Mexico

[diedie 64]

I had it in mexico because it was 4500.00 and i knew people who had used my surgeon. Best descion ever

[allnewme 262]

I too, chose to go to Mexico to have surgery with Dr.Alvarez. I had 0 complications. I had good medical care and absolutely no pain after my surgery. I would do it again in a heartbeat. I am sure there are bad surgeons there but there are also good, caring ones. I could have had my surgery done 40 minutes from my home but I chose to travel from the Midwest to Mexico. I had more confidence in Dr. Alvarez than the Dr. And hospital Close to home.

[clk 3,519]

Using medical malpractice claims as an example of why not to go overseas isn't always a great argument.

My mother was given a totally bogus diagnoses for numbness and tingling in both legs (was told it was a kidney stone pressing on the sciatic nerve) that resulted in her being partially paralyzed, wheelchair bound and on Warfarin for the rest of her life. She'd had an aneurysm. She spent nearly two months in a medically induced coma once they finally figured out what was wrong. She had to go to a different hospital to get someone to acknowledge that blue feet and numbness in her legs was a serious concern! And she HAS insurance.

When all was said and done she was saddled with over a hundred thousand dollars in medical expenses. She lost her job...or rather, still has her job but is only given about ten hours of work per week. She is still fighting for disability, two years later.

The state she lives in caps malpractice suits at $150,000 so lawyers will not take the case. Three separate malpractice lawyers told her she had an excellent case because the very idea that a kidney stone would cause paralysis is laughable, but nobody was willing to take on a complicated case for what amounts to a pittance in lawyer fees.

So please, let's not pretend that even American citizens, with insurance, in America, are fully protected under the law. This is not always the case. My mother is wheelchair bound for life, has lost her independence completely (she now lives with my sister and is only 49 years old) and she has been forced to live below the poverty line without any help from the government or recourse with the medical hospital and doctor that put her in this predicament.

Furthermore, it is comparing apples and oranges to point at overseas medical training programs and say "Americans train longer, and therefore are more experienced." In other countries, even in Europe (Germany and Italy, where I've personally lived and received care) doctors are not generally educated on all medicine - they are specialists that focus their education on one medical specialty for several years instead of learning about general medicine for several years AFTER pursuing a general degree. This cuts their training time down considerably. Many foreign doctors have expressed to me (not doctors providing my care, but rather those I've personally known on a social level) that they're amazed that American doctors can be proficient at any one skill, since they're learning so many different areas of medicine before narrowing into a specific field. This is also a reason that becoming a doctor overseas is not the status profession it is in America. Your education does not cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars and you are not paid an extremely high salary to compensate for your twelve years of education. Doctors are respected, yes, but no more so than any other professional.

In fact, in Germany, Italy and especially the former Soviet Union there is no real glamour in being a doctor. It is far more respected and admired to be a professor in a university, for instance, than a doctor.

In any case, I think that these continual anti-Mexico posts are a bit redundant and in many cases, far too biased. Nobody coming here to criticize care in Mexico actually had a negative experience there! They're just afraid that it could happen. I could say the same for doctors in the US. It's a silly round-and-round.

And frankly, instead of providing information and being supportive, it turns into a battle for-or-against that does nothing to change anyone's mind or even to disseminate information.

Truly, if you don't believe people should go to Mexico, there is no need to post about it beyond stating that you wouldn't and why. Hearsay helps nobody. Saying "I've read horror stories" could apply to any doctor in any country. I'm sorry, but the medically induced comas and leaks on VST lately were all AMERICAN SURGEONS.

So please, accept that some people will go to Mexico whether you think they should or not. And some people will be more comfortable in the states. Sometimes it's a money thing but not always (as I previously stated I could have gone anywhere and many others face these options, too) and likewise it is not always a "last resort" option. Accept that some people are more comfortable with something you are not.

There are dozens of these threads on here and what ultimately happens is despite the good intentions of some of the posters, it turns into an us-vs.-them debate that DOES border on prejudices that are most often based in hearsay and rumor than actual fact. Everyone has "heard of someone" or "saw a 20/20 report" or "knew a doctor that said" or "ran into one case that proves this is the norm" and honestly, I hardly see anyone with personal experience that is negative contribute to these conversations.

