new canadian joining

canadian sue · July 15, 2004

I recently postponed surgery. I'm concerned about going to Mexico to have it done. I'm looking for information so that I feel more confident in my decision.

hagerteresa · July 15, 2004

Hi Sue,

I too felt anxious about going to Mexico but was able to set my mind at ease. Who was the doctor you postponed with? Before I felt really comfortable with the doctor I chose I talked to several people at different stages that had also had THAT doctor, I also emailed Inamed for a request of a reference on that doctor. Honestly in a lot of ways I felt safer going to the mexican doctor simply because they have more years of experience than the american ones. The surgeon I chose actually had trained many of the surgeons from my home state (oregon). Once everything was booked and I was ready to go I did get a little nervous once I was down there but it was all perfectly natural nervousness. I would have had the same emotional response even here in the U.S. Surgery is SCARY; however this procedure is very minimally invasive and was a lot less painful and easier to heal from than my broken ankle that required surgery several years ago. The band is only something like a 30-40 minute procedure. Mine was a 90 minute procedure because they said I had a lot of fat around my organs they had to trim off. That still was pretty short I thought. Healing wasn't too bad either. I went grocery shopping the day I got home 2 days after surgery I felt THAT good. I took a week off from my house cleaning job. It was a little tough bending over for a couple of weeks. Otherwise.... it all went great.

Make sure you know who can do your follow up care closer to home. Also I took the precaution of calling my insurance (who would not cover the band) and made sure they would cover any emergency complications. Let us know who your doctor was going to be so you can get some specific references about him. Best wishes to you, Teresa

Dr. Lopez

5/8/04

362/319/???

Down 43 lbs. no fills yet.

leatha_g · July 15, 2004

Originally posted by hagerteresa
Hi Sue,

Make sure you know who can do your follow up care closer to home. Also I took the precaution of calling my insurance (who would not cover the band) and made sure they would cover any emergency complications. Let us know who your doctor was going to be so you can get some specific references about him. Best wishes to you, Teresa

Dr. Lopez

5/8/04

362/319/???

Down 43 lbs. no fills yet.

Teresa,

This is very good advice. Most people really don't understand how hard local care is to get when they get banded elsewhere. And, it's getting worse. Everyday I hear of a new doc that has announced he will no longer see patients he/she did not band themselves. This is all due to liability insurance, but so many people just get so excited about getting banded that they overlook the fact that it's forever. Mexico is a longgggggggggggg way away in the event of an emergency, so you must have a backup plan in place BEFORE you get banded.

I did not go to Mexico, but I did relocate after I was banded and have had a horrible time getting follow up care.

Take what you can use and leave the rest...

Leatha

hagerteresa · July 15, 2004

Hi Leatha,

I have heard about yours and others nightmare experiences with finding aftercare but so far Oregon hasn't seemed to bad. Strangely enough I live near the 2nd largest city in the state and there are no band offices and only one by-pass office and I heard he was retiring but almost everywhere else in the state their are band doctors. I have only found 2 that won't take mexican patients. Otherwise the only other thing is the price differences. They vary greatly all over the place. Good luck to you and everyone else that has the band or is considering one. Teresa