Has Anyone Used Dr. Almanza In Tijuana For Gastric Sleeve Surgery?

[bturner0385 2]

Price is a huge issue for me. Has anyone had an experience with Dr. Mario Almanza at the Mt. Zion Hospital in Tijuana?

[Rootman 1,101]

Mt. Zion is the same as Jerusalem clinic ( http://mtzionmedical.com/contact-us.php ) . I had my surgery 12/6/10 and have had a huge success with little to no issues, the only issue has been with kidney stones due to my not drinking enough Water, but this cannot be attributed to the surgery, only my own issues with nausea post op and not keeping up with my liquids. I had a good experience with them.

 

HOWEVER, and it's a BIG however - there are some posts in the forum here about issues with the place and the staff. There was also an armed robbery at the recovery house earlier this year. Due to these issues I will no longer recommend the center.

 

Please use the search utility in the forum and dig up the post and make your own decision.

[SouthernSleever 228]

Please do your research and don't rely on one topic post to do the work for you. I did several months of research before deciding on my surgeon and through that time and my last year on here I have read a lot of negative expereinces with Dr Almanza. When his name pops up my first inclination is to warn people but then again I'm hesitant because I don't want to make people who used him feel bad or that they need to justify their decision. So again, do your research!

[bh7 0]

i had my sleeve done there on Oct 18/11. I had a fantastic experience. My boyfriend also went there for his procedure Nov 4/10. He is down 158 lbs a year later with zero complications and I am 6 weeks out and down 30 lbs. The clinic is in a strip mall, the recovery house can be busy at times but if you research before you go you will know full on what to expect. I paid 4500 for my surgery plus the cost of a flight from Canada (about 400.00) I have had zero problems, feel terrific and wouldn't change a thing about my decision. Everyone has to make their own decision about their surgeon and feel comfortable with their choice.

You can pm me if you have any questions about the facility or anything else.

[Janese58 11]

I went to Dr Ramos Kelly. Check him out also. He is only $1200. more than Alamanza.

[Suzannesh 376]

Hi,

Please pay attention when they are warning you that he is not a safe Doctor. There is a reason the price is so low. The surgery is done in a Clinic--NOT a fully equipped hospital. You are sent to a recovery house and they are not staffed with medically trained staff. Here is something I want you to consider when it comes to your life and good health.

I have been thinking about some of the things that many of us have talked about on this board. We have talked about price shopping and I have said “this is not the time to price shop” This is about your health and what is best for you. I had a lovely lady write and tell me that $5,000 was about all she could scrap together to have the surgery and she was going to take her “chances” and go to one of the doctors who charges less. She was single, had children, and was sick and tired of her back hurting and just didn’t want to spend another day being fat.

Believe me I heard everything she said and honestly knew right where she was. I had a time in my life where I was a single parent and was trying to make it on my own, I do know how hard money was to come by. I have been there working 3 jobs at one time and had very little time for me and had to do what I could only afford.

This is what I can say about my choice to go to Dr. Aceves. When I made my choice, I was 63 years old; I didn’t have any serious medical problems –only high blood pressure. I wanted to become healthy so that I could enjoy the rest of my life. My back hurt most of the time, and I had an awful pain in my leg. I had already experienced one bad experience in the USA hospital and that was when I went in for one procedure and came home and a 3 days later had to return to the hospital because I had a serve infection that I got at the hospital—they told me that when you go to the hospital you run the risk of an infection. Well, I was one who got the infection from the hospital. So when I was doing my research I learned that many people do get infections while having surgery in a US hospital. Infections were one of the things I was looking at when I was making my choice. Almater Hospital utilizes state-of-the-art equipment and facilities. They have less of an infection rate than any US hospital. Well, that caught my attention. I can tell you while I was there they were cleaning everything in this hospital including the sidewalk out in front of the hospital 24-7. They cleaned my bathroom 3 times a day. My rooms 3 times a day, the halls and anything people were touching in the hospital.

Almater Hospital has state of the art equipment and technology -Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Complete X ray Unit capable of performing CAT Scans, Ultrasound, Fluoroscopy, and other X-ray tests. Almater Hospital strives to keep updated with equipment of latest generation available. They have Hemodynamic surgical room -where they perform open heart surgery and catheterizations surgical suites (with recovery room). So many of the doctors who charge less just do not have all these things. They are using a clinic to do the surgery, they are not fully staffed and I am worried about where they send you to recover. This is how they can afford to charge less for their surgery.