People are so happy with Dr. Aceves that they rave about him without being compensated. We happen to take unfair criticisms of him, due to the fact that he's operating in Mexico, as offensive. If you don't know him and he didn't operate on you, what right do you have to say that his care is substandard? Basing it on rumor, hearsay and assumption offends his many happy customers on here, sorry to say. And you will not convince those of us (hundreds of us!) that had a positive experience in Mexico that it's more dangerous or terrible to go there, so there is no need to continually refresh the argument with a new topic!

Vent over, I'm just annoyed that I'm repeatedly posting these same logical arguments and it keeps coming up over and over again. If you're not comfortable with Mexican surgeons the answer is simple: don't use one!

~Cheri

[bajanqueen70 47]

Using medical malpractice claims as an example of why not to go overseas isn't always a great argument.

My mother was given a totally bogus diagnoses for numbness and tingling in both legs (was told it was a kidney stone pressing on the sciatic nerve) that resulted in her being partially paralyzed' date=' wheelchair bound and on Warfarin for the rest of her life. She'd had an aneurysm. She spent nearly two months in a medically induced coma once they finally figured out what was wrong. She had to go to a different hospital to get someone to acknowledge that blue feet and numbness in her legs was a serious concern! And she HAS insurance.

When all was said and done she was saddled with over a hundred thousand dollars in medical expenses. She lost her job...or rather, still has her job but is only given about ten hours of work per week. She is still fighting for disability, two years later.

The state she lives in caps malpractice suits at 150,000 so lawyers will not take the case. Three separate malpractice lawyers told her she had an excellent case because the very idea that a kidney stone would cause paralysis is laughable, but nobody was willing to take on a complicated case for what amounts to a pittance in lawyer fees.

So please, let's not pretend that even American citizens, with insurance, in America, are fully protected under the law. This is not always the case. My mother is wheelchair bound for life, has lost her independence completely (she now lives with my sister and is only 49 years old) and she has been forced to live below the poverty line without any help from the government or recourse with the medical hospital and doctor that put her in this predicament.

Furthermore, it is comparing apples and oranges to point at overseas medical training programs and say "Americans train longer, and therefore are more experienced." In other countries, even in Europe (Germany and Italy, where I've personally lived and received care) doctors are not generally educated on all medicine - they are specialists that focus their education on one medical specialty for several years instead of learning about general medicine for several years AFTER pursuing a general degree. This cuts their training time down considerably. Many foreign doctors have expressed to me (not doctors providing my care, but rather those I've personally known on a social level) that they're amazed that American doctors can be proficient at any one skill, since they're learning so many different areas of medicine before narrowing into a specific field. This is also a reason that becoming a doctor overseas is not the status profession it is in America. Your education does not cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars and you are not paid an extremely high salary to compensate for your twelve years of education. Doctors are respected, yes, but no more so than any other professional.

In fact, in Germany, Italy and especially the former Soviet Union there is no real glamour in being a doctor. It is far more respected and admired to be a professor in a university, for instance, than a doctor.

In any case, I think that these continual anti-Mexico posts are a bit redundant and in many cases, far too biased. Nobody coming here to criticize care in Mexico actually had a negative experience there! They're just afraid that it could happen. I could say the same for doctors in the US. It's a silly round-and-round.

And frankly, instead of providing information and being supportive, it turns into a battle for-or-against that does nothing to change anyone's mind or even to disseminate information.

Truly, if you don't believe people should go to Mexico, there is no need to post about it beyond stating that you wouldn't and why. Hearsay helps nobody. Saying "I've read horror stories" could apply to any doctor in any country. I'm sorry, but the medically induced comas and leaks on VST lately were all AMERICAN SURGEONS.

So please, accept that some people will go to Mexico whether you think they should or not. And some people will be more comfortable in the states. Sometimes it's a money thing but not always (as I previously stated I could have gone anywhere and many others face these options, too) and likewise it is not always a "last resort" option. Accept that some people are more comfortable with something you are not.

