Mexico Hospitals - Differences In Equipment And Staffing

[scsleever 104]

Since I'll be going to Mexico on my own, I'm thinking that the hospital may be almost as important as the surgeon!

It would be really helpful if some of you who have had surgery in Mexico would share your thoughts about the equipment and staffing at the hospital where you had your surgery. How was your IV solution monitored - was it an electronic machine that beeped or did you have to keep an eye on it yourself? How often did they take your vitals? How often did you see a nurse? Was the language barrier a problem for you? In pre-op, did a nurse or the anesthesiologist insert the IV line, and how did it go? In recovery, what was the level of care? And, in general, how was your hospital experience different from what you expected?

Thanks so much for sharing your experiences!

[Amber'sJourney 14]

Hi, I was at Mi Doctor in TJ. A nurse put in my iv and it was great- as in I didn't feel a thing! I've had quite a few iv's and it was a really good one. It also healed up much faster than others I've had after it was removed.

I never had to call for a nurse, they were in my room every couple of hours injecting meds into my IV. Other than the gas pains, I wasn't really in any pain. When I woke up in recovery there was pain but that was dealt with quickly- when I called out and looked up there was a nurse prepping a syringe to inject in my IV.

Language was not really a problem. Most of the nurses spoke some english and if they didn't and I had a question they would go get a nurse that spoke better english.

The Dr. checked on me everyday. There was also a night shift Dr. that came to check in on me.

I am posting a review tonight. Please read it It's much longer than this. Good luck!

[amykins 202]

Since I'll be going to Mexico on my own, I'm thinking that the hospital may be almost as important as the surgeon!

It would be really helpful if some of you who have had surgery in Mexico would share your thoughts about the equipment and staffing at the hospital where you had your surgery. How was your IV solution monitored - was it an electronic machine that beeped or did you have to keep an eye on it yourself? How often did they take your vitals? How often did you see a nurse? Was the language barrier a problem for you? In pre-op, did a nurse or the anesthesiologist insert the IV line, and how did it go? In recovery, what was the level of care? And, in general, how was your hospital experience different from what you expected?

Thanks so much for sharing your experiences!

I had my surgery with Dr Aceves almost 2 months ago. I went alone and had a great experience. The first thing I tell people is that I work in hospitals for a living, so the fact that this hospital was immaculate is saying something. I've never seen an American hospital that someone cleans your room twice a day, including mopping. They were cleaning night & day. When I went to walk mylaps, I usually had to go around a cleaning cart.

The IV was electronic. I didn't do anything. The nurses were right outside the door and it seemed I barely pushed the call button and they were there. I don't speak Spanish but most spoke at least a little English. I was given a "cheat sheet" of English to Spanish phrases for the few times we had a communication problem.

I believe a nurse inserted the needle for the IV line, but the Anesthesiologist administered the actual drugs into the line. We were talking about Las Vegas (where I live) and that's all I remember until I woke up. No pain at all. Just felt like I did 1000 sit-ups. Dr Aceves uses an epidual that provides 24 hours of pain meds.

As for recovery, I felt like a VIP. They were always there to help as needed, and left me alone when I wanted to rest. I had nausea the first two nights and the nurse sat with me while I dry-heaved into the trash can until the additional meds kicked in. There were meds in my IV already, but for some reason I would get so nauseous at night.

There were several other Americans there. Two had surgery same day as me, the others earlier in the week. So even though I was alone, I was never lonely. I met the medical staff the day before surgery and they all stopped by every day to check on me at least once.

I had heard how well the staff treats you and how clean the hospital is, but it was truly better than I had expected. In my mind, I was comparing it to my hospital stays here in Vagas, and Almater was so much better than the local hospitals I have been a patient in as well as work in.

I hope this helps. I know how scary it can be to go alone, but it was not a problem for me at all. In a way it was better because I didn't feel like i had to entertain anybody. I slept when I wanted to and visited with the other patients when I wanted to. Feel free to PM me if I can answer any other questions.