I'm just curious...I see alot of people on here who either had the banding done in Mexico or are going to have it done there......I guess I'm curious as to why is Mexico such a "hot spot" for this surgery ???

The cost is significantly less for those that self-pay. Now that my insurance isn't going to pay for mine, I am considering it. Also, from what I have read, the Dr.s there have tons of experience doing LapBands.

Hello I was banded in Mexico also. I had mine done there because insurance would not cover it. It cost about half the amount it does here in the states. Mine was $7,300.

I had mine done in Mexico on May 7th. So much cheaper than here plus a lifetime of fills is included in nthe price of $7.800. I make my way to San Deigo airport and I am picked up from there by their driver, taken to the hospital and driven back to my car, all inclusive. My surgeon is Dr. Aceves and I could not have picked a better one. He was fantastic, as well as a dish....lol

I went to Mexico because my insurance didn't cover the surgery. It would have cost me $15K to $20K to have it done here in the US, I paid $8K for it in Mexico.

Also Dr. Ortiz (my surgeon) trained the doctors that I was considering using in the US, he has a TON of experience and a very low complication rate.

Price and experience inserting lap-bands. Most doctors in the US are used to gastric bypass and are new to the band. My doctor in mexico had 10 yrs experience and had done hundreds? thousands?....

Just an FYI for self payers that would like to have the band done in the US instead of Mexico, Dr. Kirshenbaum in Colorado is $9950 for everything including three months of fills and including a nutritionist to work with you. Then after the 3 months fills are only $15 each.

complete sense.....I figured it had to be money related...but I also dd not realize the exprience level..thanks for the info...

I didn't have to jump through hoops with an insurance company. Had I gone through my insurance I would just now be getting banded. Instead I went to Mexico and received better care than in the US and I'm almost to goal. The cost was half the price, the surgeons are more experienced, and unlike the US my doc hospitalizes patients for two full nights after surgery. In the US as soon as you wake up they shove you out the door and you pay more for the service of being shoved out the door.

If I had it all to do over again I wouldn't change a thing.

I am so glad i went to Mexico. You do not have to jump through hoops for months there and it is much cheaper. My doctor was very nice and the hospital was beautiful. Also only 8000 dollars, airfare and all. Loved it. Donna

Do you have to go all the way back to Mexico to have fills? Have you found a Doc locally that will get over their pride and actually make adjustments?

I see a lot of the bad stories about cosmetic surgery gone bad in Mexico and how messed up some of the people are when they come home. The stories are often heart breaking to watch. This scares me a lot! I realize you are more likely to see a bad story than a happy feel good one but still its a reasonable fear I suppose.

The more weight I lose the more I wonder how I am going to come up with the cash for a tummy tuck and boob job, because I know I want these! Anyone know about having plastic surgery in Mexico? Are there any sites you can get reliable information about surgery complication statistics compared to US complications?

I had it done in Mexico & it is the best thing I ever did. If my insurance had paid for it I would literally have had to go through hell to get the procedure done. I wasn't going to play their game. I know I needed the procedure & had absolutely no resevations about it to where I would need a shrink telling me what to do. Also, I am really afraid of the medical field here in the States. They say everything is included as when my husband had wrist surgery & then you get a bill from anyone that is breathing & can send you a bill. In Mexico it was 1 fee & my Doc. paid everyone involved from that fee. I also get a year of free aftercare.

By the way.....there are lots of horror stories here in the States with plastic surgery too. I have family in Mexico who have had plastic surgery & it looks totally natural. It really depends on the person & the surgeon. There are people walking around in the US that look so deformed their Docs should be ashamed of themselves.

Until anyone walking into hospitals in this country pays their bills & I can get decent health care & insurance costs...you better believe I am going to research & find another alternative.

Besides.....what is so hard to understand about the fact that the Mexican surgeons are the ones training the Docs. here in the US.....sorry but that seems like a no brainer to me!:clap2:

This Is For BubbleButt

<p>You push Dr. Aceves on his board too. Your stats on U.S. doctors are completely erroneous. The doctors in the states do not shove you out the door the day after surgery (my doctor's standard is to watch you for 2 to 3 days following surgery - IN THE HOSPITAL), the lapband surgeons in the states ALSO offer free fills for life and you don't have to pay the so-called "operating room / flouro" costs (free truly means free it doesn't mean $80.00 to $110.00 plus the cost of airfare and a possible hotel room stay for East coasters), and unlike Dr. Aceves, U.S. doctors do not perform 8 to 10 bariatric surgeries a day. Just because you CAN do assembly line surgery, doesn't mean you should! I have also not found a single person that Dr. Aceves has turned down for surgery. Not because he is an almighty god of lapbands who can make anyone a success, but because if you pay him, he will perform! Truthfully do you think absolutely EVERYBODY should undergo a major surgery regardless of their age or medical background? Dr. Aceves (according to his own people) has done lapband surgery on everything from a 12 year old child to a 60-something year old, 400lb+ woman so riddled with risks that several out-of-country doctors wouldn't take the chance on her (not even if she paid). This is why U.S. doctors have a different standard to follow.</p> <p>Lots of people have had success with Dr. Aceves surgery, but lots of people have had problems, it just doesn't get reported.</p>

Don't we all push our Doctor's if we had a really good experience? I think we should stay positive & exchange constructive issues & advice. I see too many people losing it with other poster on this board. I appreciate it when someone has a good experience & shares it. I feel sympathy for those who have bad ones. Medicine is not magic & there can be problems anywhere as everyone is so different & so is their medical history. I don't know if we have enough information to be bashing any Docs. for performing these procedures.

mbeckett1 :

It's not the sharing of good experiences that is slightly annoying, it's the skewing of facts. No doctor is perfect and no doctor is THE ONLY way to go. BubbleButt has a history of bashing American doctors on another forum too, by stating "so-called" facts that are in essence untrue.

In the beginning of this thread the question was posed as to "Why Mexico", and basically the real answer to that is the cost factor. Nobody would travel across the country to a foreign land for a medical procedure that they could have in their own backyard for the same cost. And to answer "because doctors in America are ALL uncaring, money-grubbing, incompetents" is not only wrong, but slightly annoying. I guarantee that every Mexican doctor that performs any type of elective surgery (of which lapbanding is considered) does it for the money not because he is on some mission from God.