There are dozens of these threads on here and what ultimately happens is despite the good intentions of some of the posters, it turns into an us-vs.-them debate that DOES border on prejudices that are most often based in hearsay and rumor than actual fact. Everyone has "heard of someone" or "saw a 20/20 report" or "knew a doctor that said" or "ran into one case that proves this is the norm" and honestly, I hardly see anyone with personal experience that is negative contribute to these conversations.

People are so happy with Dr. Aceves that they rave about him without being compensated. We happen to take unfair criticisms of him, due to the fact that he's operating in Mexico, as offensive. If you don't know him and he didn't operate on you, what right do you have to say that his care is substandard? Basing it on rumor, hearsay and assumption offends his many happy customers on here, sorry to say. And you will not convince those of us (hundreds of us!) that had a positive experience in Mexico that it's more dangerous or terrible to go there, so there is no need to continually refresh the argument with a new topic!

Vent over, I'm just annoyed that I'm repeatedly posting these same logical arguments and it keeps coming up over and over again. If you're not comfortable with Mexican surgeons the answer is simple: don't use one!

~Cheri[/quote']

Clk.......well said! Thank you for your post...it was a mature and logical response!

[AmandaRaeLeo 2,146]

Using medical malpractice claims as an example of why not to go overseas isn't always a great argument.

My mother was given a totally bogus diagnoses for numbness and tingling in both legs (was told it was a kidney stone pressing on the sciatic nerve) that resulted in her being partially paralyzed' date=' wheelchair bound and on Warfarin for the rest of her life. She'd had an aneurysm. She spent nearly two months in a medically induced coma once they finally figured out what was wrong. She had to go to a different hospital to get someone to acknowledge that blue feet and numbness in her legs was a serious concern! And she HAS insurance.

When all was said and done she was saddled with over a hundred thousand dollars in medical expenses. She lost her job...or rather, still has her job but is only given about ten hours of work per week. She is still fighting for disability, two years later.

The state she lives in caps malpractice suits at 150,000 so lawyers will not take the case. Three separate malpractice lawyers told her she had an excellent case because the very idea that a kidney stone would cause paralysis is laughable, but nobody was willing to take on a complicated case for what amounts to a pittance in lawyer fees.

So please, let's not pretend that even American citizens, with insurance, in America, are fully protected under the law. This is not always the case. My mother is wheelchair bound for life, has lost her independence completely (she now lives with my sister and is only 49 years old) and she has been forced to live below the poverty line without any help from the government or recourse with the medical hospital and doctor that put her in this predicament.

Furthermore, it is comparing apples and oranges to point at overseas medical training programs and say "Americans train longer, and therefore are more experienced." In other countries, even in Europe (Germany and Italy, where I've personally lived and received care) doctors are not generally educated on all medicine - they are specialists that focus their education on one medical specialty for several years instead of learning about general medicine for several years AFTER pursuing a general degree. This cuts their training time down considerably. Many foreign doctors have expressed to me (not doctors providing my care, but rather those I've personally known on a social level) that they're amazed that American doctors can be proficient at any one skill, since they're learning so many different areas of medicine before narrowing into a specific field. This is also a reason that becoming a doctor overseas is not the status profession it is in America. Your education does not cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars and you are not paid an extremely high salary to compensate for your twelve years of education. Doctors are respected, yes, but no more so than any other professional.

In fact, in Germany, Italy and especially the former Soviet Union there is no real glamour in being a doctor. It is far more respected and admired to be a professor in a university, for instance, than a doctor.

In any case, I think that these continual anti-Mexico posts are a bit redundant and in many cases, far too biased. Nobody coming here to criticize care in Mexico actually had a negative experience there! They're just afraid that it could happen. I could say the same for doctors in the US. It's a silly round-and-round.

And frankly, instead of providing information and being supportive, it turns into a battle for-or-against that does nothing to change anyone's mind or even to disseminate information.

Truly, if you don't believe people should go to Mexico, there is no need to post about it beyond stating that you wouldn't and why. Hearsay helps nobody. Saying "I've read horror stories" could apply to any doctor in any country. I'm sorry, but the medically induced comas and leaks on VST lately were all AMERICAN SURGEONS.

