Differences Between Surgery in US and Mexico (My Personal Experiences)

[Kris 78]

Hi all,

I was sleeved by Dr. Aceves in Mexicali, Mexico in 2011. My best friend was just sleeved last week at a hospital in Seattle, WA (VIrginia Mason) and I was there with her from the time she checked in for surgery to the time she was discharged (I did go home for 8 hours to sleep at night, but the rest of the time I was at the hospital with her).

I noticed a lot of differences between what it's like to have surgery here vs. Mexico. I'm not here to flog my blog, but it is a pretty LONG post, so I put it up on my blog rather than here.

Here's a link if you're interested.

http://curvygirlwellness.blogspot.com/2013/03/weight-loss-surgery-in-mexico-vs-usa.htm

If you need to self-pay for surgery and are debating whether to have it here or in Mexico, the post might help you see the differences.

I don't know how Virginia Mason compares to other US hospitals but I'm guessing there aren't too many differences. I hope this helps!

[Iniysa 157]

Thanks for the post! Good to know.

[TES 858]

I enjoyed your write-up! Very detailed and well-explained. That was very nice of you to help your friend so much--I'm sure that she appreciated it.

I have a couple of brief comments:

1. My surgeon also requires Clear liquids and a bowel prep the day before surgery. I believe that it is mostly because if you want, you sign paperwork stating that he has permission to convert you to an RNY if you aren't a candidate for VSG once he gets in there. I don't think this has ever actually happened, but if it did, you would need to have had the bowel prep, or he would just need to close you up. I was glad that I had done the bowel prep because the Constipation and gas were bad enough right after the surgery and I think that having done the clean out right before helped alleviate some of that.

2. The semi-private room of course could occur at any number of U.S. hospitals--not sure if that is a Mexico/US difference. But I know you were comparing the experiences that you both had, not just US vs Mexico.

Again, very interesting--thank you for posting this!

[920amy 409]

Just noticed this thread, I tried to click on the blog link, but it says the blog does not exist. Maybe the link is broken? I was sleeved in TJ my Dr. Lopez, I had a good experience, but some things were different that's for sure. I did have a private room, so I think it jsut depends. I had my motehr travelling with me, and she and I shared a hopital room when I had surgery. She slept in the patient bed that was next to mine. Dr. Lopez had us do a 3 days Clear Liquids only before the surgery, and a bowel prep also, so I think there are a lot of variations between how Dr.s do things not just US VS Mexico. I hope the blog links gets up and running, I'd love to read your experience!

[TES 858]

That happened to me with the broken link too, but I looked at the RH column under 2013 blogs and saw it listed there and clicked through.

[Kris 78]

Sorry, not sure why the link didn't work! Here is a link to the homepage and it should be the first entry you see.

http://curvygirlwellness.blogspot.com/

That makes sense about the bowel prep. I would never have agreed to converting a sleeve to a gastric bypass so glad my surgeon didn't leave that option on the table.

I didn't really have many problems with gas after surgery, or a problem with Constipation. I guess I'm fortunate in that regard!

[SleevelessinSeattle 1]

Thanks so much for sharing this. I have been round and round with insurance here in the Seattle area and finally,my insurance said that they would pay for any follow up procedures/maintenance but they would NOT pay for the procedure itself.

So, with that said, I sent in the app to Dr. Garcia, he approved, put my down payment booked my tickets and I'm having the surgery in Tijuana for $4700 and that's all inclusive with the exception of airfare.

Judging from your blog, it seems I don't want to be dealing with these crazy hospitals and insurance personnel anyway!!!

Thanks again.

[Kris 78]

Thanks so much for sharing this. I have been round and round with insurance here in the Seattle area and finally,my insurance said that they would pay for any follow up procedures/maintenance but they would NOT pay for the procedure itself.

So, with that said, I sent in the app to Dr. Garcia, he approved, put my down payment booked my tickets and I'm having the surgery in Tijuana for $4700 and that's all inclusive with the exception of airfare.

Judging from your blog, it seems I don't want to be dealing with these crazy hospitals and insurance personnel anyway!!!

Thanks again.

Hey Seattle neighbor!

Best of luck to you in your sleeve journey! I truly feel getting the sleeve was one of the best things I ever did for myself, and hope you find that to be the case as well.

[Kris 78]

Thank you so much for posting this review. I had my surgery in Tijuana with Dr. Sergio Quinones and I can relate to everything you experienced. I was in the hospital for 3 days 2 nights and a hotel for 1 night. The biggest difference between us was the cost. My total cost with roundtrip airfare (Miami/San Diego) was $4500. I was allowed to bring a companion who could stay with me at the hospital and hotel at no extra cost. Unfortunately my husband was not able to get away from work so I went alone but I will say I never felt alone. My only regret was I did not have this surgery years ago.

Dragonsloard, I totally agree with you about not getting the surgery done sooner. I wish I had done more research in alternatives to gastric bypass years ago. But, better late than never!