Band07

I know Juarez isn't the safest city in the world but Iv talked to many others and Iv not heard anyone say they didn't feel safe. It's literally airport hospital airport, no stops and the hospitals is in the nicest part of town. Also it's a major mfg area for "ADC Telecommunications, Electrolux, Bosch, Foxconn, Flextronics, Lexmark, Delphi, Visteon, Johnson Controls, Lear, Boeing, Cardinal Health, Yazaki, Sumitomo, and Siemens are some of the foreign companies that have chosen Ciudad Juárez for their business operation." Drug cartels and criminal violence is actually very low on my list of concerns.

Sure ! Iv been researching obsessively for a couple of months now and IMHO. Dr. Rodriguez, Dr. Ramos-Kelly, Dr. Wilhmey, Dr. Corvela and Dr. Ariel Ortiz and Dr. Alvarez are the best in Mexico. I gathered this mainly from obsessively reading everything anyone had ever posted about surgeons. From there I contacted each one to discuss my specific case as well as cost and what the packages included. A couple were scratched off right away because I am already sleeved and thought I wanted resleeved. Dr. Ortiz wanted to plicate my sleeve ..no thanks. Dr. Alvarez didn't think I would be happy with it and refused me. Dr. Corvela and Dr. Whilmey were both on board and Dr. Whilmey had the most experience with revisions but Dr. Rodriquez recommended the MGB which i NEVER thought I would even consider!! I started researching and I liked what I found. I then talked with Dr. Kelly and Dr. Illan about the procedure and both were in favor also but both combine hospital stay with hotel recovery, I liked Dr. Kelly a lot but he was about $1000 more and I'm already on the high end at $7900, all were well credentialed, well reviewed but Dr. Rod made the recommendation for the MGB, he has done over 10,000 procedures in his career and he operates out of the hospital used by the US embassy. Iv talked to a lot of others who have used him and have found no complaints at all!! I hope this helps, it was prob more than you were looking for lol ! I think if you are looking to be sleeved you can't to wrong with anyone Iv mentioned above but again prob Dr. Rod and Dr. Ramos Kelley and Dr. Wilhmey would be my number one picks !

Hi Chrissy !! You have definitely made the right choice ! I wish I had went from band to MGB and skipped the sleeve ! Who is doing your revision ?

Thanks so much !!

Iv confirmed my 4-23 date today with Dr. Rod, I'm officially now scared to death ! Hoping I'm making the right decision !!

Mini gastric bypass, I thought I wanted to be resleeved but now I feel like this is my best option. I'm tentatively scheduled for 4/23/15. There is a MGB board here with some good information. I'm sorry to hear you are struggling too. I'm now the highest weight I've been since 2007 and it really sucks. I know there are a lot of people who have great success with the sleeve but I think it's important for those who have not had surgery yet to realize there are no guarantees! Especially going from band to sleeve and I feel like I wasn't prepared for that before my surgery.

Are you thinking of revising to the sleeve ? Unfortunately there are no guarantees but there have been many who have done amazing with the sleeve after the band, I wish I had been one of them.

Depending on how well your skin heals, of coarse everyone is different. Personally, however I would prob have a hard time finding all of mine even if I tried.

I didn't take it as judging though I have gotten that a few time by others who ask why I think a 3rd surgery would help if the 2 before didn't or the suggestions that I seek counseling lol I loved my band, I did very well, it changed my life. I kept it very tight however and I had a lot of reflux and back and shoulder pain and honestly after 6 years I was sick of feeling stuck all the time, sometimes I would be up all night uncomfortable because of something I ate hours before. I also had a couple of dilated pouches so I knew it was already not what it had been in the beginning. When the sleeve came out everyone said how amazing it was and how you never felt "stuck" just full. I had also read a few things about the band embedding into the liver over time and I just got worried that only being 35 at the time, what would another 10/20/30 years be like with the band, that was scary to me so i had it removed.

Yes, I know it sounds terrible, I may as well not even have a "sleeve" though. Did they have the MGB ? There is a difference, the MGB seems to show better long term weight loss..

Check out my post "where are the other strugglers?" On the band to sleeve board for a few other stories about those having a hard time with the revision.

My original surgeries were in Ohio but I will be going to Mexico to get it right this time

The reversible was in regards to the MGB, the sleeve however is revivable. It's great that you were able to wait 5 months to let your stomach heal, however being self pay I didn't have that luxury and i know and have talked to many others in my now over 2 years of research that the band can and does at times damage the stomach to the point that a smaller sleeve increases risk which is why my doc had to use a 42 Bougie. Yes there are a lot of people who do great going from band to sleeve, there are also a lot that don't, it's important to know that there is always a chance it may be nothing like you hope it would be like in my case.

