Another Patient Death at A Lighter Me (ALM) with Dr. Jose Luis Curiel Marchena

[Please 188]

Yes, mine didn't say that, I meant ...it's not like they go around saying. "I'm alright, I could do a decent job"

and there's no way to prove who's doctors better if they all have good numbers & patients health going into things are huge.

[HeatherS. 230]

@Please I totally agree. My doctor also said the most important question you can ask is "how many of these surgeries have you done?" They become faster and more successful the more you do them. That's also going to be the doc who is rarely surprised or nonplussed by what he finds when he opens you up.

I think he also implied that if you're just plain bad at it or careless, you'll be shut down before you can perform those thousands upon thousands of procedures.

[Clementine Sky 707]

15 hours ago, k-athy said:

If you don't mind me asking, who was your surgeon? I am looking into surgery in Mexico.

I don't mind at all. My surgeon was Dr. Fernando Garcia, and I was very pleased with him and the surgical team. My room at the clinic there was much nicer than at US hospitals. My only regret is in not getting the single incision, which was only $1000 more with him. Besides that, I couldn't be more satisfied.

[Clementine Sky 707]

8 hours ago, B.Annie said:

How is saying it's the easiest and cheapest way offensive when you said so yourself that some people don't have WLS insurance so they go to Mexico to be able to afford it? That's exactly what I'm saying, It's the cheapest route! I have no idea why you're trying to make what I said a bad thing when it's only the truth for a lot of people.

It's also the easiest route for those who have been refused in the states due to risk factors. Instead of working to become less risky or deciding against the surgery, they go to Mexico. Again, don't try to make that offensive when it's the truth for a lot of people. The first sentence of my original post said I was confused as to why it was an argument. Because it is all rather normal and expected if you have common sense. It's not a battle against those who chose Mexico. It's a statement of common sense FOR those who chose Mexico. Patients aren't unaware of the risks. Which is why I was confused as to why people were arguing about a death/minor companion/etc.

HW: 328 (02/22/17)

SW: TBD

CW: 288

Pounds disowned to date: 40

For me going through Mexico was the far easier route, for two main reasons. The first was what I wrote about in my previous post - my BMI was around 32 at the highest, and my insurance only provides coverage if your BMI is over 40, or over 35 and you have co-morbitidies (my conditions do not qualify with them for eligibility). So I would have had to gain a substantial amount to be covered, and even then would have to go through a lengthy process. Or pay $29,000 to $35K which wasn't feasible at this stage of my life. The other reason why it was so much easier was full control over when I had the surgery. I didn't have to go through six months of nutritional classes, psychiatric evaluation, or a plethora of tests. I felt confident I was a strong candidate based on my endocrinologist's recommendation for having the VSG and the research I'd done on it specifically for low BMI women with PCOS. She ordered a full panel of blood tests to rule out cause for concern before I booked the surgery. I also had a blood test and EKG in Mexico before the surgery. I was able to choose the exact date for the surgery. I'm a professor and was wanting to fit it in during the stretch of time I had between quarters so I could recover before returning to work. It was an uncomplicated and stress-minimal experience.

In some respects I think going to Mexico requires more work on the patient's part to become informed because you have to educate yourself instead of receiving all the info from your surgeon's office. I did receive information from my surgeon's office - a binder - but that was after, not before, the surgery, and I wanted to be prepared in advance. It was simple to do, though, with the ample amount of information posted on sites like the ones for the mayo Clinic's bariatric center, Stanford, UCLA, etc, plus learning from forums, YouTube, and the like.

I also loved that I paid for the surgery, and that was that. I've gotten sucker punched by medical bills before, such as when I was treated in the Emergency Room and found out later on that the doctor was not in my network. That was painful. People on here have written about getting similarly unpleasant surprises, such as huge bill for an anesthesiologist who wasn't in-network, even though the surgeon who performed the WLS was.

So when someone says going to Mexico is the easier route, I don't take offense to it at all. As Einstein said, "everything should be as simple as possible, but not simpler." Some people really benefit from the educational classes their surgeon provides and all the required testing, and they can get their surgery fully covered by their insurance. For them, having the surgery locally makes perfect sense. I do think that going to Mexico because you were deemed to be too at-risk for the surgery in the US would be an entirely different situation. Someone over 65, diabetic, with a history of blood clots, etc, would be taking on far more of a gamble with their health than someone like me who was low-risk. The woman who died in Mexico might have had risk factors that contributed to her death after WLS, and she might not have; she might have been in fine health besides her weight. One of my friends who was never overweight, never drank, never smoked, was a runner, and the epitome of health died in January of a heart attack at age 32. She had no idea she had a heart problem because she'd never shown any symptoms of it, and was too young for the routine testings older people have to detect issues and treat them.

