JB6616

See if you can self-refer to a bariatric surgeon in your health care plan and get an appointment directly. I made the mistake of going through my primary care doctor to request the surgery and it was denied, so I went to Mexico and had the surgery with dr. Ponce de leon. I followed up with a bariatric surgeon in my health care plan (Kaiser Permanente) and when I had the appointment she said she has no idea why my request for coverage for it was denied, that she would have approved it! Darn! I could have saved $5000. Dr. Ponce de Leon took a video of the surgery which I gave to my follow up surgeon here and she said it was obvious he knew what he was doing and everything looked great. She checked my incisions and drain area and said they were perfect, and she was very impressed that I didn't need a 4th incision for the liver retractor. She said I must have done well on the preop diet and as far as she could see the surgery was as good as any. She also said she had four other patients that week alone who also went to Mexico for their surgery but followed up with her, and that it's becoming much more common. Anyway, I did have a serious, life threatening and very rare complication with blood clots in the veins between my intestine and liver (mesenteric and portal vein thrombosis) which for gastric sleeve has a 40% fatality rate, but it happens in a tiny fraction of all complications which are less than 1%. It was like a 1 in 10000 chance that I got it. Good medical care at an emergency room and hospital when my complication appeared three weeks after surgery was crucial. I am fine now, 4 months later, but I could have died. However I am still glad I had the surgery. Without it I had a 100% chance of deadly complications with the knee, hip, and back pain, diabetes, heart disease, etc. If you absolutely can't get coverage with your current insurance, I do recommend Dr. Ponce de Leon's surgery in Tijuana. You CAN go alone!!!! I went with my husband but really he just whined about the couch he had to sleep on and it was a pain in the butt to get him out to get his own food (you won't be eating and you won't be hungry) and in retrospect I wish I would have gone alone. For the same price as other surgeons, if you go through BariatricPal you get someone to pick you up in San Diego at the airport, someone who speaks English to be your companion all day every day when you are in the hospital to not only translate for you but keep you company, and then when you are ready to go to the recovery house which is a condo - VERY NICE! - you are there recovering with several other patients to talk to, dine with, hang out with along with a concierge to take you around for walks or cab ride to the shopping areas. Our guy was so great, he helped me negotiate a good price on some souvenirs and picked up stuff for us and hung out to keep us company. In fact we are facebook friends now! Nurses are there to check on you and the doctor and nutritionist comes by as well, for days 2-4. They drive you back to the airport across the border to the airport and follow up regularly by email in the following days and weeks. Dr. Ponce doesn't speak English but he is extremely well regarded as one of the top surgeons. The other doc with him does and it's never a problem. I used google translator on my phone to do any other translating I needed but I felt completely cared for and never lonely or overwhelmed. I would be sure to follow up with good medical care when you return and go to the emergency room if you feel like something is wrong after surgery because you could have a very rare complication. Other than that, I think you should do what you want to do and other people who are detractors and discouraging can mind their own business. I told my parents (in their 70's) that I was going to Tijuana just for a vacation, not about any surgery, and they flew into a panic saying I was going to get killed and why would I ever visit such a horrible place. They don't know what it's like now, they are acting from fear and racism. There are good doctors all over the world and with the way it's set up with Dr. Ponce de Leon, you will feel totally comfortable, safe, happy. And thin!

I had a gastric sleeve in June 2016. Was 225 lb now 167.5 lb as of Oct 27. I have been concerned about a sagging abdomen... it's a flap of skin and stubborn fat that gets worse the more weight I lose. I also had twins, so it's not just the weight loss that caused the situation. I am concerned that I can't do any more surgery like a tummy tuck, not just because of expense but also because I had a life threatening blood clot situation with the gastric sleeve. All mesenteric veins and portal vein became almost 100% or completely 100% blocked with blood clots and I almost died. I later discovered a family history of blood clot problems after surgery. I have been reading about a non-surgical treatment called Venus Legacy for skin tightening and fat removal basically by heating it up with radio and other electromagnetic radiation. Has anyone tried this? It's about $200 per treatment and you need about 8 treatments, it says, to see a full effect. I am skeptical but some of the before and after pics look great. I am struggling to lose more weight because of the horrific flap of skin that gets saggier and saggier. I'm scared of what it will look like if I lose more weight. I'm 20 pounds from my goal. The arms and thighs have it going on too but it's nothing like the abdomen. I'm getting irritated and sore under the flap of skin. Any advice?

Hi everyone! I am flying from Denver to San Diego and getting gastric sleeve surgery in Tijuana with dr. Ponce de leon on June 6, 2016. Is anyone else on this forum doing the same thing about that time? Any tips or experiences to share regarding Dr. Ponce or the facilities? I am getting nervous but excited too. Any helpful posts would be greatly appreciated.