My current weight is 180, my BMI is 30.9, my highest weight ever was 260, I know after living with a very restrictive band for so long that my body got used to less calories, I'm willing to do my part, I still go to Crossfit 3x a week and try hard to eat right, but I know I need a tool and right now I don't have one. Iv had a continuous slow gain since I revised to sleeve, it's just a matter of time until I put it all back on if I don't do this.

He is in Mexacali, I think it's $7900. He is one of the more expensive but what I found was he had the most experience with revisions. I have seriously OBSESSIVELY researched for a couple months now and I would never even consider Almanza personally. From what I've found the best of the best in Mexico are Wilhelmy, Corvela, Ramos-Kelly, and I'm going with Rodriguez in Juarez. The self-pay/Mexico forum on here is VERY helpful, just put in the surgeons name and you will find tons of reviews. If money is why you are considering Almanza, I think the Ramos Kelly is very reasonable and also Dr. Illan who I also think is probably very good but got a lot of bad publicity because of his coordinator, you can read through the drama for yourself if you would like there is A LOT of it and its definitely a soap opera but in the end, i could not find anything or anyone to say he was not a great surgeon and I think he is probably in the $4k/$5k range.

I had been obsessively looking into being resleeved as well as mine is very large and misshapen as evident in my x-rays, I've now decided to revise to the MGB, I've done a ton of research and while I NEVER imagined even considering a malabsorption procedure, it really sounds very promising. There is a small group on here if you would like more information. However, if you are dead set of resleeving, IMHO, Dr. Wilhelmy in Mexico was by far the best I found for the job. Best of luck to you!

This is a quote from the MGB forum that someone was nice enough to share with me. She said her doc talked her into the MGB and these are the reasons that he gave her ... I thought that because a restriction only procedure had worked so well for me before it would again. His points were. 1) if you have a band your stomach will be damaged so they would have to make the pouch slightly larger because of scar tissue therefore you will probably be able to eat more 2) your body is not shocked by just going on a low cal diet again, it's used to it 3) it's reversible 4) they don't bypas as much of the intestines so malabsorption is not as high (this was my main reason I didn't want it) 4) usually a couple of good Multivitamins a day is all the supplements you need, with traditional rny it's more 5) probably won't suffer with as many extreme reactions to sugar/ fat as rny. 6) if you have a bypas then you have no where else to go, no more surgery, if you have a sleeve and it doenst work you will need to revise again anyway (especially relevant if you are self pay like me!) It was this post that really led me to researching the procedure. I'm not saying you might not do amazing with a sleeve, I just wish that I had someone to tell me both sides of it before I made my decision. Best of luck!!

I too was banded and very successful but ended up with a dilated esophagus. I revised to the sleeve and while yes, it's nice to not feel stuck or PB any more of have that terrible pain after eating (I kept my band very tight) I've gained 10 lbs since my surgery. I'm constantly hungry and I can eat very large portions. Removing the band was like opening a flood gate for me and my "sleeve" is bigger and easily stretched due to the scar tissue that was left behind. I have x-rays to show how misshapen it is. I'm not pursuing a revision to the MGB, I wish I had never sleeved at all to be honest and I wouldn't be facing a 3rd surgery. In my research I've found those who did well with the band struggle more with the sleeve while those who were unable to lose with the band do pretty good. I NEVER imagined I would consider a malabsorption procedure but after reading about the long term success of the MGB, I'm sold.

Do you know, did they revise your sleeve as well? Or just do the bypass portion and leave the sleeve as it was?

Mini gastric bypass = shorter, safer, less risk, less complications, better weight loss.

My sleeve never worked, Iv gained almost 15 lbs since my revision a year and half ago, I have xray pics to prove my "sleeve" is large and misshapen due to the damage from my band and my surgeon using a 42 Bougie. I'm revising to MGB.

That's prob a benefit for sure, I kept mine very tight right up till the day of surgery. My revision was in Ohio.

Iv read lots of stories from others who revised from band to sleeve and did very well, I just wasn't one of them. For me after living with the band for 6 years removing it was like opening the flood gates, my hunger increased and I had very little portion restriction. I know now that my surgeon used a 42 Bougie and I had a lot of scar tissue so my "sleeve" has always been large and misshapen so since my revision Iv actually gained almost 15 lbs

Oh that's great ! It says a lot that you are returning to him, that makes me feel even better! I was banded also, I did very well until I revised to the sleeve and Iv struggled ever since, it didn't work for me at all I'm revising from sleeve to MGB.

Yes it would ! Are you getting sleeved ? Is it your first surgery ? I'm having a revision. Iv read lots of great things about Dr. Rod and even though I'm still scared to death I feel he is a competent well credentialed well reviewed surgeon.