I also wanted a HIGHLY qualified doctor who had an enormous amount of knowledge when it came to “sleeve surgery.” I checked on the number of surgeries that Dr. Aceves had done, and he was rated as a highly qualified doctor who had only one patient who had developed a leak. I also understand that the “one” patient who did develop the leak was because she did NOT follow the directions given to her about what she should be eating the first month.

There are many qualified doctors who do “sleeve surgery.” And I can’t speak about any experience other than what I had. I wanted more than just a qualified doctor. I wanted a HIGHLY qualified doctor who had a team of highly qualified doctors and nurses on his staff who would be taking care of me. That is just what I found in Dr. Aceves and Almater Hospital. I also know that I had the highest quality of staples and surgical materials used in my surgery along with have a staff of nurses 24-7 there during my recovery.

I know that many doctors are charging less for “sleeve surgery” and if you only have a certain amount of money to work with that is why you are looking at these other doctors. Give this some thought; you can get loans for the balance of the money. You know we never stop and think twice about making a car payment when we need a new car. Well, how about making a new “body payment?” You are worth it. This is ALL about you and no one else. I have sat here on these boards for 3 ½ years watching and listening to all of this. I can only say what was best for me. I know that there are other doctors who do this surgery and they are OK. I wanted more than just OK.

I want you to be very successful at your WLS and your journey to a new and better life along with great health. I wish you all the success in the world. If you have any questions for me, please feel free to ask away.

Suzanne

Sleeved 10/21/2008

Lost 105 pounds

[bellabbr 50]

I just did on Tuesday. Had a great experience and would recommend it to anyone. He is highly qualified averages about 140 a month and never lost a patient. Asides from cost, that won out for me and I am so glad I went with him. Good luck.

[Thomas CPA 496]

Agree don't price shop. I was fortunate, Kaiser covered whole bill zero copay. Just remember on price you get what you pay for and this is a life long, non reversible, procedure. Better to save the money and get the right surgeon. I know many here post way to much on Mexico to make me think many are put up jobs by the surgeons, you don't see American doctors plastered over the boards - so consider with a large grain of salt what is getting said on these boards about the Mexican doctors and their legitimacy. All I can tell you is the doctors at Kaiser have done a lot of repair work from Mexico patients.

[Suzannesh 376]

Agree don't price shop. I was fortunate, Kaiser covered whole bill zero copay. Just remember on price you get what you pay for and this is a life long, non reversible, procedure. Better to save the money and get the right surgeon. I know many here post way to much on Mexico to make me think many are put up jobs by the surgeons, you don't see American doctors plastered over the boards - so consider with a large grain of salt what is getting said on these boards about the Mexican doctors and their legitimacy. All I can tell you is the doctors at Kaiser have done a lot of repair work from Mexico patients.

Hi,

I agree this is not a time to price shop. But I will disagree that the USA is only place to find a great doctor. I believe that there are many fine doctors in Mexico, India, Europe and other places that do not charge an arm and a leg for excellent surgery. My surgery was done in Mexico and my doctor is rated in the top 25 BEST WLS doctors in the WORLD. Wow the world. I think there are some pretty bad doctors in the USA too. The hospitals have a higher % of infections in the US than many of the hospital in Mexico.

I know there are some bad doctors in Mexico too. So please before you make the assumption that you should have your surgery done in the US and to save your money to go to the doctor in the US. Look at the total picture help people find an option for the that will work.

I am so happy that your insurance paid for your WLS. NOT ALL of us had that option. I did have the money to have it done in the US, but I did a lot of research--6 months, and found a doctor who had more experience and was rated higher than most of the USA doctors, so that is why he was my choice. Yes, he is from Mexico. I have never had the kind of care I received from my doctor in Mexico from any USA doctor. I was seen 3 times a day by two different doctors.

Take care,

Suzanne

[Janese58 11]

Agree don't price shop. I was fortunate, Kaiser covered whole bill zero copay. Just remember on price you get what you pay for and this is a life long, non reversible, procedure. Better to save the money and get the right surgeon. I know many here post way to much on Mexico to make me think many are put up jobs by the surgeons, you don't see American doctors plastered over the boards - so consider with a large grain of salt what is getting said on these boards about the Mexican doctors and their legitimacy. All I can tell you is the doctors at Kaiser have done a lot of repair work from Mexico patients.

