sent home with all these records and the Inamed card but I never got mine when I left. Don't know.... Penni, did you get your serial number? Teresa

I agree

It's still a dirty rotten thing to do to patients

I have the swedish band, AKA J&J. Was given serial number manufacture etc.. I knew I was getting it.

When Calling on Fill/after care Dr. Billy's office told me they would NOT service non-Inamed bands. I'm forunate to have Dr. McKeen within 20 minutes for care.

When the trails are over and the J&J band is approved I expect more doctors to use and offer after-care.

Tricia I thought you already had a fill? Will it be under flouro?

Don't know.... Penni, did you get your serial number?

Nope I didn't and was told that he does not save that information. He doesn't think it is important to put in the records. I was so hoping that it would be in my medical records but who knows they are all in spanish. LOL!! Lopez is just a jerk and doesn't really care about his patients. SIGH!!

Originally posted by Vera

Tricia I thought you already had a fill? Will it be under flouro?

I had my first fill on August 27th.

Dr. Houston will be giving me my second fill, and yes he's going to use Flouro. I wouldn't do it if he didn't

I met up with a local girl who had surgery with Dr. Lopez last year and she said she couldn't even swallow her own spit when she left the hospital. Flew home that way, was home a few days and ended up having to check into the local hospital for several days because of it. I couldn't believe they had let her leave in that condition. She is doing great now though. Down 95 lbs since last october. Teresa

One more time guys, just for the detail-oriented...Ponce is in Georgia...Ponce de Leon is in Mexico.