Dr. Ariel Ortiz at the OCC

[Cody's mom 247]

Another thing for those going to Mexico, you'll need tip money.. Bring $1's for the baggage handlers and resturant people, and $5's and $10's for drivers.  Also, grab money for bardering on the streets. It's better to have American cash!

[Cody's mom 247]

I had Dr. E. Ortiz and he was great.  No problems, if I was to do it again, I'd go to Tijuana even if I had the choice to stay in Canada to have it done!

[mbrinmn 105]

Remember that a lot of patients never again follow up with their doctor in Mexico, so his stats could be very correct based on the data he received. These people make their entire livings off of Medical Tourism. They all seem to want to do everything above and beyond what our doctors in the u.s. do. Based on how everything worked at the hospital I was at in Tijuana, I would say all thse doctors have very low complication rates.

[lovelyme 21]

I'm off to Mexico tomorrow. This pre op diet worked magic for me - I'm down almost 11 lbs already. Today is going to be hard for the all clear liquid diet - I'm going to work armed with massive amounts of jello!

Surgery is on Saturday!

[Cody's mom 247]

Yea, go get em! Have fun shopping as well.  They do have a costco that is only a $6 ride from the hotel (Bailey's Irsh Cream was only $18 Canadian for a liter, I bought three bottles).

[Jess623 10]

I'm off to Mexico tomorrow. This pre op diet worked magic for me - I'm down almost 11 lbs already. Today is going to be hard for the all clear liquid diet - I'm going to work armed with massive amounts of jello!

Surgery is on Saturday!

 

Good luck!! Cant wait to hear about your experience. I leave next Saturday, sleeved on Sunday!! 

[lisaworth 4]

In am having my surgery in Oct in Mexico . With Dr Louisiana Vesualia ( bad spelling). I have only heard good things.. Crossing fingers.

 

Has anyone heard of issues back in the states post Mexico where the Insurance didn't cover follow up? Like blood work or anything?

[mbrinmn 105]

My insurance covered all of that and a nutritionist once I got the referral from my doctor.  No problems with insurance so far.

[gtmikki 33]

Thanks Kindle. I went ahead and ordered the Vitaleph supplements. I will use them at least until surgery. I have never had any type of surgery, and according to the NUT, Vitaleph will improve chances of recovering quicker, I will bite the bullet for the next few months.

I also made a few changes as you suggested and have been drinking more Water. I actually lost 2.8 pounds this week.

My flight time is about 4.5 hours. I am going to stay an extra day in Mexico for this reason. I am nervous about sitting so long after surgery. Should I stay longer in Mexico or San Diego and also should I fork out the extra money for first class? The seats in coach are small with virtually no leg room.  Any info or guidance on this issue you all can provide will greatly help.

Again, thank you all for posting. As I am going at this alone, this site has brought me much comfort.

 

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Edited September 26, 2014 by gtmikki

[Kindle 8,667]

@@gtmikki good for you! You totally got this!

 

As for the flight thing, I was really torn about staying longer vs going home. On the one hand, recovering in TJ sure beats recovering in Idaho in December. On the other hand, I had a house and dogs and cats and horses to take care of at home. My flight was only 2 hours but then I had a 5 hour drive home from the airport. I was definitely tired. Maybe a compromise would be to stay in San Diego one extra night and get an early flight out on your 4th morning. If you do fly out on the 3rd day, you can't leave until mid -afternoon because you have to go to OCC that morning for drain removal and barium fluoroscopy before going to the airport. Makes for a really long day.

 

Also, OCC will give you compression stockings which you should wear on the flight. You should get up and walk the aisles as much as possible. Make sure you have plenty of liquids to sip. I brought crystal light and propel zero packets to mix in Water. Also walk in the airport, don't get a wheelchair (I've seen some people recommend this, but that just increases chances of clots).

[JamieLogical 8,708]

Thanks Kindle. I went ahead and ordered the Vitaleph supplements. I will use them at least until surgery. I have never had any type of surgery, and according to the NUT, Vitaleph will improve chances of recovering quicker, I will bite the bullet for the next few months.

 

I also made a few changes as you suggested and have been drinking more Water. I actually lost 2.8 pounds this week.

 

My flight time is about 4.5 hours. I am going to stay an extra day in Mexico for this reason. I am nervous about sitting so long after surgery. Should I stay longer in Mexico or San Diego and also should I fork out the extra money for first class? The seats in coach are small with virtually no leg room.  Any info or guidance on this issue you all can provide will greatly help.

 

Again, thank you all for posting. As I am going at this alone, this site has brought me much comfort.

 

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I've been taking the Vitaleph Multivitamin and I plan to stay on it. I bought the four bottle package, which is a 4 month supply for a little over $100. I had purchased one bottle of their probiotic as well, but I decided to switch to a brand I can buy locally that only requires one pill per day instead of two. I did not purchase their shakes or any of their other supplements.

 

As for flying after surgery, I ended up staying an extra night in San Diego, so I could take a morning flight the next day. So I was in the TJ Mariott the night before surgery and two nights after, then I stayed a night at the Holiday Inn Express right next to the airport and took their airport shuttle for my flight the following morning. I had two flights with a layover in Chicago. It turned out to be a bit of a nightmare, because my flight from Chicago to my home city was cancelled! But I was able to get on a different flight and just made it home a couple hours later than planned. I got an aisle seat on both my return flights so I could get up and walk a little if I needed and I did lots of walking in the airports.

[slvrsax 301]

I used Ariel Ortiz at the Obesity Control Center for sleeve surgery last December.  Not. One. Single. Regret.  OCC is a Center of Excellence.  I'm a bit fuzzy on this, but I do believe they have to have trackable data to keep that designation.  I received surveys via e-mail every few weeks (again my memory isn't the best, I could go back in my e mail if you really want to know how often for sure) initially, then every month asking about progress, complications, etc.  I am nine months out from surgery and down 103 lbs.  I was very well cared for while I was at OCC, I received better care there than I do here in the states - no lie.  It was discovered I had acid reflux and scar tissue in my esophagus at the time of my sleeve surgery.  Dr. A. advised me to have it biopsied in the Spring after I had healed from surgery.  I did - I went to a GI doc here, who promptly ordered an upper endoscopy as well as ultrasound of all of my middle organs (looking for gallstones, which I have).  Everything came back fine, my sleeve looked great, biopsies came back fine and I have mild acid reflux and a little mild gastritis.  I have not had a gallbladder attack yet but I do have stones.  Insurance covered all of my testing, never had an issue (I was worried about that too).

 

I know this is a hard decision and a bit scary to make.  Good luck to you in making your choice!  I do believe there are good options in Mexico.

[Kindle 8,667]

I would love the links to the reports of leaks and infections you found. I had surgery at OCC and like Slvrsax, had wonderful care and great followup. I recommend them all the time, so I'd like to include the bad with the good when I do.

 

And, BTW, Dr. Ariel Ortiz did not report a 0% complication rate when I spoke with him before surgery. I think the figure he gave me was 0.1% in the 12,000 bariatric surgeries he's performed (including bypass, band, VSG, and plication). I didn't ask him specifically about his VSG stats.

Edited September 27, 2014 by Kindle

[newbiesleever 57]

Hey Everyone.. Does the Marriott Hotel have a mini frig in the rooms? Their website says they do but some people say they didn't have one.. Just need to know if I should bring a cooler or not.

[nolagirl 36]

My room had a small fridge and a microwave.