Need help looking for a good doctor in mexico

[NJKILLA31 0]

Hello everybody i a self pay looking for a doctor in mexico to get the vsg can anybody point in the right way

[Brendasgonnalose 4]

I used Dr Aceves in Mexico, he has a very good reputations and is a very caring person. I would recommend him to anyone looking for the sleeve. He was a little more money I paid $8750 but I felt it was worth it, that covered everything but the flight to San Deigo. I have had no complications, and he has done over 700 sleeve surgeries wiht no leaks. You are in the hospital al but the fist night you are there. The nurses are caring and the place is so clean. The drs(Aceves and his asst. Dr Campos) come and check on you 3-4 times a day. They do 3 lea tests, and you get all xrays lab reports and a sugical report to bring back to your Dr.

Good Luck

Brenda

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

You will not find one unhappy person who went to Dr. Aceves. Half of the people on this board have gone to him and we all love him, the hospital there, and all of his staff. He may not be the cheapest, but you get what you pay for. If you put his name in the search up at the top, you can read about everyone who went there and what they have to say.

[NJKILLA31 0]

i have all good things about him also . does anybody know anythings about

Dr. Alamanza

[pnw218 14]

I used Dr. Almanza in Tijuana and was very happy with the care. I have had several surgeries in the past tho so also had an idea of how I would respond and was comfortable being in a clinic/day surgery type facility. If it was my first surgery, I may have wanted to be in a hospital. My Tummy Tuck surgery was much harder than the sleeve and I was home by noon after the tummy tuck!!

You stay in the clinic at least one night and then go to their recovery house for a couple of nights. There is a nurse on duty 24/7 at the recovery house. The cost was $5200 plus $300 for airfare.

While I would agree this is one situation that I wouldn't take the cheapest option, I did not feel slighted at all in the facility or care. It isn't the fanciest place but very adequate.

And regardless of where you go, keep in mind that several places use "coordinators" to communicate with potential patients and all coordinators are not equal. The one I used normally shows up at the clinic when her clients are having surgery and checks in with you regularly both at the clinic and at the recovery house.

Good luck!

[LAN2k 18]

Hey George I'm from NY too, Long Island. My surgery was covered by my insurance and when I saw the statement it cost $15,000.00! I stayed in the hospital (Syosett Hospital) 5 days. If I had to self pay based on what I have read here and elsewhere I would without hesitation have Dr. Aceves for my surgeon.

[Tiffykins 673]

Insurance covered my revision from band to sleeve. If insurance would have denied my revision, hands down, no second thoughts, Dr. Aceves would be my only choice for Mexico surgeons. His reputation, the fact that you are in a fully licensed, certified hospital with a full ICU and blood bank on site. You remain in the hospital for 3 days with round the clock care. Your companion can stay in the private hospital room with you at no charge. Do your research, make sure you choose based on all information, and best wishes during your research.

[LAN2k 18]

Thanks for posting Tiff if your gonna self pay it doesn't get better that that!

[LAN2k 18]

Prudent decision. When it comes to major surgery bells and whistles are essential, especially if you are out of the country. God go with you on your WL journey and keep us posted. Based on what so many others have had to say about Dr. Aceves and his facility you will do very well.

[snickersgirl9 1]

I had my surgery with Dr. Pompa and it was a fantastic experience considering it was surgery. The entire staff speak excellent English so communication is not an issue. Dr. Pompa is extremely qualified, very professional and compassionate. Please take a look into Dr. Pompa and her clinic. First night you stay at a 5 star hotel in Tijuana which is adjacent to the Clinic. Then you spend 3 days/2 nights in the clinic and then 1 night back at hotel, you check back in at clinic for dressing changes and vitals then you are released to go back home. They have a nutritionist as part of their staff who you can contact at anytime. Also they ONLY book 3 surgeries a day. I know other clinics are booking more than that. Again, being able to communicate with no worries is worth a lot in my book. I know I check into Dr. Almanza and not all his staff speaks English and communication is an issue. Wish you all the best!.

[Jenslim4good 1]

I thought that Dr. Acevez 's patients started this site there was so much support for him, he must be at the top of the list. I had someone respond to a request and I have done the homework (that I can find) on the surgical skills of my doctor, dr. verboonen, but am scheduled for 3/30, the deposit paid and airfare, if I did not have that, I would go with Dr. Acevez. Dr. V was 7000 includes a prenight at the hotel, all preop tests, chest xray, labs, and 2 nights in the hospital. All ground transportation, medication and 2 post op leak tests-. That's mine deal in a nutshell. Good luck in your search!!! Jen

[2b4me 0]

First of all, I care about your health and welfare that includes money you could potentially waste if you listen to the wrong people. I care about you getting the services you feel you need. I do not care that you choose my surgeon or not. I and everyone else on this and other boards have 0 stake in your decision.

Congrats! on starting your research process! But, please do the research with people who have had the experience. 1 person = 1 experience. Those who do not have first hand experience project their own fears or fantasies on others. You could be basing your health and your hard earned money on these.

No one can determine what doctor is 100% best for you until s/he knows all of your needs -- physical, emotional and mental. If you go to a surgeon/clinic that expects you to be able to take care of yourself, with home-based support for after-care but you cannot or you need more TLC, then find a surgeon/hospital setting. Consequently, it is critical that you complete research that is independent of these and other forums, as well.

