LWilliams

I would like to share my recent Lap band experience. One of the most important criteria, for me, was an experienced surgeon. Price was also a major consideration as this was a 100% out of pocket expense. Thirdly, time was of the essence! How soon could I get this done? My life had already be “on hold” due to obesity for too long! I chose Molding Clinic after considering many other facilities, both in the US and abroad, because they have a TEAM of experienced doctors, their price supported their motto “Our goal is to be able to help as many patients that are willing to be helped”, no passport was required, and surgery dates were available within 2 weeks! All my travel arrangements were taken care of for me, all I had to do was pack and get on board! Andres and driver met us at the airport and took us to the clinic, we barely had to slow down at the border. At the clinic we were warmly greeted by doctors and staff members and then taken for pre-op labs, x-rays and ultrasounds. Once back at the clinic we were settled into our surgical suite and met with Dr. Navarro for evaluation, EKG, and a review of the other tests. Next we met with Dr. Huacuz, our surgeon, and Dr. Castro, our anesthesiologist. I have never had such a detailed, in depth, discussion with my doctors before! I met my Inamed 10.0cm band and signed for her and it was off to surgery for her installation! After surgery the nurse stayed within 4 feet of me ALL night long, if I shifted she was there to see if I needed anything. A language barrier means nothing when there is genuine compassion for a patient. The next afternoon we were ready to go to Hoteles Emporio, it was fabulous! Joel drove us there and we made plans to go sight seeing and shopping the next day. Dr. Huacuz came to the hotel daily to check our progress. Andres visited at least once a day and Dr. Romero, Master Nutriologist, also came to the hotel to provide detailed nutrition guidelines for Lap band patients. The trip back home was almost as easy. Crossing the border was a breeze, our driver went inside and had the border agent come out to the van. The border agent asked us to declare our citizenship, verified we were coming from Molding Clinic after surgery and asked if we were sure we didn’t want to dance with him! No getting out of the van, standing, waiting, walking, or searching nonsense, just have a great day and come back soon! For those researching Molding Clinic, it is located across the street from costco, NOT in a bad part of Tijuana. The clinic is as tidy and medically advanced as you would find in the US (better than some I have experienced). But it is the professional care and personal attention that set Molding Clinic apart from any US facility I have visited. I will be returning there for fills and heartily recommend Molding Clinic to anyone!

I noticed on Dr. Kelly Fitzpatrick's site that she states NOT to schedule a fill if you are menstruating. Does any one know why?

Dr. Huacuz was my surgeon in March of this year. He was very compentant and I am very happy to recommend him. He also did my first fill the end of May. Andres Betancourt coordinated the entire experience for me. You can locate his clinic info at Betancourtmedical.com.

It depends on the POLICY your employer has with the insurance company. Insurance companys offer many different policies, so stating that a particular insurance company covers the procedure is not accurate.

Hi, I had a really great intro prepared but scraped it. I have been lurking and researching for about 2 months now. This site really helped answer some questions I had both pre and post op. I'm a little over 3 weeks post op now and I have but one regret....That I didn't get banded years ago! If anyone is still in the "thinking about it" stage, just go for it!