So please, accept that some people will go to Mexico whether you think they should or not. And some people will be more comfortable in the states. Sometimes it's a money thing but not always (as I previously stated I could have gone anywhere and many others face these options, too) and likewise it is not always a "last resort" option. Accept that some people are more comfortable with something you are not.

There are dozens of these threads on here and what ultimately happens is despite the good intentions of some of the posters, it turns into an us-vs.-them debate that DOES border on prejudices that are most often based in hearsay and rumor than actual fact. Everyone has "heard of someone" or "saw a 20/20 report" or "knew a doctor that said" or "ran into one case that proves this is the norm" and honestly, I hardly see anyone with personal experience that is negative contribute to these conversations.

People are so happy with Dr. Aceves that they rave about him without being compensated. We happen to take unfair criticisms of him, due to the fact that he's operating in Mexico, as offensive. If you don't know him and he didn't operate on you, what right do you have to say that his care is substandard? Basing it on rumor, hearsay and assumption offends his many happy customers on here, sorry to say. And you will not convince those of us (hundreds of us!) that had a positive experience in Mexico that it's more dangerous or terrible to go there, so there is no need to continually refresh the argument with a new topic!

Vent over, I'm just annoyed that I'm repeatedly posting these same logical arguments and it keeps coming up over and over again. If you're not comfortable with Mexican surgeons the answer is simple: don't use one!

~Cheri[/quote']

I'm am so sorry about your mother. Also, thank you for posting such a detailed and well thought out vent. I'm having to delay Mexico due to unexpected expenses but you've helped keep me comfortable with my ultimate decision!

Amanda Rae

[kimikat3 150]

Using medical malpractice claims as an example of why not to go overseas isn't always a great argument.

My mother was given a totally bogus diagnoses for numbness and tingling in both legs (was told it was a kidney stone pressing on the sciatic nerve) that resulted in her being partially paralyzed' date=' wheelchair bound and on Warfarin for the rest of her life. She'd had an aneurysm. She spent nearly two months in a medically induced coma once they finally figured out what was wrong. She had to go to a different hospital to get someone to acknowledge that blue feet and numbness in her legs was a serious concern! And she HAS insurance.

When all was said and done she was saddled with over a hundred thousand dollars in medical expenses. She lost her job...or rather, still has her job but is only given about ten hours of work per week. She is still fighting for disability, two years later.

The state she lives in caps malpractice suits at 150,000 so lawyers will not take the case. Three separate malpractice lawyers told her she had an excellent case because the very idea that a kidney stone would cause paralysis is laughable, but nobody was willing to take on a complicated case for what amounts to a pittance in lawyer fees.

So please, let's not pretend that even American citizens, with insurance, in America, are fully protected under the law. This is not always the case. My mother is wheelchair bound for life, has lost her independence completely (she now lives with my sister and is only 49 years old) and she has been forced to live below the poverty line without any help from the government or recourse with the medical hospital and doctor that put her in this predicament.

Furthermore, it is comparing apples and oranges to point at overseas medical training programs and say "Americans train longer, and therefore are more experienced." In other countries, even in Europe (Germany and Italy, where I've personally lived and received care) doctors are not generally educated on all medicine - they are specialists that focus their education on one medical specialty for several years instead of learning about general medicine for several years AFTER pursuing a general degree. This cuts their training time down considerably. Many foreign doctors have expressed to me (not doctors providing my care, but rather those I've personally known on a social level) that they're amazed that American doctors can be proficient at any one skill, since they're learning so many different areas of medicine before narrowing into a specific field. This is also a reason that becoming a doctor overseas is not the status profession it is in America. Your education does not cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars and you are not paid an extremely high salary to compensate for your twelve years of education. Doctors are respected, yes, but no more so than any other professional.

In fact, in Germany, Italy and especially the former Soviet Union there is no real glamour in being a doctor. It is far more respected and admired to be a professor in a university, for instance, than a doctor.

In any case, I think that these continual anti-Mexico posts are a bit redundant and in many cases, far too biased. Nobody coming here to criticize care in Mexico actually had a negative experience there! They're just afraid that it could happen. I could say the same for doctors in the US. It's a silly round-and-round.

