Hello my name is Kerry and i live in Florida. I am trying my hardest to find a way to get this procedure done. I was going through a 12 month program that my insurance required then the sent me a letter telling me that they switched things up..well that switch totally affected my surgery..they are no longer covering any sort of bariatric procedure. Of course i am dissapointed but still looking for another avenue. Hopefully something will happen soon.:sneaky:

My insurance gave me the run around too. I was ready to have my surgery so I decided to have it done in Mexico. I saw your other thread asking about a doctor in TJ. I went to Mexicali. My surgeon was Alberto Aceves. He was awesome.

Is that closer and easier to get to? If you dont mind me asking what is the around about cost for going there? I just found out the other day so i havnt gotten to much info yet. Thank you for your reply.

It's about the same distance for you whether you go to Tijuana or Mexicali. My cost was $7,000 but I just noticed Dr. Aceves lowered the price to $6,500. This cost included round trip transportation from the airport (San Diego, CA) in my case from a parking lot in Calexico, CA. It also includes all pre-op testing, hospital stay and surgical costs, hotel stay and lifetime fills. Be sure you fully investigate whatever surgeon you decide to go with. Dr. Aceves has done over 3000 bariatric surgeries.

That is a really good price. My insurance will pay but my copay is $4,000 dollars. plus $250.00 for the doctors assistant and 90 days of fills. And you can't have a fill for 6 weeks (45 of the 90 days) After that the fills are on me. Mexico sounds better and better.

I have definately decided on going to Mexico..from here i just need to make the right decision on the Doctor. I have been researching Dr. Kuri. He has been doing it for 11 years and has performed over 4000 bands. The hospital seems to be nicer than anything ive seen here in pensacola fl. I am just worried about the fills as well...im worried that i would have to travel every time i need an adjustment to Mexico. If anyone has any info on fills in the US after a Mexico surgery please let me know. I know that here the doctors wont do it.

I have definately decided on going to Mexico..from here i just need to make the right decision on the Doctor. I have been researching Dr. Kuri. He has been doing it for 11 years and has performed over 4000 bands. The hospital seems to be nicer than anything ive seen here in pensacola fl. I am just worried about the fills as well...im worried that i would have to travel every time i need an adjustment to Mexico. If anyone has any info on fills in the US after a Mexico surgery please let me know. I know that here the doctors wont do it.

I always say that I wish I had realized how vital AFTERCARE is for the band to work. I've been to my doc almost monthly in the last year, had 8 fills and an unfill! I'm very glad I didn't have to "travel" to do that, although I would if I had to (but I don't think I'd have gone as often!)

Many surgeons will not accept another surgeon's patient and it isn't just those from out of country. It's those from out of county...or from a different practice. They don't know what they are "inheriting" and some who will take on another's patient charge pretty high fees to do so.

So I always ALWAYS recommend lining up aftercare before you leap into surgery. So many of us are so oriented on getting the band, we don't think of afterward (like a whirlwind romance and wedding LOL)

Fill Centers USA will do fills (if you have one locally) but you also need access to a medical doctor who can treat you if you have GERD, or a bad stuck incident, or the stomach flu and need an unfill, or whatever

So you're really smart to line up local aftercare before you go to Mexico. If you can find a comparable surgeon who is a little more expensive but is close to home, you may weigh the pros and cons and change your mind about having it done "away". Or not! But this is something you do need to address.

Be careful where you GO, in Mexico, too. I live in San Antonio (grew up in EL Paso which was just across the Rio Grande from Juarez) and many friends just don't go to border towns right now. I don't know about where you live but we get horror stories frequently about the strife over there....just last night there was a minivan found with 5 dead tourists but I forget the city (some border town...Nuevo laredo? Don't remember. It wasn't TJ or Juarez, though that I remember)

ANYWAY not to scare the poo out of you...just be aware. Something can happen to you in your own neighborhood too; you just have to weigh the odds and make your best choice.

Edited August 6, 200916 yr by RestlessMonkey

Although Mexico is the cheapest alternative for self-pay, many people are still having issues with aftercare. Also, if a Mexican doctor screws up or defrauds you somehow it is practically impossible to seek legal action against them. This is not to scare you or dismiss Mexican doctors, but something to think about.

