Im not a bandster yet. My surgery date is set for later this month. I will be traveling to mexico and my surgeon will be Dr. Kuri. Did anyone have/will have him as a surgeon? What was the experience like?

Two of my cousins traveled to Mexico and had Dr. Kuri as their surgeon. They have had nothing but wonderful things to say about him and his staff. They were both banded about 4 years ago.

HI,

He and his staff are awesome. The hospital is state of the art. You will be very pleased and GOOD LUCK!!

I will Be banded by Dr. Kuri on Aug 19th.. What is your surgery date maybe we will be there at the same time.

I had a consult with Dr. Kuri and was very pleased. He is caring and answered all my questions. I am scheduling my surgery for August.

For those that had surgery done by him, what was the experience like(travel, hotel,pre op). How long was the trip?

This is how it went for me ... Dr Kuri's driver, Miguel, picked me up at the US Border parking station (since I live in Southern California, I just drove down there myself) ... most likely it'll be Miguel picking you up at the airport in San Diego. He's a nice guy (crazy driver though!) I guess I can't really say that about just him, seems all the drivers in TJ (especially the taxi drivers) drive crazy, LOL!

Anyhow, upon arriving at the hospital, Miguel will escort you up to Dr Kuri's office and there you will first pay the remaining balance for your surgery, they'll weigh you, do the EKG test etc and they'll send you downstairs to the lab to get your bloodwork done. Also they'll give you your pain medication prescription so you can purchase it at the pharmacy downstairs. After all your pre-op tests are done, they'll get you checked into the hospital (show you your room) and then you'll be free to go have your "last meal" ... For mine, I went to TGI Friday's because it was right across the street from the hospital ... however, I've heard alot of people talk about a place called Los Arcos and they say it is REALLY good so you might want to check that out.

They will tell you a time to be back at the hospital for a group meeting that evening (when I was there, I think it was 7pm) and Dr Kuri will hold a group meeting with all of his patients to be banded the following day. He shows you an actual band, explains how it works, answers any questions you may have and he will also tell you in which order you'll be having your surgery the next day (the day I was there, I think there were 9 of us!) ... After the meeting you go back to your hospital room and your nurse will give you a sleeping pill to help you relax.

The next morning your nurse will wake you so you can shower before your surgery, then they'll take you down and get your IV started. This is where it's all a blur to me because once they gave me the anesthesia I was gone, LOL ... Next thing I know I was awake in recovery thinking "it's over already?" ... An hour or two after they get you back to your hospital room, your nurse will get you up and walking around.

That night you'll get another sleeping pill and the following morning before you're discharged they'll take you down to the fluoroscopy room to do a barium swallow (the pink stuff tastes chalky ... ick!) but you'll be able to see your band on the screen (which is neat) and then you'll go back up to your room to get ready for discharge and right before you leave the hospital, Dr Kuri will come by to see how you're doing and you will be given an xray from the barium swallow showing your band as well as the record of your surgery. As far as I know, they do not keep these records on file so it is up to you to keep them in a safe place once you get home.

Then you're discharged and Miguel will drive you to your hotel (since I live so close, I just came home) but the 2 nights that I spent in the hospital, my Mom & oldest son stayed at the hotel and they said it was nice.

I hope I've given you somewhat of an idea of what to expect ... If you have any questions, feel free to ask :biggrin:

Edited September 29, 200817 yr by BlooEyez

BlooEyes,

Thanks so much for your detailed description of your presurgery with Dr Kuri! I am scheduled for 1/8/09 and very much looking forward to it!

Carol

:thumbup:Great good luck to you ! i am currently thinking of usind dr kuri so please do tell me all when you get home where were you from ? i am in florida

I have nothing but wonderful things to say about Dr. Kuri and his staff. The hospital is nicer than any I've seen in the US and the hotel is also very nice.

The language barrier is a bit difficult but they do try to have an interpretor available.

Congrats on your band and great experiences. I hope all is going great still! How much was airfare and the total cost with Dr Kuri? I may have to go this route and am trying to compare experiences and cost. :redface: thanks!

***edited to add - I found the cost in another thread - looks like the cost is $7500.00. thanks! ****

Edited January 31, 200917 yr by LifeStartsNow

rhc~I'm glad you found the info that you needed. The cost is quite minimal compared to surgery in the US, especially for self pay people.

Just a word of advice that I am sure you've read before. The down side to having surgery in Mexico is securing a fill doctor in the states. Be sure to find a fill doctor before being banded in Mexico, no matter what doctor you choose. Good luck to you.

Great advice - I haven't begun to investigate the Mexico options yet and I hadn't even thought of that possibility. Makes great sense to secure the fill dr first. thanks!!

You are welcome. :tongue2:

When you say find a fill doctor I get the feeling its difficult? Do you just call around asking if a doctor will fill or not? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

Hi there:

I had my surgery in Mexico by Dr. Kuri in June of 2011. I found that he was great and the facility was awesome. I had no issues whatsoever while I was there. I am from Ontario Canada so I had to fly 6 hours to get there. I had a heck of a time finding a fill doctor. I couldn't find anyone in my province that would even see me, so I had to go to a place in Michigan. They scheduled no follow up visits. I was flying by the seat of my pants and wondering why I wasn't losing any weight, even after 3 fills. I had no counselling, and no advice. I have really felt all alone in this journey. After a year and a half, I have no restriction and can eat almost as much as I could before. I am only down 11 pounds since the surgery. I searched the internet high and low and finally found a place in Toronto that would see me. When I went to see him today, he told me that he couldn't extract any Fluid from my band at all. He is wondering about a faulty port. I have to go down in another months time and have fluoroscopy to see where the fluid is going. If I have a bad port, then I am going to have to travel back to Mexico to get it fixed. No doctor here in Canada will deal with problems from a band done from another doctor.

I'm sorry I've made this a large post, but if you are from Canada and are thinking about travelling to Mexico or any other foreign country to have surgery like this, THINK LONG AND HARD about it. The surgery was great, but the aftercare really is just not there. I am not bashing Dr. Kuri or his staff. They were great, but there is little they can do for patients that live so far away. I am hoping one day I will have the weight loss I've always dreamed of.