And frankly, instead of providing information and being supportive, it turns into a battle for-or-against that does nothing to change anyone's mind or even to disseminate information.

Truly, if you don't believe people should go to Mexico, there is no need to post about it beyond stating that you wouldn't and why. Hearsay helps nobody. Saying "I've read horror stories" could apply to any doctor in any country. I'm sorry, but the medically induced comas and leaks on VST lately were all AMERICAN SURGEONS.

So please, accept that some people will go to Mexico whether you think they should or not. And some people will be more comfortable in the states. Sometimes it's a money thing but not always (as I previously stated I could have gone anywhere and many others face these options, too) and likewise it is not always a "last resort" option. Accept that some people are more comfortable with something you are not.

There are dozens of these threads on here and what ultimately happens is despite the good intentions of some of the posters, it turns into an us-vs.-them debate that DOES border on prejudices that are most often based in hearsay and rumor than actual fact. Everyone has "heard of someone" or "saw a 20/20 report" or "knew a doctor that said" or "ran into one case that proves this is the norm" and honestly, I hardly see anyone with personal experience that is negative contribute to these conversations.

People are so happy with Dr. Aceves that they rave about him without being compensated. We happen to take unfair criticisms of him, due to the fact that he's operating in Mexico, as offensive. If you don't know him and he didn't operate on you, what right do you have to say that his care is substandard? Basing it on rumor, hearsay and assumption offends his many happy customers on here, sorry to say. And you will not convince those of us (hundreds of us!) that had a positive experience in Mexico that it's more dangerous or terrible to go there, so there is no need to continually refresh the argument with a new topic!

Vent over, I'm just annoyed that I'm repeatedly posting these same logical arguments and it keeps coming up over and over again. If you're not comfortable with Mexican surgeons the answer is simple: don't use one!

~Cheri[/quote']

If I could like your post more than once, I would!!! First off, I'm extremely heartbroken to hear about your mother. Words can't even begin to describe the "unfair" nature of the issue at hand.

You made some VERY valid points in your discussion. I hope people that are truly on the fence about going to Mexico for their surgery, will come across your post.

[becksnky 25]

Thanks Cheri for a well written and thoughtful response. I have read all the replies to this post. I wish if individuals had information, statistics, etc. that could help us make informed decisions about choosing to go to Mexico for surgery, they would share it. That would be the compassionate and caring thing to do.

[diedie 64]

I wish i had statistics. All i know is i researched my dr for a year and if i didnt have the option of going to mexico i would not have been able to have the surgery. I was lucky ive had no conplications and ive healed nicely . I havent lost as fast as some but im doing well.

[midwifeshannon 3]

Hi

My surgery is on January 17 in TX' date=' I'm paying 4700[/quote']

Where in Texas? I am in Houston.

[AmandaRaeLeo 2,146]

This is a perfect example of the ignorance perpetuated by the unknowing. Its not done to be rude - they just dont know any better.

The person who wrote the above text is using ONE example from a situation she had with her mother. First of all' date=' that's heartbreaking and I'm sorry to hear that. However, she is using ONE example while others of us who have been in the healthcare industry for the majority of our lives can you tell THOUSANDS of stories. And thats not an exaggeration. These aren't stories we have read or heard about. These are actual patients flown in that we take care of and save their lives.

We weren't talking about Europe, but OK. Let's talk about Europe. Much of what you said is completely wrong. A dear friend of mine is actually in medical school in Manchester, UK right now. The majority of Europe requires 5 years (or the equivalent in credits) of undergraduate studies, followed by 4 years of medical school, and 1 to 3 years of residency. That's 9 to 12 years.

In Italy, you must attend 4 years of Undergraduate, 2 years of Medical, and 3 to 5 years of residency (they call it an internship) That's 9 to 11 years.

Germany is 6 (GP) to 8 years. And guess what? .... You have to re-license in the United States.

A good way to tell if another Countries medical system is on par with the United States is to check if their license in compatible in the US. I'll give you a hint - Mexican licenses are not.