There are inexpensive options in the U.S. There is a doctor in Denver who charges $9,900 for the surgery and a group of physicians in Detroit who charge $10,700. Both of those doctors offer financing options as well. I've also heard about doctors in Texas and on the west coast charging around 12k. This may seem like a lot, but like I said there are financing options.

No one can tell you what to do, that's really something you're going to have to decide for yourself based on your own personal priorities and level of comfort. Just make sure you do a lot of research on whatever surgeon you choose, foreign or domestic.

Although Mexico is the cheapest alternative for self-pay, many people are still having issues with aftercare. Also, if a Mexican doctor screws up or defrauds you somehow it is practically impossible to seek legal action against them. This is not to scare you or dismiss Mexican doctors, but something to think about.

There are inexpensive options in the U.S. There is a doctor in Denver who charges $9,900 for the surgery and a group of physicians in Detroit who charge $10,700. Both of those doctors offer financing options as well. I've also heard about doctors in Texas and on the west coast charging around 12k. This may seem like a lot, but like I said there are financing options.

No one can tell you what to do, that's really something you're going to have to decide for yourself based on your own personal priorities and level of comfort. Just make sure you do a lot of research on whatever surgeon you choose, foreign or domestic.

It is best to do your homework on all surgeons before making a decision of this magnitude and I would not pick a surgeon solely based on price no matter where that surgeon is located as it is possible for a surgeon in this country to make mistakes as well. I would talk to as many people possible and check into their background, and find out just how many of these procedures he/she has performed. I myself went with a surgeon who has performed over 3,000 bariatric procedures.

Many of the surgeons in Mexico do offer financing options and many of them advertise on this site. Keep in mind however, Mexico surgeons rely on the fact that their patients will either recommend or not recommend to others their services and it seems to me strive harder to offer outstanding service to their patients for the word of mouth recommendation as most of their patience are from the US.

Good luck to you in making your selection.

It is best to do your homework on all surgeons before making a decision of this magnitude and I would not pick a surgeon solely based on price no matter where that surgeon is located as it is possible for a surgeon in this country to make mistakes as well. I would talk to as many people possible and check into their background, and find out just how many of these procedures he/she has performed. I myself went with a surgeon who has performed over 3,000 bariatric procedures.

Many of the surgeons in Mexico do offer financing options and many of them advertise on this site. Keep in mind however, Mexico surgeons rely on the fact that their patients will either recommend or not recommend to others their services and it seems to me strive harder to offer outstanding service to their patients for the word of mouth recommendation as most of their patience are from the US.

Good luck to you in making your selection.

Hello? If money wasn't one of the MAJOR reasons for choosing a particular surgeon NO ONE would have their surgery done in Mexico at all. I can't say that I know a single person who has ever chosen to have a non-elective surgery in any foreign country, even if the doctors were more experienced. The fact of the matter is that there are real risks and inconveniences that come with getting banded in Mexico, and this needs to be weighed heavily before making a decision. This website is full of tons of horror stories that support my point fully.

Hello? If money wasn't one of the MAJOR reasons for choosing a particular surgeon NO ONE would have their surgery done in Mexico at all. I can't say that I know a single person who has ever chosen to have a non-elective surgery in any foreign country, even if the doctors were more experienced. The fact of the matter is that there are real risks and inconveniences that come with getting banded in Mexico, and this needs to be weighed heavily before making a decision. This website is full of tons of horror stories that support my point fully.

Did you take into consideration that here in the states there are separate fees for anesthesiology and the O.R.?

You make a good point, I'm sure I wouldn't have gone to Mexico if I could have afforded to have surgery in or near my hometown by a surgeon with similar credentials at a cost within a thousand to two thousand dollars. There just weren't any. The surgeon I went to had a great deal more experience under his belt. Would I have preferred he wasn't in Mexico? Of coarse, I was very uneasy at first about going to a foreign country, but I'm so glad I did. I had top notch care. There is a user on this site whom I prefer not to name since he is one of my least favorite people, for example, he went to what he thought was a qualified surgeon at Cedars Sinai who turned out to be a hack. That's why I say, make sure you do your homework. Just because a surgeon charges more doesn't make him the most qualified.

Did you take into consideration that here in the states there are separate fees for anesthesiology and the O.R.?