I have Kaiser Insurance, but choose to have my sleeve done by Dr Kelly in TJ. I would rather pay out $5700. to Dr Kelly than jump thru all of Kaiser's hoops to have it done here. You didnt go to Mexico to have your surgery.....I have had other surgeries here in US..I prefer my experience in Mexco over the way I was treated here in California for the other 2 surgeries I had. There are horror stories on these forums from people who had their surgeries in the US also.

[itscometothis 12]

Just so you know... I went to Dr. Kelly.. he is only a little bit more than Almanza but the amount of peace of mind I had was priceless. You need to research and when you think you are ready to decide, research some more. This is an important decision you are making.. be well informed and know that there are many doctors in Mexico that do the VSG for a decent price at a HOSPITAL Good luck on your research and if you want you can message me any time

[SouthernSleever 228]

Agree don't price shop. I was fortunate, Kaiser covered whole bill zero copay. Just remember on price you get what you pay for and this is a life long, non reversible, procedure. Better to save the money and get the right surgeon. I know many here post way to much on Mexico to make me think many are put up jobs by the surgeons, you don't see American doctors plastered over the boards - so consider with a large grain of salt what is getting said on these boards about the Mexican doctors and their legitimacy. All I can tell you is the doctors at Kaiser have done a lot of repair work from Mexico patients.

I've seen you pretty much bashing Drs from Mexico in a few post now and sadly you are very uninformed. I was a nursing student for 3 years here in the US and I NEVER saw such a well run, clean facility as I did Mexico with Dr Aceves. There have been plenty of reports of bad US doctors, in fact when I was trying to decide who would do my surgery every single Dr I spoke with here in the US aside from one in Cali had a leak rate around 2-4% while Dr A hasn't ever had a leak. One Surgeon was run out of Nashville because of malpractice and is now in AZ. Now Dr Alamanza has had plenty of negitive stories. For the poster who said that Dr Alamanza hasn't lost anyone, I'd love to know where they got that info from. Before this board was switched over there were pages among pages of info about him that is now lost. If I were to do it all over again and I was given the choice of a surgeon here for 1.5k (my deductible) or surgery in Mexico at 8750+expenses I'd still go to Dr Aceves.

[Suzannesh 376]

I've seen you pretty much bashing Drs from Mexico in a few post now and sadly you are very uninformed. I was a nursing student for 3 years here in the US and I NEVER saw such a well run, clean facility as I did Mexico with Dr Aceves. There have been plenty of reports of bad US doctors, in fact when I was trying to decide who would do my surgery every single Dr I spoke with here in the US aside from one in Cali had a leak rate around 2-4% while Dr A hasn't ever had a leak. One Surgeon was run out of Nashville because of malpractice and is now in AZ. Now Dr Alamanza has had plenty of negitive stories. For the poster who said that Dr Alamanza hasn't lost anyone, I'd love to know where they got that info from. Before this board was switched over there were pages among pages of info about him that is now lost. If I were to do it all over again and I was given the choice of a surgeon here for 1.5k (my deductible) or surgery in Mexico at 8750+expenses I'd still go to Dr Aceves.

 

Hi,

 

I happen to agree with you about her bashing doctors in Mexico. Sometimes people beleive everything they hear and see on the Media or nothing more than gossip and they do not take the time to educate themselves before the open their mouths.

 

I went to Dr. Aceves 3 years ago. And I found out sooooooooooooo much about him before I went there. He has had 1 leak and that was because the paitent did NOT follow his directions about what to eat and how to eat. But, he fixed it for her too. So I am like you, I am so sick and tired of people talking about someone that they know so LITTLE about them.

 

Thanks for speaking up too.

Hugs

Suzanne

[bturner0385 2]

Thank You everyone for responding!

[Lisa821 29]

I had Dr Almanza and everything and all staff were great! No one I was with had any true complications. Each person is different so if one nauseous and another isn't, its just the difference in people. That is not the doctor's fault. Also he probably had nothing to do with the robbery. That's his livelihood! Many people have their homes robbed and they don't move away. Things like that happen in life no matter what country you are in. My stand point is that everyone has to decide for themselves but let's report the good along with the bad. My friend had the lap band in the US and has had nothing but problems, then a revision to the sleeve and still has problems. Now they want her to have the gastric bypass to "fix" the problem. Ask yourself if you want that doctor. Now when I tell you one more detail, ask yourself the same question. My friend's problem is caused by scar tissue from the lap band slipping. No one caused the slipping. It just happens sometimes and people are told that before the survey. See how every detail needs to be there and how it effects someone's decision? This is just my opinion.