Scott_Phoenix_AZ

March 16, 2016 Hello! If you're reading this you might be considering getting your surgery in Mexico at the Mexicobariatriccenter. I am post op sleeve day 6 right now, have a fever of 102.5, and am feeling pretty crummy atm. FYI: I am a nursing student in my 4th block so I have some understanding of pharmacology and the importance of sterile/aseptic procedures. The positives: Price was about $4300 plus airfare, incidentals, tipping, etc. I estimate I spent close to $5k in all. Hotel accommodation and staff at the Hyatt Place in Tijuana was great. They will give you as much chicken or beef broth, sugar-free lime popsicles, or various flavors of sugar-free Jello that you want. Surgeons and the Anesthesiologist were professional and did a first rate job. 30 minute ride from San Diego Airport to the Mexico Border and another 15 minutes to the hotel. The hospital is only 10 minutes away from the hotel btw. Negatives: Oh..... where to start.... Mexico Bariatric Center has outsourced their aftercare to a third party. The "nurses" responsible for helping with post-care are no more knowledgeable than Medical Assistants, although they do have a little medication administration training. However, their severely limited training, and understanding of bacteria becomes quite evident when witnessing their attempts (or lack there of) to prevent the spread of bacteria. Here are just a few examples: I never once witnessed a "nurse" use the hand sanitizer on the wall or wash their hands upon entering my room. I did witness my "nurse", Cesar, blow into his gloves to help open them up before sticking his hands in them. That sort of thing would probably get you fired in the United States. IV ports were frequently not cleaned or were simply given a quick single swipe of the alcohol pad before injecting medications into them. Those IV ports gets dragged all over the place and probably have little microscopic bits of feces and drug resistant bacteria on them. Which is a little like mainlining feces directly into my blood stream. When I told them I wanted them to do it correctly they would respond with "It's ok, don't worry, don't worry." And they'd just keep on doing what they were doing, as if my objections were completely irrelevant. Eventually I had to call and speak to the hospital administrator to have my "nurse" replaced with someone more competent. INTEGRITY is not something I found a great deal of with the non-management staff members. Perhaps placating (i.e., lying) is par for the course over there, but it was common enough that very quickly I realized I couldn't trust anything I was being told on face value. Please understand that this was a big issue that reoccurred on multiple occasions. Trusting the staff to do what they say they are going to do, or when they are going to do it, is a huge mistake. This includes the drivers as well. I can't overemphasize this enough.... to be fair, the management was great though, however they have nothing to do with patient aftercare. The third morning after the surgery several of the patients had been cleared to go and we were driven to a "Pharmacy". The "Pharmacist" behind the counter was selling anything and everything. He was trying to get us to buy different antibiotics than the ones we were sent home with. I don't think he realized that not all antibiotics work on all bacteria and you can't just take whatever. He did give out free samples of vitamin-B shots and Viagra for those who were interested. Did I mention this was the pharmacy the Mexico Bariatric Center sent us to? I ended up buying a few items while I was there only to discover we had been charged 300-400% more than the pharmacy at the grocery store across from the Hotel. The driver will then offer to take you and the other patients on a "tour and some shopping". These stores inflate their prices for the patients and provide a kickback to the driver (and most likely the Mexico Bariatric Center) just like the pharmacy did. PAIN MANAGEMENT! Unless you are willing to pay the extra $1000 for the pain pump that comes with either morphine or Dilaudid you will be offered the ghetto version of pain meds (e.g., Ketorolac, tramadol). Although these medications do help offset the pain they do not provide the additional benefit of the euphoric feeling from narcotics. They will offer you all sorts of ridiculous reasons whey they don't want to give you those medications and if you don't have a background in pharmacology you may actually start to believe them. But, they are lying to you. Remember, if you spent the extra $1000 you could have all the narcotic pain meds you wanted in the form of a patient controlled pain pump. I honestly believe they tried to keep people in enough pain that they would agree to spend the extra money. One "nurse" told me that they wouldn't give them to me because of the nausea. However, they give you meds for nausea. "Doctor" Sing tried to convince me that the reason they don't give narcotics is because people are less likely to do their breathing exercises..... Ummmm.... the #1 reason people don't do breathing exercises or participate in their aftercare not a lack of motivation or education on the benefits, but is lack of pain management. That's not my opinion, that's a fact. It was just one stupid excuse after another. The additional pain I (and many other patients) endured as a result of these penny pinching, dishonest, dimwits would be criminal in the United States. You'll get plenty of narcotic pain meds if you choose to have the surgery here in the states. I was advised by that I do not need a passport, by Leili Kohan my patient coordinator, to enter Mexico because their company has a special medical pass, which lets them get across the border without the long wait times. Leili was adamant about that. What she failed to mention was that in order to re-enter the U.S. you definitely need one. I was fortunate in that I ordered a passport just in case otherwise I would probably still be in Mexico right now. Summary: I am glad I had the surgery despite what I have and continue to go through. I wouldn't be opposed to having some other type of surgery in Mexico at a later date. I would absolutely NOT RECOMMEND the MEXICO BARIATRIC center. Additionally, make sure that narcotic pain medication (e.g., Percoset, Vicoden) will be available and have them put it in writing stating you get a full refund for all services rendered if this is not the case. Trust me on this, unless you're one of the rare people who felt absolutely fine, you are going to want narcotics.

