Mexico or States

[Leila 0]

I asked my own surgeon in Canada about the surgeons in Mexico, he basically said that there are a couple there who are amoung the best in the world, and a couple there who are amoung the worst in the world. It's not where your surgeon is, it's who your surgeon is that makes a difference. When I was choosing a surgeon I looked at experience, and at success, and at complications. I went with a surgeon I felt had adequate experience and zero history of patient complications and whose approach was one I was comfortable with.

[jjolive 0]

Is the financing in house through the doctor

Joy

[supermodel 0]

My two sisters, my husband and I all had our surgeries done by Dr.Ortiz and are all doing fine. I work in the Health Care injustry and would definatly say that Dr.Ortiz is top notch and not bad to look at either.

[beachgirl 2]

Getting healthy, glad you had a wonderful experience. I'm with you. My daughter works here for a large hospital and she couldnt believe how the hospital there put ours to shame and they were constantly asking did we need anything, do you need anything. Here I've had 3 surgeries in 2 years, one being having neck surgery with disc removed and I had to call every 4 hours and beg for something for pain and maybe within the next hour or so I would get it and there within 4 hours they were there putting it in your iv, you didn't have to ask. I'm not proMexico or anything, just a patient who had surgery and had fabulous care and I have fabulous after care with Dr. Curry in Cinci.

[ginger 0]

I had my surgery in Monterrey, Mexico with Dr. de la Garza and would do it again in a heartbeat. Very experienced and immaculate facilities.

[ParisAngelTX 0]

Hello Everyone! I'm new to this site and have not been banded yet. I have

been researching the procedure, looking into cost, doctors, ect. I need all

the great advise anyone is willing to give. My main concern is that my current weight may not be high enough to qualify according to what I've

read. I am currently 198 lbs. 33 BMI. Does anyone have any ideas on this?

My goal is to be at 130 lbs. I've been trying to get rid of this weight for

18 years, but seem to be going higher and higher. I need a safe alternitive

to the prescription drugs that I've been batteling with for years.

[ginger 0]

I was at 205 when I got my band, so I think you will be fine. Especially if you choose to have your surgery in Mexico...I don't think they are as strict with the rules.

If you have what they call "co-morbidities", that will also qualify you quicker, ie. reflux, sleep apnea, etc.

Good luck

[beachgirl 2]

You can have a 30 B.M.I. and they'll do your surgery in Mexico. They're not like the states and ask you to gain weight so your a certain B.M.I. before they'll do the sugery. They try to prevent you from getting larger and having health problems. When I called Anthem BC/BS here in Kentucky she said yes, we'll pay but you'll have to gain 40 pounds and do this, this, this, and this. I was like forget it, I'll pay for it myself. With a 100 pounds to loose why would I want to gain another 40. Go figure.

[Pistol 0]

Dr Rumbaut will knock $1K off each surgery if you take a friend. My wife and father-in-law are being banded by him on 10/3/06 at a cost of $9,500 each.

I did all of the research (several months worth) and determined that Rumbaut is the best in the Western Hemisphere. I recently went to a clinic sponsored by a group of local bariatric surgeons in Colorado who seemed ashamed and even apologetic about their inexperience when compared to Rumbaut (who, btw, is a member of the ASBS).

Inexperienced and an extra $10K for the same procedure locally? Knowing who to pick was hard, knowing who to eliminate was reletively easy.

PS: I hope I didn't overstep my bounds by not needing the band myself and commenting on this forum. My wife doesn't like computers, but I've encouraged her become more comfortable with it. Hopefully she'll spend more time here after her surgery. Until then, I guess you're stuck with ever-supportive husband.

[beachgirl 2]

Well it's great she's got a supportive husband and we welcome you here banded or not, it doesn't matter to us. I wish her all the luck in the world. I had a wonderful experience in Mexico and I'm sure she will too. I agree, I checked with 5 major hospitals close to me and none of them had even came close to how many Dr. Sanchez had done so it was a nobrainer for me.

[rere49 0]

I had my surgery on TJ, Mexico on April 15,2005 by Dr Haucuz, did I spell that right??? Anyway, I am down 151 pounds with about 50 more to go. Mexico was a blast, all 8 times I have been down there for fills and fun.

[ragergirl 0]

I was banded in Mexico and Im from Canada, I had a bariatric surgeon 2 hrs away from me and I made sure before I got banded that he would do the after care stuff like fills, any major problems would have to be cared for by my mexican dr or pay the money here in canada

[ragergirl 0]

Hello Everyone! I'm new to this site and have not been banded yet. I have

been researching the procedure, looking into cost, doctors, ect. I need all

the great advise anyone is willing to give. My main concern is that my current weight may not be high enough to qualify according to what I've

read. I am currently 198 lbs. 33 BMI. Does anyone have any ideas on this?

My goal is to be at 130 lbs. I've been trying to get rid of this weight for

18 years, but seem to be going higher and higher. I need a safe alternitive

to the prescription drugs that I've been batteling with for years.

