If anyone wants to join our bandster lunches (not just Dr. Aceves folks, all doctor's patients) you are most welcome to join us. Just PM me your email address and I'll add you to the Phoenix list.

Most important, we go to Mexico for fills together. Kind of a group thing. If Dr. A is your doc and you want to join us for fills so you don't have to make the three hour drive alone, you are welcome to join us. We make it a bit of fun. Sometimes we go for the day and sometimes we spend the night. He sees patients of other doctors as well for fills but it's kind of expensive, I believe $170-180 if he didn't band you.

If you have had surgery and want to join us for group fills please PM me and I'll add you to the Phoenix email list.

We are planning another trip and have one seat left. I know there are a couple of newbies posting. If you want to see what it is like to have a fill and live in AZ or on the way to Mexico (AZ, Yuma, Calexico, CA) you are welcome to join us. You can watch my fill and I know at least one other person going wouldn't care if people watched.

Hi, I am new to this. I am planning on going to Mexicali on the 18th of April for a gastric sleeve by Dr Aceve. Did you find the hospital and facilities okay? How long was the drive from Phx to Mexicali? Thanks for the info. Wendy

Hi, I am new to this. I am planning on going to Mexicali on the 18th of April for a gastric sleeve by Dr Aceve. Did you find the hospital and facilities okay? How long was the drive from Phx to Mexicali? Thanks for the info. Wendy

4/18? A lady I know is getting banded that same day, I believe! I was just talking to her today and I think that is the date she told me.

Oh yeah, the hospital, docs (six of them), staff, everyone was great.

Sleeves are trickier procedures and you really want a great surgeon for that. I believe Dr. A has done just shy of 200 of them and he hasn't had a leak or major complication yet.

I'm getting a revision surgery from band to sleeve and I'm going back to Dr. A for the revision. My insurance actually covers it in the US but I really don't care for the docs on my insurance. I'd rather pay out of pocket for it in Mexico. Revisions carry more risk than a sleeve without a previous band so I just want to feel good about my doc. Thus, I'm going back to Dr. Aceves.

I believe Andrea is having her band the same day as you. You should meet up with her on Dr. Aceves message board and get to know her. You guys can sort of go through this together.

Once you get out of the Phoenix area (traffic and all) it's about three hours to get there. There is a bit of as short cut to get to Mexicali from Phoenix. If you PM me your email address I'll send you the entire driving directions. It even tells you which lanes to drive in so you don't turn off on a "Y" street and end up somewhere else. ;o)

Good luck to you!

Edited April 7, 200818 yr by WASaBubbleButt

Hi. Thanks for replying so quickly. That's great that someone else is going that I can 'share' this experience with. Good luck to you also. When is your revision scheduled for? My email is Ducckee@cox.net. Thanks for your support. Wendy

Hi. Thanks for replying so quickly. That's great that someone else is going that I can 'share' this experience with. Good luck to you also. When is your revision scheduled for? My email is Ducckee@cox.net. Thanks for your support. Wendy

I don't have it scheduled yet. I was considering going the same time as Andrea but I doubt the timing will work out for that.

I'll add you to our Phoenix Bandster lunch. I realize you aren't getting banded but a sleeve instead but it would still be fun to meet you. You should join us. I don't plan on leaving the lunch group just because I am changing procedure types.

Is anyone going down soon for a fill?

Hi, I don't know how to PM, so I hope this is OK. did you have the sleeve too as well as the LB? What does your DR Alveres charge? And what is a DS? Is your DR on the boarder? I was all ready to start booking and the violence on the boarder broke out and I'm looking for some place in MX not on the boarder, or a Dr under 10K in Florida- as you might have guessed I"m self pay. Was thinking of a Dr Verboone, but then I heard he was in jail! I was reading a pretty lengthy post on how to research Drs, but I just take it for granted they lie. Ortiz seems to be the big name in MX, claims he was a proctor or lap-band, I called the company and it was true, but I could tell something else was up, as he no longer was and they wouldn't tell me why. Also, all the questions I'm suppose to ask about infections, who is going to tell you the truth? If they killed 10 people that week they wouldn't tell you. If you ask how many bands they've done, how would I know if it were true??? I don't want to give up and pay a fortune to do it here, but hell, I don't see how I could trust anything any Dr would tell me - they're going to say they're great with low infections, and no serious problems, they've done thousands, etc.

You seem to be all over this forum, so I take it you're very experienced and knowledgeable, so who would you recommend that's not on the boarder? I looked at your guy and it appears you have to drive through Laurado, which I'm not doing without a few hundred well armed swat guys.

Any help, suggestions, etc would be appreciated. .......thanks so much, PB

Edited March 4, 200917 yr by PBDove

Hi, I don't know how to PM, so I hope this is OK. did you have the sleeve too as well as the LB? What does your DR Alveres charge? And what is a DS? Is your DR on the boarder? I was all ready to start booking and the violence on the boarder broke out and I'm looking for some place in MX not on the boarder, or a Dr under 10K in Florida- as you might have guessed I"m self pay. Was thinking of a Dr Verboone, but then I heard he was in jail! I was reading a pretty lengthy post on how to research Drs, but I just take it for granted they lie. Ortiz seems to be the big name in MX, claims he was a proctor or lap-band, I called the company and it was true, but I could tell something else was up, as he no longer was and they wouldn't tell me why. Also, all the questions I'm suppose to ask about infections, who is going to tell you the truth? If they killed 10 people that week they wouldn't tell you. If you ask how many bands they've done, how would I know if it were true??? I don't want to give up and pay a fortune to do it here, but hell, I don't see how I could trust anything any Dr would tell me - they're going to say they're great with low infections, and no serious problems, they've done thousands, etc.

You seem to be all over this forum, so I take it you're very experienced and knowledgeable, so who would you recommend that's not on the boarder? I looked at your guy and it appears you have to drive through Laurado, which I'm not doing without a few hundred well armed swat guys.

Any help, suggestions, etc would be appreciated. .......thanks so much, PB

Oh my goodness I did NOT go to Alvarez, I went to Aceves. Alvarez is not my pick of surgeons.

You are right, some border cities are a horror. But not all. Mexicali is just fine. I found a plastics guy in Tijuana that I was interested in for a bit but decided there is no way I wanted to go to TJ so I found another in Mexicali and I like him a great deal.

Yes, I was banded and then sleeved by Dr. Aceves.

Stats... yep, it's hard to determine stats. You have to look at the bigger picture. There is one doc in TJ that claims he's never had a complication of any sort yet if you read the boards he's got patients posting with one complication after another. Infections, ports so infected they are bubbling out of their skin. Bands placed wrong and having the band removed via emergency surgery upon return to the US, erosions, slips left and right, deaths, hospitalizations to undo the mistakes made by the original surgeon. This is why research and reading everything is important.

One doctor keeps changing his clinic name because he trashes one rep and goes on to find a new name so people won't know where they are going.

Research is critical.

I've never heard of Laurado. No clue where that is. Mexicali is on the border with Calexico, California. You don't drive through any city to get to Mexicali. I do believe you have your geography wrong. ;o)