My Delightful first VSG turned Nightmare @ "resleeve" by Almanza

7 years ago I had a VSG with the wonderful now deceased Dr. Aceves. He was the most caring gentle sweet man and absolutely brilliant,no scars, he was there with me when I woke. He spent untold time with me personally. I loved him and the surgery was so successful. I lost 105 pounds, came within 3 pounds of my goal weight and was ECSTATIC.

A year and a half ago I had to leave my home state and move to rural NorCal to care for my aging parents. My active lifestyle screeched to a halt.. nothing to do here. The move was very difficult as I had lived in AK all my life and developed an amazing network of friends, had a booming business and a home i loved. I went through a terrible depression and a very sedentary lifestyle. Needless to say I began to gain weight. More depression. More weight. More depression, more weight. 40 pounds later I looked for a solution and found Dr. Almanza who proposed a 'resleeve" I did not know because I did not research that any reputable doctor would NEVER do a resleeve... I does not work because the side of the stomach does not expand evenly.

With no research and desperation I made appt with ALMANZA. My first impression when I met him was he is terrible narcissistic. He paid NO personal attention to the patients... quick promises and all talk about HIM, his 6 pack abs, his good looks, etc. It was too late for me. I was THERE. I awoke to the most horrible scars... and I have experienced absolutely NO feeling of reduced appetite. I believe in my heart that he opened me up, ran into scar tissue from a previou lipo job and said to heck with this and sewed me back up. A veterinarian would have done a better job at putting me back together. My scars are hideous and I have had NO weight loss. All he did was appear to the 'group once to extol his own virtues and we never saw him again. Now his staff blames my meds which are the SAME meds I with Dr. Aceves during the original surgery. SO if my meds would prevent weight loss....WHY oh why would the even take my money, promise my goal and do an ineffective surgery??? I asked for 1500 dollar back and they wont refund anything. I pegged him as a blowhard narcissist the night and the only time we met him... but it was too late. NEVER buy into the "resleeve"... it isnt "a real thing' done by any reputable doctor, but rather just a RIP off. Almanza is a quack and asshole ripoff in my opinion

Almanza is an absolute cocky, self absorbed, swindler, and fraudster. In my opinion and experience. I would advise avoiding him completely. I made a terrible mistake and lost a good of money. I so wish Dr. Aceves were still alive. I just dont know what to do now. WHAT do I do now?

You're currently posting this message on multiple WLS forums. Almanza's not my surgeon, but your behavior seems like a coordinator / sales person for another Mexican surgeon.

I call b.s.

I am so sorry that you have had these problems. No one should have to have sub standard health care.

However, I have to disagree with your statement that "no reputable doctor would do a resleeve". I work in a hospital that is a center of excellence for Bariatric surgery. Our two surgeons are amazing.

Our facility has yet (thank goodness) to have a leak or a fatality. One of our surgeons has done resleeves and the patients that he has done have fared very well and gone on to be complication free and lose weight. He even resleeved our Bariatric coordinator whose previous surgeon did not make her stomach small.

So people can and have been resleeved by great doctors.

Good luck on your recovery.

I think if you going in to be re sleeved means you still have not learnt proper eating habits, revising surgeries are not always gonna work if you have not fixed up what's in your mind.

@@VSGAnn2014 I think the OP was just confused about where the appropriate place to post this information was. While disparaging a specific surgeon does sort of seem like "coordinator-like" behavior, the fact that she is railing against re-sleeve as a procedure entirely and asking what to do now that her re-sleeve has had no effect on her weight loss, helps convince me that she is for real.

@@Popsicle530 I'm sorry you went through a procedure that didn't achieve any results for you. There are other options available, like revision to RNY or DS, but that will of course cost you additional money. If you can't get any of your money back from Almanza, then it might be hard to come up with the money for revision procedures, as those are quite a bit more expensive than the sleeve from what I understand. I wish you the best of luck and hope you can find your way on this journey and get back to where you need to be with your weight and your health.

When was your resleeve? It takes time for things to heal and feel the restriction. I have heard of other docs doing a sleeve revision, but it is not something I would take lightly...

While I understand your disappointment, do you have any reason to think you were harmed by the resleeve?

I would start with at the very least making an appointment with a bariatric surgeon here in the states. Financially getting anything corrected now may be cost prohibiting, but you want to at least make sure medically you are okay. You might also want to consult an attorney to see if you have grounds for medical malpractice.

I am truly sorry you have had such a negative experience.

I call BS too.

In other news - reputable surgeons do resleeves regularly.

yes i stand corrected, i have found that doctors do re'sleeves. I apologize for mis-stating.

