vicric1

I was banded on October 1st, 2007 by Dr. Ariel Ortiz in Tijuana. I had been very impressed with his experience and thought I was going in very informed. After the band was placed, I had trouble with severe nausea and moderate abdominal pain, and I had to stay in the surgi-center an extra night. After i went home to Washington State, I remained very ill, had all the danger signs they mention on the post-op instructions that they recommend going to the ED for. I was unable to eat or drink ANYTHING, had abdominal pain, and was admitted to my local community hospital, who transfered me to the largest big medical center in Portland, OR, OHSU. I was hospitalized for several days, as they were hoping I would stabilize without any intervention, but they did finally go in laparascopically to see what he problem was after a CT scan indicated the band was out of position. The surgeon at OHSU removed it and said it had not been sutured in place AT ALL and was slipping around, causing the pain and nausea. My insurance covered NONE of the complications: they couldn't deny the claims fast enough, because it was all "related to a non-covered procedure". So I am out over $30,000 including the initial cost of the band. I couldn't find a lawyer in California to take the case: they all said due to the cap on non-economic damages, it wouldn't be worth it for them. I do have a Mexican lawyer now, but as things stand now, the only recourse I have is to go to the prosecutor and make out a criminal case, which we are pursuing. This will result in NO financial benefit to me at all, but maybe it will make Dr. Ortiz more careful (I have since heard he doesn't even stay in the OR the whole time, but lets assistants finish the surgery...and I believe it because that is the only way I can imagine the important step of suturing the band in place to be left out..the assistant must have thought Dr. Ortiz had already done that step, and moved along with the closure). In Mexico the police actually come in uniform to the place of business and serve the party directly, so if you see uniformed police there you will know that Dr. Ortiz refuses to treat his patients honorably when mistakes are made. I hated reading the negative comments before my surgery, so I understand if people want to ignore this, but I am hoping it will help at least one person in their decision making. Good luck to everyone.

I am presently in the process of finding a lawyer and bringing a suit against the doctor who put in my band. It was done in Mexico, and was not sutured in place, so was slipping around and causing pain and nausea. It had to be removed back here in the states a week after it was put in. Of course my insurance company here won't cover the bills because they were related to a "non-covered" procedure. So including the initial surgery fee, I now have $38,000 of uncovered bills, oh yeah, and no band! Legally, it is more complicated since the surgery was done in Mexico. I will post when I have more concrete information, but right now this is in the preliminary phase.

Well, I want to post a different experience than most other posters seem to post about Dr. Ortiz's Center. I did a LOT of research, and felt I had made a great choice, and was very confident going in. I had the surgery on October 1st. To make a long story short, I was very ill post op, but went home 2 days later anyway, but had to be hospitalized the day after I got home to the States for abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. I was so ill I had to be transferred by ambulance to the large medical center about an hour away from my local hospital. I had to be in the hospital for a total of a week and had to have the band removed 10 days after it was inserted. The surgeon who took it out said it was twisted and had not been sutured/secured in place at all, which it should have been. The sutures used do not dissolve, so should have had to be cut when taking the band out, and they weren't there. I tried to get in touch with the Dr.'s at Obesity Control Center, but have been completely ignored. I gave them a chance to do the right thing, and asked for a refund of ny banding fee plus some help with the medical expenses incurred up here due to the complications of the improperly placed band. (none of which will be covered by my insurance, because it is all related to a 'noncovered service.") Absolutely NO response in the past 4 weeks despite several e-mails. I am not calling because now I want a record of all my correspondence with them. So basically, I am out the $8,500 for the banding, and so far the bills here which are not all in yet are totalling $16,000. I went through a lot of illness and pain, and oh yeah, it was all for nothing because the band had to be removed. I have been totally abandoned by the Obesity Control Center and Dr. Ortiz and his colleagues. If there is anyone who has any knowledge about how to pursue this with them, or legally I would appreciate the information. I am happy for everyone who had good experiences, but I feel you can tell more about a place by how they behave when their patients have problems, rather than when things go fine, and I give them a complete failing grade on that. Vicky