[Please 188]

I went to the OCC in Mexico. Everyone had a great experience. They cost more, but I was confident in them. My BMI was 31 , I did have a Canadian option for 19000(twice the amount) but they don't have near the experience the OCC has.

Edited April 24, 2017 by Please

[BayougirlMrsS 3,933]

On 4/23/2017 at 11:41 AM, Please said:

You said she travelled with her Mother, then at the end, you said she travelled alone?

the minor was left all alone.... go re read it again...

[TheBearguy8 58]

I think the idea that providers are blurring the facts is so dangerous. I have been paying attention to weight loss surgeries since 1992 when my mother had an early very invasive rearranging of internal organs version. Yes, she lost weight, but now at 77, she is in a nursing home suffering from terrible malabsorption and osteoporosis.

I can only afford to go to Mexico since I'm not "fat enough" to be deemed medically necessary, and being gay, there's another issue I'm not comfortable disclosing on the day I join.

There are so many more people saying positive things about specific places and surgeons, but I'm from South Florida and becoming terrified some comments about Dr. Mario Almanza, but I am a person who studies hard not to be sucked into an "Alternative Facts" universe. Finally I have hope, but now I'm seeing some real horror stories - but we don't know details, some reports do seem very shady.

My head is spinning trying to decide now what to do. I have friends who swear by Medical Tourism, and have success stories from Mexico, and have gone back for more surgeries and are thrilled. This board now seems like an arguing place between providers and shakes a newbies confidence about the posts.

[Berry78 4,259]

1 hour ago, TheBearguy8 said:

My head is spinning trying to decide now what to do. I have friends who swear by Medical Tourism, and have success stories from Mexico, and have gone back for more surgeries and are thrilled. This board now seems like an arguing place between providers and shakes a newbies confidence about the posts.

Yes, it is unfortunate that newbies are exposed to bickering. I see how it is offputting. But, have faith that there are good providers. I flew down to Mexico, trusting a lot of positive advertising on this site, and was not disappointed.

I have a friend that saw a different surgeon, and also had a good experience.

[Clementine Sky 707]

2 hours ago, TheBearguy8 said:

I think the idea that providers are blurring the facts is so dangerous. I have been paying attention to weight loss surgeries since 1992 when my mother had an early very invasive rearranging of internal organs version. Yes, she lost weight, but now at 77, she is in a nursing home suffering from terrible malabsorption and osteoporosis.

I can only afford to go to Mexico since I'm not "fat enough" to be deemed medically necessary, and being gay, there's another issue I'm not comfortable disclosing on the day I join.

There are so many more people saying positive things about specific places and surgeons, but I'm from South Florida and becoming terrified some comments about Dr. Mario Almanza, but I am a person who studies hard not to be sucked into an "Alternative Facts" universe. Finally I have hope, but now I'm seeing some real horror stories - but we don't know details, some reports do seem very shady.

My head is spinning trying to decide now what to do. I have friends who swear by Medical Tourism, and have success stories from Mexico, and have gone back for more surgeries and are thrilled. This board now seems like an arguing place between providers and shakes a newbies confidence about the posts.

I had a very positive experience in Mexico having the VSG, and I felt more confident about it from speaking directly with other patients. This forum provided some insight, but on RealSelf people posted more detailed reviews that included pictures, and that was helpful. I PM'd with about ten people who I felt reasonably sure were genuine and not slyly working for coordinators, about the surgeon I chose and others I considered. I also found articles from legitimate newspapers that were positive. Most were from Canadian newspapers detailing how people opted to go to Mexico to avoid the lengthy waits for having it locally. YouTube is another source because some people created videos showing the hospitals / clinics where they had their surgery, and discussing their experience. Coordinators should be able to provide the full credentials for the surgeons they work with, so you know they're certified.

As for research on WLS itself you can find ample studies on it from leading hospitals, and articles in more trustworthy papers. Best wishes to you!

[TheBearguy8 58]

Thank you for writing! Big help - I cannot find "realSelf"..where is that?

