snowflake

So, I had a wonderful experience with having surgery with Dr. Kelly and Trish. The surgery with Dr. Kelly went well, but what also made the experience wonderful was the services of Trish. She set up the surgery for me, arranged the driver for me (both ways), arranged payment, was there to greet me at the hospital (at around 11:00 pm at night), was there when I woke up from the surgery, called my husband to let him know that the surgery went well, took me to the swallow test, took me to the hotel, etc. That's a lot huh? Anyway, although I had a wonderful experience with Dr. Kelly, I also understand that dr. Ponce de leon is a great surgeon too and Trish coordinates for him as well. Of course it is important to have a good surgeon, but it is also about who is going to take care of you while you are in a foreign country. Trish was the one that made me feel comfortable and really helped to reduce my anxiety. Before the trip, I was really nervous about going to Mexico. I think I watch the news too much......things went through my mind like .....what happens if I get kidnapped? All those things went through my head. But once I got to the hospital and met Trish, I was just fine. So with that being said, both Dr Kelly and Dr. Ponce are great surgeons. I don't think you could go wrong with either one, BUT it really means a lot to have someone like Trish to guide you along the way. Yes, the other coordinators can book for you, but are they personally there to look after you? NO! If you want to get in touch with Trish, she can be reached at 661-886-4617 (you can text at that number too) or her office number 619-202-6011. FYI.... her assistant's name is Omar and he sometimes answers the phone. If you have any questions, my name is Noel....please feel free to ask. Dr. ponce de leon does surgery at the same hospital as Dr. Kelly. Also, you will go to the Hotel Lucerna for recovery, which is like a 5 star hotel....so beautiful. When you walk into the foyer, you are greeted by beautiful marble floors....so nice. It's like a mini-vacation. You can find out more about Trish, the doctors she works with, etc. at her website......wls4betterlife.com. Whichever excellent surgeon you choose, Trish will help you along the way! Thanks, Noel

He may have Sara working for him too, but Trish is still handling patients too. The coordinators are independent contractors. Ask yourself this.....do you really think that Dr. Kelly is going to turn down a patient that Trish brings to him? We all have choice.....if you want to go through Sara then go through Sara.....if you want to go through Trish, then go through Trish. It's that simple. If you are thinking about going through Trish and you want to know if she still offers services when having surgery with Dr. Kelly, then just call her and verify. She can be reached at 661-886-4617 (you can text at that number too) or her office number 619-202-6011. She is also coordinating for Dr. Ponce too.

FYI.....Trish still coordinates for Dr. Kelly. I had surgery with Dr. Kelly in July and Trish was awesome. I just talked to someone who had surgery with Dr. Kelly last week and Trish took care of them. There are a lot of coordinators to choose from, it is just a matter of who you go through. Trish is an on-site coordinator. She is also a coordinator for Dr. Ponce too. Both are great surgeons and Trish will take care of you, whichever doctor you choose.

Hey Angel86......you might have read about TRish, who coordinates for Dr. Kelly. Well, she is also coordinating for Dr. Ponce too. She is an on-site coordinator, which is so nice. I had my surgery with Dr. Kelly and Trish took such good care of me. She will arrange your surgery, make arrangements for you to be picked up at the airport (going back too), take you to the hotel, etc. For me, it was sort of scary going to a foreign country all be myself, but I didn't feel like I was alone with Trish. She has a website, which is wls4betterlife.com.....check it out. If you need to get in touch with her, her cell number is 661-886-4617 ( you can text to that number too) or her office number which is 619-202-6011. You can just tell her that Noel told you about her services with Dr. Ponce. She is a wonderful person and will take good care of you. I hear from Trish that Dr. Ponce is a very good surgeon too. If you have any questions, please let me know.

I had surgery in July and my passport didn't make it back in time either. I was so freaked out that I wouldn't be able to get back into the country. I was fine though. I had a copy of my passport application, driver's license and a copy of my birth certificate ( not even a certified copy). They can tell if you have applied for a passport in their system because the crossing guard gave me my passport number. PLus like someone said they can scan you driver's license to see if it is authentic. You'll be just fine.

FYI........for anyone considering Trish. She has a new number and it is 619-202-6011 at the hospital. She also has a toll free number of 866-210-7850. She has an office at the hospital now. She can also be reached at smoothgospel@hotmail.es. Please note that if you call the old cell number, someone else might answer - not Trish. She will hopefully have a new cell number soon.

I'm so sorry to hear about that Donnie. On the positive note, aren't you glad that you decided to get the sleeve? When you think about it, the sleeve saved your stomachand life. By deciding on sleeve surgery, it caused you to find out about the damage. Maybe you would have gone for many more years with the band doing damage and not knowing it, since there were not any apparent symptoms. I know you are probably sore from the surgery, but aren't you glad to have that thing out of you? I was soooooo happy to have mine out....what a difference. The band is great for some, but it is not for everyone. I know 6 months seems like a long time, but let's hope that it flys by. I know that emotionally this is really hard. Yes, I did have everything done in one surgery, but going into the surgery I did not know this for sure so I have an idea of how you feel. If nothing else, you know that you have a good surgeon, because he is not taking any unnecessary risks by doing the sleeve too quickly. Just concentrate on getting healed and then you will be back to get the sleeve in no time.

Thanks Tracy....I really appreciate it. I feel better in knowing that this is probably normal. It hope it disappears soon. I have the same problem.......I don't feel it on every bite, just every few bites. Hopefully, both of us will be feeling better in a few weeks. You are a few days ahead of me. I am on day 7, so not too far behind you. Otherwise, I am feeling good. I do have some pain where my port from the lapband was removed, but that is to be expected. I am still very happy that I did this surgery.

Hello everyone! A week ago I had my band to sleeve revision! I am feeling pretty good. However, when I swallow and something goes down I feel pain around the top of my stomach. It is right under my breasts right around where the esophagus meets the stomach. This is pretty much the same location where my band was located. Did anyone who has had a revision experience this and did it go away? I figured that it might be from swelling from where the band was taken out. When I asked my doc how everything looked when he removed the band, he said there was little damage, no erosion and little scar tissue. So, I didnt' go into this with a whole lot of damage. I hope this is normal and just a by-product of band removal and hopefully will heal soon. I would love to hear from other people. I get scared when reading about narrowing and constriction of the stomach. FYI......I am not experiencing problems such as throwing up.

There are a few variables involved. I had my band placed in 2003 too. I just had revision surgery a week ago. I am so happy to have that thing out of me. In my case I have had the liquid out of my sleeve for a few years. It's just been sitting inside of me doing nothing. Before the surgery started, my doctor told me that if there was significant damage, he would take the band out and then send me home for about 4 months for my stomach to heal. He recommended before the surgery to do an endoscopy so I would have an idea of what I am dealing with before going into the surgery. However, I chose to pass on this, because I didn't want to spend additional money and no matter the outcome of the endoscopy I would still want the band removed. I just wanted it out of me. Damage can mean different things....i.e. erosion, significant scar tissue or some cases the tube from the band can grow into other organs. I think someone posted on here that the tube had wrapped around or grown into their liver. In my case, I did not have any of these issues (thank god), but a little bit of scar tissue. So, my doc took out the band and did the sleeve. I am so happy! Have you had any erosion issues or other issues? Sometimes, pain or fever are a sign that there are problems. Do you have the liquid in your band or is it empty? If it's empty, how long has it been empty? These will all be considerations as to whether your doctor will perform the removal and placement of the sleeve all at once. Of course, it also depends on what your doctor feels conformtable doing.