----

In the end it comes down to this - If you are dying without this surgery, and you don't have the insurance to do it in the United States, then by all means go to Mexico (I would suggest Alvarez). You are more than likely to be just fine. Thats the truth. But let's not pretend like the majority of their physicians are on the same level as the United States counterparts. And don't get me started on the Anesthesiologist who in many foreign countries are nurses.

In summary, do what you want to do. You will probably be fine. But dont come on here, acting self righteous and scolding others for warning people. I have seen the faces of dying people who were butchered in Mexico. HAVE YOU?[/quote']

I am replying with candor here. You sound just as sanctimonious as you are accusing the other of being. Share data and statistics that can be backed up. Don't opine and pontificate with vague references to supposed "hatchet jobs". That inspires needless anxiety. Show substantiated facts and figures plz. Or share your own personal Mexico experience. Otherwise it all seems like hearsay.

Amanda Rae

[superstartover 101]

I just got my date march 14 dr alvarez in mx

[ReduceReuseRecycle-Me! 119]

i went to mx b/c i do not qualify for bariatric surgery(no co-morbidities, etc). 7 months of planning. about 2 weeks after surgery - i had a fever - kaiser did exploratory lap and gave me hosp. aquired pneumonia which led to everything else. wish anesthia had just perfused my lungs a bit harder - that would have likely prevented the crisis that followed. i, too have worked in the medical field (my family too) for about 20 years. i have my BSN, PHN and consider myself well-educated. kaiser covered everything.....i owe then $30 dollars!! i am very grateful for health care and very lucky. done with the feding tube at least for now. it might have to be replaced....its a wait and see. gotta eat and no sliding food!!

So, NORCALRN, are you saying Mexico was a bad choice for you?

[ReduceReuseRecycle-Me! 119]

There's a very real opinion in America, particularly among those affiliated with the healthcare industry, that the only place in the entire world to receive adequate healthcare is America.

As someone who has lived overseas for much of the last nine years, I'd have to point out there there is perfectly adequate and quite often SUPERIOR care elsewhere. America's system is so bogged down with bureaucratic restrictions and liability concerns that oftentimes finding a good doctor just to help you get over routine illnesses can be a problem.

Search out the word "leak" on this forum and tell me how many US surgeons vs. Mexican surgeons you find in those posts. No, that's not proof of superior care or more experience. But in my time here on VST and on OH I have seen only a bare handful of complications from Mexico and the vast majority of them were stateside doctors.

Cheri

You can't compare the lower number of U.S. citizens who have it done in Mexico to the greater number of us having it done stateside. It is all irrelevant anyway. There are good stories and bad from both countries.

I personally would not have a surgery done in a country where I can't drink the Water. If that is prejudice, then so be it.

[ReduceReuseRecycle-Me! 119]

I agree with some of what you are saying. I grew up in Durham, NC the city of medicine and there were always wealthy people from other countries coming to Duke. On the flip side, where I had my surgery in Mexico was also a cancer hospital. The lady across the hall from me came from Russia. I read a book about a boy who went there to work from the US. He beat his cancer after being treated in Canada. There are oncologists in other countries actually curing cancer and not just pushing pills and poison (chemo). I actually got some literature from the hospital because I was going to bring my father there for treatment. Unfortunately his was too aggressive and he died 3 weeks later. So my family is also in the "higher income" and I went to Mexico and looked into taking my father to Mexico, Canada, and Italy. Also to add my father never wanted to be treated at Duke. The doctors and surgeons are known to be great but they are not known to be personable. They are a research hospital and are all about the numbers. But like us all, we have our personal choices and that was his.

Even though you are "higher income" and you still considered going abroad for your father's care doesn't mean there are better docs in other places. It just means you would have done anything to save your father and you had the means to do it.

Most of us don't have that luxury. Most of us are lucky to have insurance these days.

[ReduceReuseRecycle-Me! 119]

Using medical malpractice claims as an example of why not to go overseas isn't always a great argument.

My mother was given a totally bogus diagnoses for numbness and tingling in both legs (was told it was a kidney stone pressing on the sciatic nerve) that resulted in her being partially paralyzed, wheelchair bound and on Warfarin for the rest of her life. She'd had an aneurysm. She spent nearly two months in a medically induced coma once they finally figured out what was wrong. She had to go to a different hospital to get someone to acknowledge that blue feet and numbness in her legs was a serious concern! And she HAS insurance.