How do you know if information you get on these forums is reliable? Ask yourself these: Is it based on current reliable research vs. Wikipedia or assumption? Is it based on personal experience vs. gossip or conjecture? Does the poster have a hidden agenda? If any = YES, ask poster for facts AND evidence.

Given that you are concentrating on posts from people who have had the actual experience with a Mexican surgeon, this next part is somewhat irrelevant. However, if you insist on taking in non-specific experience, the following becomes more important. On 2 different websites, this is what I found when I was completing my research. If this thread continues, it is likley that 4 main groups of individuals will battle one another to defend their surgeon choices, real or perceived: 1) Pro Mexico; 2) Pro Mexico with the tendency to denigrate other Mexican surgeons; 3) Anti Mexico -- had surgery in Mexico and warn against it; and 4) Anti Mexico -- had surgery in their home country.

Group 1 - patients who have first hand knowledge of their Mexican surgeon and her/his demographics

Group 2 - patients who have first hand knowledge of their Mexican surgeon, ONLY; and not the actual work or surroundings of any other hospital or clinic

Group 3 - patients who have first hand knowledge of their Mexican surgeon and are dissatisfied with some/all of the process

Group 4 - patients who have no first hand knowledge of Mexican surgeon.

To get the facts, I focused on the posts by patients in Group #1 and Group #3.

There are 4-5 Mexican surgeons who seem to be the main players: 1) Aceves; 2) Alvarez; 3) Almanza; and 4) a couple of others whose names you will get from your research (sorry, I've forgotten them). The companies for whom these surgeons work are extremely competitive and even to the extent of using industrial sabotage on this board and others . I believe the sabateurs are referred to as "Trolls".

There is also a psychodynamic process called transference that can occur between patient and doctor. The short of it is that his occurs when a patient ends up transferring love and affection to the doctor because the doctor helped positively change that person's life (Carr & Lapp, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007). To these patients, the doctor can do no wrong -- ever. Please note that Dr. Aceves has had 2 deaths that were reported -- for more information, please go to this link:

http://verticalsleevetalk.com/vertical-sleeve-gastrectomy-vsg-surgeons-hospitals/1051-mexico-vs-us-surgery-post38102.html

I started out my research by putting in each surgeon's name in the search engine of each website pertaining to VSG. Then I read through all of the threads and had to sort among the good, bad and the ugly of all the comments.

Then I narrowed my research to focus on 3 surgeons and their care facilities. I e-mailed each company with questions to get their responses in writing.

Then I checked their responses against any bit of industrial data that was formally published (i.e., Certified Board Member, if it matters to you, Number of surgeries completed? How long in practise? Professional credentials, etc.)

I did not factor in the cost until AFTER I did all the research (i.e., I've also been to a Tijuana clinic) and determined my needs.

Then I chose the sugeon and facility.

Whomever you choose, is your decision and only your decision. Your decision will be based on the research you choose to select.

A few weeks back, I wrote a lengthy recount of my experience that's now my blog. If/when you do your search (Almanza, Tijuana, Emmanuel Clinic, Jerusalem Clinic). I would rate my experience as 9/10 for the VSG and the recount states why.

I wish you the very best of everything! Take care!

Edited March 17, 2010 by 2b4me

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

I looked on your link and could not find anything written about Dr. Aceves having a death.

Are you sure you meant Dr. Aceves?

He has not had any deaths to my knowledge and I would like to read about it, if he did.

[2b4me 0]

Hi,

Not sure what's up but I just clicked on the link and got to the related post, where the deaths are reported. That poster would be better able to direct you and the original poster of this thread to the right source to read and or ask.

If the link still doesn't work for you, the thread/post number is at the end of the link, just after the title of the thread.

[Tiffykins 673]

I looked on your link and could not find anything written about Dr. Aceves having a death.

Are you sure you meant Dr. Aceves?

He has not had any deaths to my knowledge and I would like to read about it, if he did.

From that link: here is the quoted portion from youknowit's post regarding 2 Aceves deaths.

I cannot find it here on the boards right now (perhaps someone with a longer memory can help) but Dr. Aceves stats are very good... in fact, if you ask them, they WILL give you hard facts, like if they have had any deaths (2) or any complications (depends on specifics). I read here on the boards, and have been told by Nina that they have had 2 deaths EVER, I believe they were due to severe comorbidities?

Daisy, see if you can email Nina, and get specifics on this one such as when the deaths occurred, and what surgery the patients in question were having performed.

In all of my research for my revision, and Dr. Aceves being my only choice for Mexican surgeons, not once was I informed of any deaths, and believe me I asked.

I'll be interested to find out.

I don't necessarily think you need firsthand experience to express an opinion, or give information. I know when I was considering heading to Mexico, I had certain standards that had to be met before I would even consider a surgeon. I took testimonials with a grain of salt, and contacted a few of the highly promoted surgeons. However, I hate the idea of coordinators (they remind me of used car salesmen), I hate the idea of having surgery in a clinic, I refuse to settle and I think it's important to get the full details out there on not only the doctor, but the facility, and full after care. Unfortunately, on this forum, certain posts, threads, and replies have been deleted to prevent people from hearing/reading about other people's negative experiences. I am grateful our insurance covered my revision, but I did do research on several of the Mexico surgeons, and believe that when I give information, it's just that, information that can be confirmed.