Hi! I've chosen my doctor. I would like to show my family some of the reviews for Dr. Elias Ortiz. Thanks for posting your review.

I was down in Mexico with ALM and had the surgery on 02/09/15, it was a wonderful experience and thought Dr. Ortiz and his team were awesome. I had the best time even though it was for surgery I would love to enjoy the experience again. I also had a friend who went to the same doctor months before me and she also had a great experience. She is a registered nurse so she really vetted him out and did a tour of the facility to ensure she would be safe. I think with any surgery there are risks involved and I felt really comfortable with ALM and Dr. Ortiz. 

 

Thanks! 

I went to him Sept 14, 2014, and it was easy.  Enjoyed the hotel we stayed in, and the shopping right after the surgery. It couldn't have been any easier I don't think.   I have not had one single problem since surgery. 

I had my surgery with A Lighter Me and Dr. Elias Ortiz. There were a few things that I was not happy about, though are not necessarily related to the surgery itself.

Dr. Ortiz was somewhat arrogant, in my opinion. He was assisted by Dr. Morales, who was an absolute sweetheart. Dr. Morales made the 'house call' to the hotel once we were released from the hospital.

I had a room mate in my hospital room. Not intentionally, actually. She was picked up at the airport at the same time as me. We went from the airport to the hospital for the initial check-up, EKG, and blood tests. Then, we were taken to the hotel. The next day, we were picked up together. I believe that it was just a mis-belief by the A Lighter Me staff that she and I were 'friends' and were there 'together'. So, when they asked if we wanted a room together, we both felt like it was either each other or a stranger, we agreed to it. Of course, that all changed when we realized that nobody else had a room mate (aside from those who had a 'support person' along with them). Neither of us did.

My room mate in the hospital was getting a different surgery than mine. Mine was VSG and hers was a revision of some sort OR a bypass. There was a lot of discussion with her around it. And she discussed some of it with me.

First problem showed itself when Dr. Ortiz and team spoke 'unfiltered' with her in front of me, including her current weight and other personal details. Not cool. But then, if they thought we were 'friends' . . . Good for her, she called them on discussing her personal details too publicly.

Even though they brought us to the hospital early on that Sunday morning, and even though they told us we would be first in surgery that day, we were not. And because neither of us had eaten since the early evening before, that was a long time to be waiting. They took her to surgery before me, but not until late afternoon. And so it follows that she came back first. Here's the problem that irks me the most:

When I woke up after surgery, I was in her hospital bed and she was in mine!! Prior to surgery that day, she had been under her covers whereas I had only lounged on top of mine!!! And yes, I freaked out!! I was NOT impressed. IN. THE. LEAST! In fact., I was furious! Not at HER! She had as much control of it as I did - none! I was angry with the staff for putting us back in the wrong beds! And, yes, I really questioned Dr. Ortiz when he came to our room due to my outburst as to whether I got the surgery I was supposed to get, and that made her question him in the same manner about the surgery she got!

I was not impressed.

Yes, the staff, once they understood what the issue was (language barrier), changed the bedding and such. AND they moved my room mate to another room of her own. Good gawd!! Really??

As I said, these things are not necessarily related to the surgery itself, but to the overall experience.

I have had no complications, no pain, no illness or anything related to my surgery. I did very well with the ice chips at the hospital. With tea and broth at the hotel. And I walked to WalMart (twice) from the hotel. I felt absolutely fine. It was six months yesterday since my surgery and I have lost only 47 pounds in that time. So, I am very disappointed with that. Others who I met at the hospital in Tijuana at that same timeframe have lost in excess of 90 pounds. So . . .

Edited February 25, 201511 yr by BarnGirlWK

So approximately how many surgeries do they do in a day?? Did u feel like they did to many. (Heard of cattle)

I am also considering Dr.Ortiz. I hope to show these responses to the hubby to calm his fears. The mixup bed situation makes me a little uneasy.

I used Dr.curiel but my hospital mate (i thought i would be in my own room even traveling alone)had Dr.ortiz so I thought I could add from my experience. Dr.ortiz was very kind ,caring and concerned about his patient having extreme nausea from surgery and followed up with her many many times in the 2 days in the hospital as well as myself even thou I was not his patient.as for the # of surgeries he does a day I can only say my day I counted 8 which had dr.ortiz.but like i said i think it was not his norm amount. maybe just booking errors as it took awhile to get our rooms.my experience kinda sucked because I listened to vomiting for 2 days n didn't rest much.I was thankful it wasn't me and I was out with no side effects. I'm in touch with those 8 and they are all doing well.

I was sleeved by Dr Ortiz last month and had an absolutely great experience. Dr. Ortiz came by my room and checked in on me both days I was in the hospital. He was very nice and had great bedside manner. Dr. Morales was very nice as well. I had a great experience with the hospital staff that took care of me. I would choose Ortiz and A Lighter Me all over again. Good luck with your journey and who ever you choose.

I have also chosen to go with Dr. Ortiz. I am scheduled to have my surgery 3/27/15. Once I experience their care, I can provide more information.

I used Dr Ortiz in TJ 14 months ago. It couldn't have gone any smoother. No pain, no complications, no complaints. The firstmonth or so was a hard adjustment but only because you are living/breathing food. What to eat, what not to eat. Whats happening so me. I adjusted well. 75 lbs down from 200 to 125. Size 16 to size 4. I found the constipation annoying but happily its been gone for months. I can eat anything though dense dry food like steak are tough. Probs cause I've forgotten to chew chew chew. I can eat potato chips and cookies so I they are only in the house on rare occasions.

In a nutshell: ALM and Dr Ortiz rock! But PS: not everything will be perfect. But then nothing ever is.

HTH W.

I have just scheduled my surgery with Dr. Ortiz for May 2nd. I am getting excited. So many of my friends and family have gotten the surgery and have had wonderful results.

I had a good experience with Dr. Ortiz and ALM in late September 2014. I had a minor 'complication' after surgery in that one of my incision sites did not stop bleeding as the other sites did. I called Eduardo about it, and they picked me up and took me back to the hospital asap to have Dr. Ortiz check it out. It was not that big a deal, but worth having it looked at. The bleeding stopped and all was fine. I thought ALM provided a good service. I've had no difficulties post-op and Im so glad I got this procedure done. I was so DONE with all of the endless diets and exercise that only brought short term and hard fought success. This surgery has made a real difference to me. Im in a size 12 now very comfortably which has not been the case for me since the 1990's. I'd like to lose another 25 lbs - am down about 50 now.

Please let me know how things went.