TheLumpyOne

I had gastric sleeve surgery with Dr Francisco Zavalza on February 24, 2015 in Tijuana Mexico. I wanted to wait until I hit my first goal before posting a review. I figured this would allow me to talk about the follow up that seems to set Dr Zavalza apart from most of the other well known doctors. I went on this trip with a friend and we both had the surgery. He is a nurse and had 2 nurse friends who had gone to TJ and had the surgery done by another group. They had a good experience but Todd was changing Jobs and needed to have the surgery before the other group was available. I had been lurking on BariatricPal for a while and was just starting to see things pop up about Dr Zavalza. All of the reviews I read were great and I liked the fact that I would get to Skype with him before the surgery and that there was 2 years of follow up afterwards. Most of the other doctors do not meet you and you never even speak to them until the day of surgery. Todd and I flew in to San Diego on February 23rd and were picked up promptly at the airport by Roberto. We were expecting to go to the recovery condo but shortly after Roberto picked us up we found out that we would be going to a hotel instead. It turns out that a truck had run into a transformer outside of the condo and they had no power. I was a bit concerned that this was going to set the tone for the trip and that nothing was going to be the way it was supposed to be. We were brought to the Hotel Real del Rio, which I have to say was a very nice place. David met us there and bought us dinner. He apologized over and over about the condo. I started to feel better about things as the night went on. The next morning we were brought to Florence Hospital. When we got there we found that it was a pretty nice place. Looking at it from the road it was nothing special but once you walk into the courtyard area it is very nice. We went in and Dr Zavalza was there waiting for us. He is a really nice guy that makes you very comfortable. We filled out some paperwork (it was in English) and then were brought to our room. The room we were in was the oldest and smallest room I saw at the hospital and ironically it was the one set up with beds for 2 patients. Todd and I shared this room (we wanted to) and while it was well worn, it was very clean. The other rooms were all larger and in better condition. Shortly after getting settled into our room we did our lab work. Dr Luna came in and met us. He is this cool young doctor who is Dr Zavalza’s partner and is a bariatric nutritionist. He always has a smile on his face and we were always happy to see him. We did chest x-rays and then not too long afterwards I went into surgery. Next thing I remember is waking up in the room again. I didn’t feel any pain or discomfort. I got up and went to the bathroom and then walked the hall. Todd went next and was fine when he got back. Later that night the gas pain hit and it sucked. I liken it to having the flu. It’s pretty miserable. The hospital staff was great, all spoke english (except the cleaning lady), and we saw them all throughout the night and the entire time we were there. 24 hours later I felt great. The drain was uncomfortable and the gas pain would come and go but it was nothing major. We walked the halls and met a lot of great people. We would go sit out in the courtyard and chat with the others there. Talking to other people sure made us glad we had chosen Dr Z. They were not getting anywhere near the attention we were from our doctors. We met some people who we connected with on Facebook and though we were only together for a couple of days, we have a bond from our Florence Hospital experience. 2 days after surgery we did our second leak test and then the drain was removed. I only thought I felt good until that drain was removed. I felt like I could go run a marathon after that. We left the hospital later that day after the drain was removed and went back to the hotel. Todd was feeling nauseous because David drives like a madman (sorry David but it’s true). David dropped Todd off at the hotel and then took Steve and myself shopping (Steve was another guy who was there with BariatricPal having the sleeve). We went to a mall right up the street from the hotel and walked around and went to GNC and a grocery store. I had cash with me but it was much easier to use my card. The next day we took a cab out to Revolution Ave and tried to find some gifts to bring back to our wives and kids. It was just a bunch of junk though. Don’t waste your time. We decided to walk back from Revolution to the hotel. It was about a 4 mile walk. It felt really good to be walking like that 3 days after surgery. Dr Z and Dr Luna visited us a the hotel each day and on the last day Dr Luna removed our staples. On a side note, this hotel seems to cater to bariatric patients. There were a ton of other people there that were walking around with their drains still in. We started talking to many of them and there were people there who were only 12 hours out of surgery. There were people with IV stands in there rooms and they were walking the hotel halls like we were at the hospital. One group of people had to wait at the airport most of the day to be picked up because the medical tourism group they were using wanted to wait until everyone was at the airport to be picked up in one shot. When the guy showed up to get them he didn’t speak English and he just dropped them at the hotel. My point with this is that you are already going to be nervous about what you are doing. Make sure you choose a doctor who is going to treat you like a person and a medical tourism group that is not going to herd you like cattle. I was very happy with the choices I made in BariatricPal and Dr Zavalza. We flew home and 2 days later Todd was in the hospital because he wasn’t drinking enough and got severely dehydrated. Dr Zavalza was on the phone with his wife throughout the ordeal and was speaking with our doctors here and asking for copies of all of the imagery and test results. The doctors here were amazed that he even cared. He truly does care about all of his patients. Since the surgery I have Skyped with Dr Z every week for the first 4 weeks and now, because I am not having any issues with eating or anything we are scheduled for once per month. Dr Z and Dr Luna are active in the Facebook group ( https://www.facebook.com/groups/856770857736807/ ) and are always there to answer any questions we may have. It has been 6 weeks now and I have lost 50.2 pounds. Yesterday was Easter and I ate anything I wanted, just much smaller portions. I am loving my life with my sleeve and am grateful to Dr Z, Dr Luna, and BariactricPal.

Thanks for the input guys! Looks like we are/were all in the same boat. I met with the surgeon today and he helped ease my concerns a lot. I'm looking forward to getting this done.

Hi all, this is my first post here. Been lurking for a while now. I am seriously considering getting a sleeve. I am 38 years old, 6ft, 350lbs. I love working out, mostly CrossFit and powerlifting. I have just never been able to get my eating in check. I have an inguinal hernia and the doc I am using for that also specializes in WLS. I may have both procedures at the same time. I have been overweight since I was 8 years old so I have 30 years of experience to tell me that I won't keep the weight off. I am however really good at losing weight. I've lost hundreds of pounds in my lifetime, LOL. My question is what is the thing that makes the difference with the sleeve? Being that I have such a history of gaining, losing, gaining it all back plus some, then doing it all over again, how can I be sure that the sleeve will help me keep it off forever? I am sure what I am describing is the typical person here who was obese. I just don't want to have the surgery, get skinny healthy for a few years, then put all of the weight back on. For those of you a few years or more post surgery, did the surgery help you to overcome the addiction? Are you constantly battling an urge to eat junk? Are you always hungry? Do the struggles remain? - or - Did the surgery really allow you to make a life change that is sustainable and not a constant battle? I am willing to put in the work, and I know the sleeve is just a tool. I just want to be sure it is a permanent solution. Thanks in advance for the input.