I was almost exactly like you, except I m alot shorter i bet ....lol I had co morbitites on my side though, but I think if you have the money you can get it done they never even weighed me when I had the surgery:) I went to de la garza in Monterrey mexico and I had a postive experience and IM just over 6 months and pretty much a "normal" BMI now:D

[JRPTX 0]

The choice between US and Mexico for self-pay patients is a complicated one, which I have been researching for over a year.

Concerning the LapBand, there are several surgeons in Mexico that must be rated superior to any surgeon in the US, if you take a hard honest look at the research. Several have more experience than the sum total of all lapband surgerys perfromed in the US combined, with complication rates as low as any surgeon regardless of the volume of operations.

A "Board Certified" US surgeon, was often trained under one of these very same Mexican surgeons.

Granted, a surgeon is not the only link in the medical chain. You must also look at the entire staff and the facility in which they perform. Again, there are a few hospitals in Mexico that are far superior to all but a very few facilities in the US. I am not just talking about how clean and comfortable they are. I am talking about how well staffed they are and how "state of the art" their equipment is.

If the President of the United States suffers a trauma or serious illness while in Mexico, they run him to Monterrey, not Houston. If the facility has a trauma center deemed appropriate for the President of the US, I think it is appropriate for you and me.

I am not as concerned about cost as I am providing myself the best possible odds for a successful surgery, recovery and aftercare. Both the US and Mexico offer advantages and disadvantages, compared to cost. If you use a premier surgeon and facility in Mexico you have great odds of success. For about the same cost, you can have outpatient surgery in a clinic in the US, with high odds of success, too.

For me, I like the idea of having the surgery in a state of the art facility, complete with an on site trauma center, by an extremely successful surgical team. You can get that in the US for about $20K, or about $13K in Monterrey. You can get outpatient surgery in the US, at a clinic, for as little as $10K. You can get clinic level facility and very competent surgeons in Mexico for as little as $8K.

Access, time and aftercare must also be considered. Monterrey is not the easiest place to get to for many people. It is important to have a plan in place for aftercare prior to having the surgery, regardless of where you decide to have it performed.

For me, I am still tossing it around. I will have the surgery in December, and likely with Dr. Rumbaut in Monterrey. However, US options are still being considered.

Lastly, not to start a fight, but anyone that dismisses the Mexico option on general principal is making a decision based on ignorance. Do the research yourself and come to your own conclusions.

Just as important as the doctor and facility you choose, is your faith and trust in their abilities. Placebos work because you believe in them, the same thing is true with doctors and hospitals.

In the end, if you decide to have any surgery, go with where you believe you will receive the best treatment that you can afford. That is a harsh statement, but a fact of life in this world. The cliche, "you often get what you pay for" is true in doctors and hospitals, too.

[Carlene 12]

There are lots and lots and lots of successful band patients who had their surgeries done in Mexico. My surgeon trained in Mexico, as did many others.

Speaking strictly from hearing about the experiences of others, I think Mexican doctors are not as conservative as those in the US. I don't know if that's a good thing or not.

There is a young woman on another forum I belong to who was very successful with the band (-148 pounds) but her band eroded when she had about 40 pounds to go (to goal). Her band surgery was done in Mexico by one of the most respected surgeons in the country. She went back to him to have her band removed and revision surgery (to gastric bypass) in one operation. That was a month ago and things have not gone well for her.

The surgery took 9 hours and she spent 11 days in the hospital. She flew home on a feeding tube (plus drains, etc). She has seen two doctors in the US and was told she has a massive leak that will require another surgery. They told her she was foolish for doing both procedures at once (removing the band and bypass). Her doc in Mexico disagrees - says the leak will heal - and she's going with that.

This is a very serious situation and even though I agree that it's her call, I am very concerned for her. According to her US doctors, they HAVE to err on the side of conservatism because they can be sued for malpractice, whereas Mexican doctors cannot. I don't know if that's true or not, but I would be somewhat concerned about the checks and balances for physicians. Is there a Mexican version of the AMA? Do they carry malpractice insurance? What about civil liability? Do American patients have any recourse at law?

This woman has not eaten for a solid month. She has a feeding tube in place, which I am pretty sure requires some professional oversight (or am I wrong about this???) and no local doctor will touch her, for fear of legal consequences. Is that shame on the doctor? I don't know. I'm not certain that I would risk wiping out my reputation and my financial security that I had spent years building to try and "fix" someone else's screw up.

People choose surgery in Mexico for good reason (expertise AND $$$), but once you've made that choice, I think responsibility falls back on you and your surgeon. American doctors are not "honor bound" to help you out and IMHO, it's just wrong to bash them for not stepping up to the plate, just because it's inconvenient for you to go back to Mexico, your Mexican surgeon screwed up, etc.

She posted the surgeon's name, so I guess it's not inappropriate for me to do the same....it was Rumbaut.

My opinion is free and worth every cent...