Pacific526

Great to hear your story, Katy. Just a year ago we were sleeping in the clinic; one day post-op. The clinic was pristine and Dr. Ortiz and his staff are incredible. Anyone who is self pay, this is an option to consider. I borrowed money against the equity in my house; there are ways to get the funds. My insurance does not pay for any weight loss surgery. It's pretty black and white so I had to look for other options. A warning to all of you: IF YOU'RE TOO TIGHT, GET AN UNFILL! Both Katy and I became too tight, months after the last fill. We both had appts this week for a slight unfill. Even 0.1 cc, a mere drop, can make a huge difference. Julie in Portland Dr. Ortiz 10-22-08

I live in Portland OR and had lap-band surg Oct 22 in Mexico by Dr. Ortiz. Everything went swimmingly. Cost was $8,500 and about 1/3 of the cost here in Portland. Expertise of the doctor in Mexico was the main reason. Do not assume American doctors are better trained. In August 2007, I made the decision to get a lap band and called Dr. Ortiz's office and spoke with Lori, the pt care coordinator. She talked with me for about an hour and answered many questions. About a week later I called to get a date. We chose Oct 22. I was sent a packet of info and completed it. It asked for medical history, social history, very complete personal profile. I faxed this back, 20 pages in all, to the clinic. I got a call a day or two later saying I was approved. They do like people to be a BMI of 50 or less. My weight in June 07 was 232. By August I was 227. I was advised to lose about 10 pounds- this is to decrease the fat around the liver. I emailed Lori several times with questions and called a few times. She was always able to answer questions I had. On Sunday, Oct 21 I flew to San Diego with a friend. We were met by the driver holding a sign with my name. I met two other women in the van and we had a nice chat on the way to the hotel. We were told to eat lightly but we were able to eat real food. They arranged to pick us up at 8 am on Monday. Now the Lucerna is advertised as a "5 Star Hotel" but it's like a Red Lion or Comfort Inn, it's nice enough but not a luxury resort. But it's fine and has two restaurants. We ate at the Italian restaurant b/c the air quality was better but I'd not recommend that. It was not very good. The air quality had to do with the fires in San Diego. There was a dusting of ash everywhere and many people wore masks. The Mexican restaurant was open to the lobby thus the poor air. The Italian restaurant was it's own building. We were picked up at 8AM on Monday, right on schedule and taken over in 3 loads- patients first, companions last. After we got to the clinic we were given paperwork, releases, standard stuff. It was very important to bring the paperwork we had originally faxed. We were instructed to bring this with us. No one forgot which was surprising. We then had lab work done and an IV was left in. I had an EKG and a female tech first came in and taped a paper gown around my breasts and covered me with a sheet. The male tech did the EKG but was very respectful. I had an EKG last year and the male tech just threw open my gown and applied the leads with no attempt at modesty. I did not like that at all. Then we all met with the nutrition doctor individually. She had a PowerPoint presentation and also gave us written instructions, quite detailed. My weight was 218 which was amazing since I had only done the liquid diet with a light dinner for 10 days before surgery. We then were escorted to the room and waited for surgery. Turns out Dr. Ortiz lives in San Diego and his ranch was at risk for being evacuated. He was about 2 hours late and the other surgeon spent about an hour talking with my friend and me. I doubt many USA doctors would do that. They'd be in the doctor's lounge, trust me. Been there, seen that. I am an RN as is my friend and we were both very impressed with the clinic. It definitely mimics any USA hospital ward. Very state of the art. ALSO: There was a radiologist in our group having surgery. She could have had surgery anywhere, including the USA and chose Dr. Ortiz for his expertise. That was reassuring. I stayed one night in the clinic and did fine- I had an IV for the night which was nice for pain meds. I was up walking a few hours after surgery. On Tuesday we went back to the hotel by 10 AM. That afternoon, three of us hired a cab to take us to the beach where we walked for about an hour and then he took us back. I slept OK Tuesday night and we flew home Wednesday. All in All, it was an amazingly positive experience. Fills there are $100 and done with fluoro. I plan to fly down to Mexico in mid-Dec for my first fill. I live in Portland and there are no close fill centers. It'd cost the same to travel to northern California. And we can hire the clinic van to pick us up for $130 round trip. I plan to coordinate with others OR take the trolley. It goes from the airport to the border. We'll see. I thought perhaps I'd stay a night or two in a nice resort in San Diego- the sun will feel good. It does tend to rain in Oregon, as you know! I'm on Day 5 now and have had no real hunger. AND if I do get hungry, a little Soup or juice do just fine. I'm following every instruction- I certainly don't want to risk slippage, etc. Dr. Ortiz did 900 surgeries last year alone- he's done about 5,000. I did not have a lot of interaction with him personally but that was perfectly OK with me. I know some people like to have a "relationship with their surgeon". I was not after a relationship- just expertise. SO- that's my experience. I really don't see a down side. There is not a lot of need for post-op visits. There are no sutures and I'm up and about as normal now. The only bummer is I am on a rowing team and can't do this for 2-3 months. We are out year round and I'll really miss that but it's a small price to pay. Also- no diet coke for 6 months. Another VERY small price. Today on my home scale I was 215. I have not seen under 220 in YEARS. Not enough to show but amazing to see the scale finally down. Good luck to those with pending surgeries. So far, no regrets! Adrianne PORTLAND

I had the lap band surgery Oct 22 in Tijuana by Dr. Ortiz- everything went very well though I heard surgeries were cancelled for the rest of the week due to the San Diego fires. He and another surgeon live in San Diego- I feel very fortunate to have gotten there in time. I'm on post-op day 4 and doing OK- I could have yogurt today and had some Keifer cultured milk- peach. Not as sweet as Yoplait. I'm still on liquids most of the time. So far, so good! Adrianne PORTLAND

I had lapband surgery on Oct 22 in Mexico with Dr. Ortiz and my card says they used an IAMED band. I wouldn't worry too much about the brand name- I'd trust the surgeon to put in an effective device. The surgeons in Mexico are pretty competent.

I also had surgery in Mexico and I was supposed to lose 5% which was about 10 pounds and did it the last two weeks with protein powder drinks during the day (Or slim fast) and salad at night. I about chew off my desk chair the first day but was OK after that. I managed to lose almost 10 pounds which was OK. I'm glad i did- otherwise I may have had a week of "Last suppers" and gained 5 lbs. But do call and ask. You are not the only one with this situation, trust me.

I had surgery wth Dr. Ortiz in Tijuana- just type his name on google and the website is there. He is highly recommended and has a lot of experience. He did 900 lap bands last yr alone. I do think there are reps from USA doctors who monitor these blogs and try and scare people away from Mexico. Check out Dr. Ortiz. I was pleased with the surgery.

The Doctor makes a lot more money with the bypass procedure. I went to a seminar and the surgeon stated she did 60% bypass but "always did the lap band on self pay patients". It's a business and bypass is bigger business than lapband. Check out Dr. Ortiz from Mexico. He has done thousands of this procedure and his website was very encouraging. I have talked to beaucoup people about him, also, and did hear one negative thing.