My harm comes only to my wallet, my self esteem, and the awful scars. (my ab looks like i was shot with a shotgun)

Those who seem to want to hate me.. I cant stop... All I can do is hope I can find a solution. I appreciate your willingness VSG Anne to change your mind regarding me. and I thank you glitter eyes for your kind reply. I know nothing of message boards, and I've been really given hell about my posting... Hey I'm sorry if I've offended. I'm just VERY sad and upset about what Almanza did or didnt do. I know what i'm supposed to feel like after a vsg and neither me nor my girlfriend who went with me have experienced any appetite reduction. Some may love him... thats fine... I just find him and his staff to not give crap about the unhappy or unsuccessful patient. So burn me at the stake.

You say your first VSG surgery was delightful and successful for years, you lost over 100 lbs to reach goal. If the move, lifestyle changes, and depression were what contributed to some regain... cant you go back to what you were initially doing to lose the weight?

What size portions are you able to eat? Have you been logging foods to make sure you are hitting your goals? It seems to me that the self professed sedentary lifestyle and letting bad eating habits creep back up might be part of the problem. I really think you have the power to turn this around and work it, and be successful again.

It's sad that people can't support or listen without judging or assuming. I read your story on another forum and I do not think its BS and only because I know someone personally who used Almanza as a doctor as well and had a terrible outcome!

Tell your story and don't be afraid of what others think! This is a support group!

I am glad you don't have any ill effects, so far. It would make me nervous too... and I guess I would want to have some images done to check...just in case.

I still say it is worth trying some of the techniques... going low carb, Water load etc etc

I don't know anything about Almanza except what I have read on these forums. I personally would not go to ANY surgery that does the daily volume he does. 12+ a day? Stories of people being operated on late into the evening. I don't know, just sets off alarm bells for me.

(Full disclosure my sleeve was insurance covered and done at a COE in the USA but I went to Mexico for plastics. Medical care in Mexico CAN be outstanding!)

you are just precious but the vicious cycle of depression/ weight gain/ fractured hip... loss of income.... im just too weak. I need surgical help

@@LadyPullings

thank you so much.

LiZa

Edited May 20, 201511 yr by Popsicle530

I think if you going in to be re sleeved means you still have not learnt proper eating habits, revising surgeries are not always gonna work if you have not fixed up what's in your mind.

Do you know what she eats? I don't think she mentioned it actually. Any number of things could cause weight gain that has absolutely nothing to do with eating. I was put on thyroid medicine a year ago and started gaining - it was only 5 pounds but still it was in a short amount of time with absolutely no change in my normal healthy low carb eating

My "railing" is against Almanza. He is a narcissistic A**hole who cares only about money. He is a terrible surgeon as well as a horrible person.

I have been accused of all sorts of crap on this message board.. working for another doctor, not following my original lifestyle changes. I dont even care anymore, I certainly do not have to explain myself. I was simply wanting to WARN people about Almanza. I dont have to do that anymore, His name is all over the news, the interned for putting people in comas, dropping off a near dead man at the border.

My slow weight gain came 7 years after my wt loss from Mexicali Bariatric Hospital ((((WONDERFUL))) .. oh and NO i dont work for them, LOL. I am self employed living now in NorCal Tending to my ageing mother. My lifestyle really changed when I moved here, not much to do, no bike trails, I didnt know anyone and I became very depressed. It took about a year but I climbed about 40 pounds up the scale. Desperation and insufficient research led me to almanza. I knew there was something very wrong about him within 10 minutes of meeting him. red flags were popping like fireworks. I should have trusted my feeling and FLED. MY BAD. I own that.

He cut me and created the worst adhesions, and he ran out of time before doing any resleeve. (all of this is documented at his strip mall "clinic", in spanish of course but I got one of the staff to run a copy of my 'eyes only' notes and its wasnt difficult to have it translated.) So he sloppily sewed me back up NEVER having so much as touched my stomach.

I ended up going BACK to Mexicali Bariatric and they had much work to do to cut down and cut out some of large adhesions, one of which had attached to my bowel. They performed a duodinal switch (did i spell that right) and chose not to re-cut my stomach. I wish they would have but I trust their decision making. I am 15 - 20 pounds from my goal, getting a handle on the depression, making friends, finding bike trails and parks, waking in the mornings and all in all things are looking up.

So go ahead and speculate, blame, accuse ... there are certainly a few of you on here. For the most part those who i have corresponded with personally from here have been absolutely delightful. And the fact that THIS website will do anything to avoid association with almanza should speak volumes.

Best of luck to everyone, even my detractors. I'm pretty much done here, but I wish you all the best. OH i actually WISH i worked from one of the DOCS, haha, I would have some extra skin removed!!!!! baahaaahaa