[Purseynursey 4]

I will just relay a short story about my experince in Mexico. I am a nurse and have worked in surgery for 12yrs. I had my lap band removed and a conversion to VSG. I had complications in Mexico and did not feel the hospital was adequately equipped to deal with serious issues. The nurses spoke very broken English and there where no CT scanners or MRI machines nor ICU beds. IF everything goes well Mexico is a great option. My best friend had same procedure same day. Did great. For the 95% of people that go and do perfect Mexico is a God send (we were both self pay) but it's a choice you ultimately have to make yourself. I am now 4 weeks post op and have a 1mm stricture in my stomach and require further surgery. The same complication could happen at ant hospital to any surgeon the difference is in the US the hospital and staff have the equipment and knowledge to handle just about anything..... so my point is this. Think hard and long about how willing you are to accept the consequences of your decision. [emoji738]

[Clementine Sky 707]

22 hours ago, Purseynursey said:

I will just relay a short story about my experince in Mexico. I am a nurse and have worked in surgery for 12yrs. I had my lap band removed and a conversion to VSG. I had complications in Mexico and did not feel the hospital was adequately equipped to deal with serious issues. The nurses spoke very broken English and there where no CT scanners or MRI machines nor ICU beds. IF everything goes well Mexico is a great option. My best friend had same procedure same day. Did great. For the 95% of people that go and do perfect Mexico is a God send (we were both self pay) but it's a choice you ultimately have to make yourself. I am now 4 weeks post op and have a 1mm stricture in my stomach and require further surgery. The same complication could happen at ant hospital to any surgeon the difference is in the US the hospital and staff have the equipment and knowledge to handle just about anything..... so my point is this. Think hard and long about how willing you are to accept the consequences of your decision.

I'm sorry you went through that frightening and stressful experience.

I was worried about having complications in Mexico after reading a post shortly before I booked my surgery there about a woman who had a host of problems after having the VSG with dr. Ponce de leon. (He was not the surgeon I ended up choosing, but her experience wasn't the reason for going with another surgeon). She did rave about how they took wonderful care of her, and she didn't incur additional expenses for it, but it was of course very scary. I'd asked my surgeon's coordinator about it, and was told the clinic was equipped to handle emergencies, and that the surgeon also had privileges at a nearby hospital. There is also insurance you can buy to cover the costs of any complications, including transportation via ambulance to a hospital over the border. I haven't read all the fine print of it, though.

I think you raise an excellent cautionary point.

[GBLady41 393]

Patients my not bring minors as their companions. All companions must be responsible adults. Was a claim made that this was confirmed with the Mexican consulate? What is that person's name? We have worked with the Mexican consulate for several years. All of a sudden you're following ALM making statements like "another death". If you were doing your due diligence, you would know that ALM has one of the lowest the lowest complication rate in north America! You've claimed Bariatric pal has had no deaths in 8500 surgeries. Very doubtful. You haven't been doing surgeries in Mex that long. You had lapbad surgery in New York, NY. I know who your surgeons are and their history and reputations. However I'm not going to make any detailed statements. Just by speaking in general most people have enough information to find what they need!

Uh...I'm sorry, Sandy, but where is YOUR SOURCE that BariatricPal has NOT had zero deaths in 8500 surgeries? Seems to me like someone is a little mad without confirming the recent patient death at ALM. And...if you actually knew anything, you would know that there has been quite a few articles of deaths and complications at ALM.

[GBLady41 393]

I'm always happy to address any questions. ALM is an open book. However I'm no longer going to do so on a forum that belongs to another company posting about other surgeons on their page. I'll let them stuck to promoting their own company.

So that means yes there was a death. It's unbelievable that people would spend soooooo much time ignoring the question by attacking someone else. It's really time to grow up. You still haven't proven that what BariatricPal claims is not true. So....to me, you're avoiding the question because there was a death. End of story.

[GBLady41 393]

These "facts" you know are untrue! I would like to know the names of the "2 of the most influential bariatric surgeons" that gave you this information as well as the "US Consulate" that you spoke to. First of all it would be the Mexican consulate that might get involved in tracking this type of information NOT a US Consolate! A US Consulate would NEVER release personal patient information to a company that's not involved with the patient in questions care! I lost all respect I had in you when you insisted that you even know of a surgeon that has done 8500 surgeries without complications.
By the way, the chief surgeon for ALM is the number 1 Bariatric surgeon in North America, a fact!
Go back to your sources and review your bullit point facts. However this is your site and your free to write what you want, delete or edit it. That's why I stated for information and questions about ALM, contact ALM. For info on Bariatric Pal, contact Bariatric Pal!

Now I know you're speaking b.s. The chief surgeon for ALM is NOT the number 1 surgeon in North America.