stephanie1678

The medical tourist doctors have more clout than the drug cartel? Just kidding here of course.

The point I was trying to make is that what is a deal breaker for some, is not for someone else (though the article I read states he was jailed). I did not check it out further as I would never have gone with him to begin with (his insurance fraud shows lack of ethical values which was bad enough for me, if he was truly jailed matters not....). This again though shows how important it is to check posts out yourself. DO NOT BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU READ!! Thank you for validating my point.

Yes, it does happen. People changing their mind, even as they are IN the hospital about to have the surgery. Looking around the hospital, talking to the surgeon, and knowing 'it doesn't feel quite right'. I had emailed several members here and begged them to talk to me on the phone, to give me some reassurance that I was doing the right thing, to have some sort of hand holding. No-one followed through, no one was interested in talking to me in person. The ONLY person who agreed to talk to me (a prolific poster on a different forum) warned me not to trust reviews, and to be very careful....She talked about paid reviews, coordinators posing as past patients, hidden complication rates. I spoke to Dr Aceves as I was sitting in one of his patient's rooms, and he told me of complications some of his patients had suffered and I realized none of those stories had made it to the boards or to any of the forums I participate in. It made me realize that maybe there was some truth to the story that many reviews here are paid reviews....that the reality is not nearly as rosy as the fabulous success stories this forum is littered with. And so I came home today...sleeveless. A fruitless trip to Mexicali that did not pan out as expected or as planned. I did get to meet Dr Aceves, Dr Campos, and his team. I got a tour of the hospital, and got to stay in Hotel Lucerna. I met some of Dr Aceves' patients who all seemed to be recovering as planned. I salute them and their bravery. I salute Dr Aceves for his brutal honesty and integrity. I could see the pride he has for his hospital in his eyes, hear it in his voice. As for me? I am broke, disappointed, and confused. Trust is important. I have absolutely no clue how this Medical Tourism business can be regulated better, how trust can be built, how complication rates can be better and more reliably conveyed. It certainly is not for the faint at heart.

Oh, dear.....I don't know. If I lost 45 pounds I would be happy as punch, and be at a weight I loved myself at. But then again, I have tried that before, and I know I will just gain it back. Ask me again in a little bit, after I have time to digest it all.

Fabulous!!!! ♥

What I am referring to is that it is really hard for a doctor to know what complications arise after surgery when most of his patients are out of the country patients. He admitted to me that he simply does not know about all problems that come up after a patient leaves. Many never email him back, and some drop off the face of the earth. Please do not interpret this to mean that I think Dr Aceves is a bad surgeon with horrible complication rates. I do not think that is the case at all. I found him to be ethical and honest in my dealings with him. I would still consider him should I choose to move ahead. Again, I am just stressing the importance of researching your own surgeon and not go by what you read on a forum. Your doctor for example was jailed/imprisoned for insurance fraud. To some that may be a deterrent to choosing him, while others may think that is not a big deal. What is important to me may not be important to others. Hopefully your own research will give you the information you need so you can move forward with your decision, and feel good about it.

Do tell....because Dr Aceves sure didn't know how.......

Exactly. So why perpetuate that practice by engaging in it here too? I am thinking that is a naive statement. Even Mexican doctors hide their true complication figures, or are not even aware of what they are. Dr Aceves truthfully admitted to me he has no clue what his complication rate is. Again, that's why it is so important to do your own research, to do your own calling. Instead of calling people out and researching past posts, it would have taken 1 minute to call the company directly to check it out. I happen to like lauara-ven. I think she has made some great posts and has been supportive of many members. But I do think she is experienced enough to know that one call could have just clarified it all.

This is exactly what I was referring to above. If anyone questions anything, pick up the phone and do your own research. Do not believe what you read on the internet. Call!!! Verify it yourself!! Do not take anyone's word for anything. It is why I picked up the phone when the OP first made this thread. I called, and did not hang up until I had answers. Then I called someone else and asked for more information. Only then did I post here that it was true. We all have to do this. Do your own research. Verify information, or dig up new information. We do have some control in the outcome of our own surgeries.

This whole Medical Tourism business needs to be better regulated. It is appalling what I discovered in my own attempt at a sleeve in Mexico. Even more appalling is the fact that those of us who need/want it most often have to depend on the unverified stories we find on the web. Too many lies, too many questions.