When all was said and done she was saddled with over a hundred thousand dollars in medical expenses. She lost her job...or rather, still has her job but is only given about ten hours of work per week. She is still fighting for disability, two years later.

The state she lives in caps malpractice suits at $150,000 so lawyers will not take the case. Three separate malpractice lawyers told her she had an excellent case because the very idea that a kidney stone would cause paralysis is laughable, but nobody was willing to take on a complicated case for what amounts to a pittance in lawyer fees.

So please, let's not pretend that even American citizens, with insurance, in America, are fully protected under the law. This is not always the case. My mother is wheelchair bound for life, has lost her independence completely (she now lives with my sister and is only 49 years old) and she has been forced to live below the poverty line without any help from the government or recourse with the medical hospital and doctor that put her in this predicament.

Furthermore, it is comparing apples and oranges to point at overseas medical training programs and say "Americans train longer, and therefore are more experienced." In other countries, even in Europe (Germany and Italy, where I've personally lived and received care) doctors are not generally educated on all medicine - they are specialists that focus their education on one medical specialty for several years instead of learning about general medicine for several years AFTER pursuing a general degree. This cuts their training time down considerably. Many foreign doctors have expressed to me (not doctors providing my care, but rather those I've personally known on a social level) that they're amazed that American doctors can be proficient at any one skill, since they're learning so many different areas of medicine before narrowing into a specific field. This is also a reason that becoming a doctor overseas is not the status profession it is in America. Your education does not cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars and you are not paid an extremely high salary to compensate for your twelve years of education. Doctors are respected, yes, but no more so than any other professional.

In fact, in Germany, Italy and especially the former Soviet Union there is no real glamour in being a doctor. It is far more respected and admired to be a professor in a university, for instance, than a doctor.

In any case, I think that these continual anti-Mexico posts are a bit redundant and in many cases, far too biased. Nobody coming here to criticize care in Mexico actually had a negative experience there! They're just afraid that it could happen. I could say the same for doctors in the US. It's a silly round-and-round.

And frankly, instead of providing information and being supportive, it turns into a battle for-or-against that does nothing to change anyone's mind or even to disseminate information.

Truly, if you don't believe people should go to Mexico, there is no need to post about it beyond stating that you wouldn't and why. Hearsay helps nobody. Saying "I've read horror stories" could apply to any doctor in any country. I'm sorry, but the medically induced comas and leaks on VST lately were all AMERICAN SURGEONS.

So please, accept that some people will go to Mexico whether you think they should or not. And some people will be more comfortable in the states. Sometimes it's a money thing but not always (as I previously stated I could have gone anywhere and many others face these options, too) and likewise it is not always a "last resort" option. Accept that some people are more comfortable with something you are not.

There are dozens of these threads on here and what ultimately happens is despite the good intentions of some of the posters, it turns into an us-vs.-them debate that DOES border on prejudices that are most often based in hearsay and rumor than actual fact. Everyone has "heard of someone" or "saw a 20/20 report" or "knew a doctor that said" or "ran into one case that proves this is the norm" and honestly, I hardly see anyone with personal experience that is negative contribute to these conversations.

People are so happy with Dr. Aceves that they rave about him without being compensated. We happen to take unfair criticisms of him, due to the fact that he's operating in Mexico, as offensive. If you don't know him and he didn't operate on you, what right do you have to say that his care is substandard? Basing it on rumor, hearsay and assumption offends his many happy customers on here, sorry to say. And you will not convince those of us (hundreds of us!) that had a positive experience in Mexico that it's more dangerous or terrible to go there, so there is no need to continually refresh the argument with a new topic!

Vent over, I'm just annoyed that I'm repeatedly posting these same logical arguments and it keeps coming up over and over again. If you're not comfortable with Mexican surgeons the answer is simple: don't use one!

~Cheri

And we won't. But your statement works both ways, Cheri. You are preaching to the choir. We all feel as you do. Most topics are posted to get opinions and that is what we all post, including you, because that is what is requested. I stated why I wouldn't go to Mexico and that is my opinion whether others like it or not.