You make a good point, I'm sure I wouldn't have gone to Mexico if I could have afforded to have surgery in or near my hometown by a surgeon with similar credentials at a cost within a thousand to two thousand dollars. There just weren't any. The surgeon I went to had a great deal more experience under his belt. Would I have preferred he wasn't in Mexico? Of coarse, I was very uneasy at first about going to a foreign country, but I'm so glad I did. I had top notch care. There is a user on this site whom I prefer not to name since he is one of my least favorite people, for example, he went to what he thought was a qualified surgeon at Cedars Sinai who turned out to be a hack. That's why I say, make sure you do your homework. Just because a surgeon charges more doesn't make him the most qualified.

Thank you for writing this. I wasn't trying to say that Mexican doctors are inferior, I am just saying that there are a lot of real risks. Risks people need to think about before they say to themselves "Wow, that is cheap, I can afford to pay 7k." There are a lot of things to consider.

American doctors screw up just as much as Mexican doctors and vice versa. Experience or ability is not the argument here. The real argument is that once you decide to have surgery outside the U.S. you have no security net to protect you from all the bad things that could potentially happen.

Some people don't mind rolling the dice, but others need more security than that. All I'm saying is that it's not a decision to be taken lightly. Do your homework.

Thank you guys so much for all of your definately appreciated advice and i am definately going to look into all of my options. Like i have said the trip to mexico actually scares the crap outta me..but i have heard so many good things about specific doctors there..and honestly the fear of dying really outweights some of my other fears about location. i am 29 and 368..i have 3 children and want to have a long healthy life with them. It is definately a case of rolling the dice. In the same sence im doing the same sitting here in the us not being able to afford some of these high unimaginable prices here where i live. i know the decision should not be based on price but 7 thousand is alot more obtainable than 21 thousand. Thanks again. i just signed up here the other day and i am so happy that there is a group of people here who have had the same struggle as me.

Hi everyone,

I live in NJ and went to Mexico to have Dr. Ortiz do my surgery. I am going back at the end of September for my first fill.

I had a wonderful experience. Tijuana may be dangerous but so is Philadelphia. I just made sure to stay in the hotel and did not venture out although some of the other Americans did.

I did not qualify for surgery here. My BMI is only 37 (sounds funny to say ONLY 37) and I have no co-morbidities so my insurance would not cover it. I refused to gain more weight and make myself sicker so that they would pay to make me better.

I recently went to my doctor here and he was very impressed with what he saw of my surgery. He also pointed out an article to me about Medical Tourism he had been reading.

It seems to me that the biggest problem here is our insurance. They want you to be so sick before you are approved for some procedures that many people never get the help they need.

Example: My mother died of ovarian cancer. When I was 45 my doctor and I decided I should have a hysterectomy because of my increased risk. My insurance company denied me. I am not the type to give up however and she and I kept fighting and I eventually was approved. It would have cost them much more had I gotten cancer!! Also, they do not have the brightest people working for them. They called and said they would approve removal of the uterus but not the ovaries! HELLO we were doing this because of the chance of OVARIAN CANCER. Total genius!!!!!!

So all of you thinking about going to Mexico...do your homework, use common sense, choose wisely. My background is in scientific research so you know I did my homework.

Thank you guys so much for all of your definately appreciated advice and i am definately going to look into all of my options. Like i have said the trip to Mexico actually scares the crap outta me..but i have heard so many good things about specific doctors there..and honestly the fear of dying really outweights some of my other fears about location. i am 29 and 368..i have 3 children and want to have a long healthy life with them. It is definately a case of rolling the dice. In the same sence im doing the same sitting here in the us not being able to afford some of these high unimaginable prices here where i live. i know the decision should not be based on price but 7 thousand is alot more obtainable than 21 thousand. Thanks again. i just signed up here the other day and i am so happy that there is a group of people here who have had the same struggle as me.

You have described exactly the way I felt and it was because of my fears that I chose to go to Mexico. It really is a personal decision one must make for oneself. I wish you much clarity and ease in making the right decision for you. If you have any questions that I may help you with please don't hesitate to private message me.

Good luck to you!

Donna

Hi,

I just wanted to toss some info into the mix. I also live in Florida and I am self-pay. I am going through Shands at UF. My total cost including the initial surgeon consult is $15340. This includes 5 fills and an overnight stay in the hospital.

If your limitation is cost and you want to stay local you might look into other hospitals. I don't know where you are in Florida, but Shands is located in several cities and has an excellent reputation.

Good luck whatever you do!