I want to help anyone else I can.....stay out of Mexico. When you have it done there, no Doctor will see you at home. It's very dangerous, I lost all my money to them, and now have to give up daily needs to pay new "real" doctors. Infection as Staph, continued since July 07, I have had 2 extra surgeries. I had to make several trips of 300 miles away and back to get any help at all, my port was removed, as it was upside down.My doctor said it is a scam and here I am .....too sick to loose any weight and 1/2 a band implanted. Life is a Mystery.:mad:This was done by Jose Rodriguez and Dr. Calderon and some other guy who I don't know his name, he just did repairs instead of rodriguez the second time around.

I am so sorry to hear this. Is there no recourse at all that you can take?

I am very sorry this happened to you. Everyone I have ever spoken with who has gone to Mexico has had a wonderful experience with no issues, including myself.

Did you get any information regarding why you ended up with a staph infection?

I tried to answer your reply and didn't make it the first time I suppose. Yes, I know why I got Staph...filthy conditions in the Operating room and a bad procedure. I was fully awake the second operation to repair tubing coming out of my stomach, that's when I saw it all.....blood spatterd walls, spiders and open panels to the dirt street outside. It was a horrifying experience, believe me. Rodriguez is now operating out of Juarez, Mexico mainly. So do more than investigate, listen to those on NBC and 20/20 and figure out if its worth dying or not. There are a few things worse than being fat.......not many true.

I am sorry you had such a bad experience. I had a fabulous experience in Mexico with Dr. Zapata. The hospital was as clean or cleaner than any I have seen here in the US. I would go back there in a minute and recommend him to all.

It sounds like you may have gone to a bad location. I am sorry that you have struggled and had such a difficult time with this doctor and facility. You are definitely correct in that it is difficult to find care here in the USA after you have had procedures performed in Mexico.

I was in Hospital Angeles and I found the facility very clean and professional. Dr. Corvala performed the surgery. I was going out of my way to look for any "warning" signs as well, but none could be found. When I had any questions or concerns, everyone responded to my emails or phone calls quickly. My experience was very positive.

The only issue I ever had was one male nurse wanted to change my bandages without wearing gloves and my husband said absolutely not. He put on gloves and everything was fine. My incisions healed well and quickly.

Unfortunately, staph or other infections can occur here as well. My mother had a bypass operation in a Pittsburgh hospital and almost lost her life due to infection. She ended up in a nursing facility for more than a month to recover from the infection.

If I were to give anyone advice, I would say take infection seriously. If you have puffiness, redness around the incisions, swelling and discomfort which are more than expected . . . have someone take a look at it as quickly as possible. Also, everyone should follow their wound care instructions without fail. If it says wash your hands, perhaps washing twice and making sure you carefully clean under your fingernails for good measure is even better. Afterall, it is your health on the line.

As far as going to Mexico is concerned, all I can say is research, research, research . . . and when you think you know everything, research some more. Talk to people who have been there if you can. Forums like this are excellent for that purpose. This also means going beyond the list of reference people provided by the group/facility. Any patients with a bad experience/outcome are not likely to be on their referral lists . . . if you know what I mean.

You can find professionalism and good results in many places, just as you can find subpar doctors and facilities everywhere.

Edited May 23, 200818 yr by HeatherO

Hello, I am still in Mexico and had my surgery yesterday with Dr. Zapata. He is very professional, the hospital was top notch and everything couldn't have gone more smoothy. I did my research. I was awake in the operating room and believe me it was no open air, dirty place. Equal to or better than USA. They laugh at our antiquated beliefs about Mexico. I am still sore but that is to be expected. I am very sorry for your experience--but that's your experience and not the majority of others on this site. I'll prayer for healing for you. Keep up our spirits.

I'm sorry for what you are going through. I went throught a similar situation with Dr. Fransico Gonzales in TJ Mexico. I was banded by him in April of 2007, by June 2007 it started to get infected in the port area. Everytime I went in to see him about it all he did was give me a prescription for Cipro or Keflex and send me home. I trusted them at first but it went on for 4 months, then two hospital stays of four weeks in total in the US, everything was removed because it was eroded into my stomach. Please get a endoscopy done to make sure the band has not eroded into your stomach, becuase the doctors here said the infection travels from the band to the port area and when that is going on the:sad_smile: band is most likely eroded, and you could die from that because all the toxins will seep from your stoach to your body. I almost died. Please see my thread "banded by dr. gonzales almost died".

I'm sorry you had a bad experience. I was banded in Mexico, and it was the best decision I ever made. The hospital was nicer and cleaner than any hospital I have been to in US. You really shouldn't make such generalizations.

My brother got a staph infection in his shoulder and had NO medical procedure whatsoever. It can enter you body in any way.

Dear Aphrodite1984, I am not generalizing about anything, I am just sharing my experience. I'm glad that you do not have any problems and hope and pray that you don't.