So after much debate and internal arguing with myself, I made the decision to have Vertical Gastric Sleeve surgery with Dr. Illian via Bariatric Pal in Tiajuana, Mexico. This is my account of what happened from start to finish. I made the decision to do this with my sister-in-law, so my wife went along as companion for both of us. Making the arrangements and booking was easy. I made my payments via Wells Fargo transfering the money from my account to that of Bariatric Pal with no issues and a good record of the payments. The flight to San Diego via Delta was uneventful and I found the airport in San Diego to be user friendly and a lot less hectic than Hartsfield in Atlanta which I frequent often. Stacy told us she would be waiting on the cellphone lot for us when we landed and she was there to pick us up within 5 minutes of the group retrieving our luggage. A quick and pleasant drive over the border and we arrived at the Recovery House where we stayed Sunday night before our scheduled surgeries on Monday. The Recovery House was clean, well furnished and allowed us to rest and get ready for what lay ahead the next day. Bill picked us up at 9:45 to take us to Florence Hospital. We arrived at Florence. I was immediately impressed with the cleanliness of the hospital and the attention we immediately received from the staff. We were taken straight to our room. Within 90 minutes we were in gowns, checked in with all paperwork completed, blood drawn and IV's in. X-Rays and EKGs were next. We met with the doctors and before I knew it, I was headed to surgery. The anesthesiologist introduced herself and put me at ease as did the entire ER staff. When I woke up from surgery, the nurses were right by my side taking care of me. I was back in my room by 4:00 pm local time and up walking by 6:00 pm. The nurses at Florence introduced themselves every shift change and always told you exactly what they were doing every single time they entered the room. We were given a constant rotation of IV medication for gas, heartburn and pain. In all honesty, other than some gas, I had no heartburn and very little pain. On Tuesday, leak tests and x-rays were performed again and after everything checked out fine, I was given the best ice chips, gator-aid, and apple juice ever. The valet, Robert, also talked me into trying the coconut pineapple water that he can go and get you. Take him up on this offer. After the liquid diet, this stuff is amazing! The rest of our stay at the hospital was nothing but perfect. The nurses kept a constant check on us. On the morning of our departure from Florence, we were checked, incisions cleaned and re-bandaged and met with the doctor again. After a short ride, we settled back in at the Recovery House. Juan, the on-site daytime valet at the Recovery House took us on a short walk to our lunch destination where we had the shrimp broth which is specially prepared for Bariatric Pal patients. After to eat since Sunday, the broth was great. We then walked on to the local market for drinks and yogurt for the rest of our stay. Juan and the staff were always on hand to take care of us. On Thursday we were re- bandaged by the on-site nurse and hung out until we went to Revolution to go shopping and have dinner. Juan carried us to Ceasars, creators of the Ceasar salad, where my wife enjoyed the original ceasar salad with grilled chicken. The salad dressing and salad were made table side and the small tatse of the dressing we were allowed was great. Ceasars makes a special bean broth for Bariatric Pal patients and it was delicious. We completed the evening with shopping and a ride back to the Recovery House. We enjoyed a quiet evening saying good-bye to our new friends next door and packed up to return home. True to her word, Stacy was there to pick us up at 4:00 a.m. local time for our 8:00 a.m. flight. I am now 6 days post surgery amd have not had any issues. One word of warning, you will be told to not trust a fart after surgery, listen to this advice! If someone were to ask would I go to Mexico for surgery again, Inwould answer Absolutely without hesitation. I received some of the best medical care I have received thru 6 previous surgeries in the States. Dr. Illian and the entire Bariatric Pal group exceeded my expectations. If you considering this option, go for it!