The positive stories VASTLY outnumber the negative ones. Most of the horror stories you hear are urban legends or can be attributed to singular surgeons. Don't let a few bad apples spoil the bunch. There are MANY excellent surgeons in Mexico, just like in any other country. I've heard plenty of "horror stories" about botched surgeries in the US too. Should I hold those against ALL of the surgeons here? Of course not. If you do your research, examine credentials, ask lots of questions, and talk to past patients, there is no reason you can't find a safe and reputable surgeon. My bariatric surgeon was named one of the top 15 in the world. My plastic surgeon is one of the top rated on RealSelf which is the go to site for researching and sharing plastic surgery outcomes. I didn't say I had an issue with the surgery, the surgeons, or the anesthesiologist. One big positive for having the surgery at a popular destination site in Mexico is the experience that comes with the sheer number of surgeries that are performed. My complaint was with the stupendously subpar aftercare experience that involved a great deal of uncontrolled pain and non-standardized infection control techniques from unqualified "nurses". In Mexico there are various levels of "nurses" and I'm sure there are some incredibly qualified actual nurses in Mexico.... somewhere. So I repeat, again, and again. GREAT SURGICAL TEAM. However, the aftercare was so awful I felt obligated to let people know about my experience to warn them. Not against the entire country of Mexico and all of their Surgeons. Just do yourself a favor and get certain assurances in writing up front (e.g., narcotic pain meds prn, qualified nursing staff using aseptic and/or sterile technique, as needed, at all times.) I have been thinking about it, but the $1000 optional patient controlled pain pump they tried getting me to pay for when I first signed up for the surgery may have come with a more qualified "nurse" as well. Perhaps the certification level of the "nurses" needs to be higher in Mexico if they are going to administer and monitor the effects of narcotic medications. Which would have meant overall safer care, but at a extra cost to the bariatric company, hence the extra $1000 fee. If that is true, they should just be transparent with that sort of information. If they had offered me a price break on the $1000 fee and explained how my "nurse" would have been more qualified (e.g., safer), I probably would have gone for it. Please don't compare my actual, true, recounting of events as an urban legend or that I am some how spoiling anything for anybody. My accounting in 100% accurate as I remember it and I heard similar or worse complaints from other patients while I was there, on a rather frequent basis. They have you walk around as much as possible and so you end up pretty much talking to most everyone since the place is so small. There were a couple of RN's from the U.S. in the room adjacent to mine in the hospital who were screaming bloody murder about the lack of pain management medications available. These women were reading the riot act to anyone and everyone who worked at the hospital because they felt they were being essentially abused. You want to call it a horror story, fine. I wouldn't go that far, but it was what it was and if I had to do it all over again I would have booked with a different company and had the whole availability of narcotic pain medications (prn or as needed), in writing with some type of money back guarantee to ensure they don't go back on their word later on.

My surgeon was great, it was the aftercare that was awful, and there were at least 3 other bariatric companies whose surgeons were doing operations at the same facility, and patients were staying at the same hospital. I think if you get the Narcotic pain medication issue clarified in writing prior to your arrival, and ask the company coordinator to explain to any "nurses" who are assigned to you that they need to go above and beyond when it comes to your need for consistent aseptic technique. I dunno. Maybe if a person were to suggest they have a phobia of germs and insist the "nurses" wash their hands in the room, in front of that person.