You are welcome. And ANYONE could (and should if they had questions or doubts) have done that.

I was expecting this post. How sad. You have absolutely NO clue what happened, but already you sweep it under the rug as an 'unfortunate' event. First you jump to the conclusion that the OP had to have been making this up, and now you assume it was an accident. And yes, research can make a difference! Were compression stocking used during and after surgery? How about blood thinners? Why does this company have multiple deaths in a few months?!?! In honor of the patient who passed away, let us not make assumptions. And Alex, these are not rumors. A patient DID pass away.

855-768-7247

I just called and it is true. A male patient died over the weekend. I would really urge people to do their own checking when they question something that was posted here, instead of arguing on this site. It took me one call to find out it is true. They said a male patient had surgery and the next morning was up and walking. Soon after he died due to reasons 'not of the doctor's fault'. They claim a blood clot, but at this point are not sure.

I really do not think I did any of that. I am sorry if you interpreted it as such.

Oh, believe me when I say I did talk to Nina about complications. She had told me Dr Aceves had 1 leak in a virgin sleeve and 2 in a revision. Those are the only complications she was aware of. Dr Aceves mentioned more than those once I was there. Please do not interpret my post to mean that I think Dr Aceves is a bad choice. I do not think that. I do however think that we cannot get a true picture of past complications by reading the forums or by asking Nina. I am a single mother of 4 great kids. Awesome kids. Kids who need me as much I need them. One of the possible complications Dr Aceves described to me would mean a 3 or more month stay at the hospital in Mexicali (something that has indeed happened before with Dr Aceves). This can happen with ANY surgeon. However, a 3 month stay in a hospital in Mexicali is something I was not willing to risk (especially since I had to digest this information right before facing surgery). And there were other complications that he brought up that equally concerned me. Again, ANY doctor will have these risks and complications. How often they happen with each surgeon is something we simply do not know. But especially not with a doctor who deals MOSTLY with out of the country patients. He told me that he tries to stay in touch with patients, but that sometimes this is not possible. As such, he is not completely aware of what his complication rate is. He was honest about this and I have IMMENSE respect for him because of this. While I was there, a former patient was there asking me why I was so upset and second guessing the surgery. I explained one of my fears (leaks), and how I would deal with that should it happen to me. His response was "Don't worry about it, if you have a leak, just fly back to Mexicali and Dr Aceves will take care of you and fix the leak". It was then that I realized that some people can go to surgery in Mexico, not worry, and think that if anything goes wrong, they could just fly back and have it taken care of. Knowing that in reality that is not option (far from it!) made me wish I knew less, and trusted more. Blind faith....it can be a beautiful thing. I am the polar opposite of someone who does anything without much thought. In fact, I over-research and over-think EVERYTHING. It is exactly what often holds me back in life. Like I hinted at above: sometimes ignorance is bliss. I think you misunderstood my original post. I would NEVER ask anyone to assure me I was going to be ok.

My post was never meant to dissuade anyone from having surgery with Dr Aceves. I am sure you will do great! Good luck! ♥

I will make a separate thread once I a home. For now I will have to spend the next 4 days in San Diego with only the clothes on my back. My return flight is not until Sunday.

Well, I am wiggling out. Am not going to do it. Just don't feel good about the whole thing. Getting pulled over for a drug search, being handed a cup to pee in while a cleaning lady would not leave the bathroom etcetc did nothing to alleviate my fears. Dr aceves seems like a good man,and brutally honest (kudos to him). The complications some of his patients have experienced that he described also put the fear of the living daylights in me. I never knew.....

I just ran out of the hospital crying. Don't think I can do this. I need some pep talk if I am going to do this, otherwise I am going home tomorrow. I didn't even let them do the per surgery tests.....

Yeah, that's what I thought. I think people need to be careful pointing to that website and calling it objective/reliable and verifiable information.

I am having my surgery the day after tomorrow. I will do a write up after. ♥ If you look on youtube, nerdinoregon recently had her surgery with Dr Aceves and has her whole experience documented.

Where did you see that? In all of my research I have never seen that mentioned by a reputable source....?

Your non inflated number of surgeries are not all sleeves though, so that number means very little.

If you have symptoms of a clot or a family history of clotting problems, it would be wise to check with a doc before getting a deep muscle massage after surgery.