Anyone heard of Dr. Francisco Gonzalez in TJ?

[NM Sunshine 1]

BA LOSER today I only ate a few bites of no fat cottage cheese. Then at diner I made lemon diet pudding W/super skim milk and ate the whole thing. Surely it's not that many calories. How R U doing? I see that soon you will be one month banded.

CHRISTINE

Great encouragement. Thanks. Guess the doc is just going to have to deal with more liver,..LOL

[NM Sunshine 1]

HEY ALL, I wrote Dr.V about the crazy person and told him everyone booood him/her. I asked about those erosion figures. He wrote me back and here is what he said.

Someone sent you erroneous information. We’ve been getting reports of someone doing that. It is sad that competing doctors or who knows what individuals have to resort to such measures to try to discredit Dr. Gonzalez spotless record. My recommendation to you is simply to ignore them. Our total complication rate including infection, slippage, body rejection, erosion, reflux and all other minor complications is less than 3%. That is an extraordinary number. Our patients referrals and track record speaks for itself.

Doctor Gonzalez began using the new technique more than seven years ago and has not used any other since.

Thank you for your confidence in our team, and please contact me should you have any other questions.

Sincerely,

Dr. Valenzuela

Hows that food4less:wacko:

[NM Sunshine 1]

WHOOPS there's a confidentuality notice on the email. I hope I didn't screw up. I was a little concerned about the new folks and hope they are not influenced by Food4less.

[food4less 0]

3%, good success rate?? In more than 2500 procedures? 75 serious complications.. wow!! Dr. Valenzuela, now I am glad I am looking in to other doctors, you had the time to write to this forum with the approximately 60 surgeries a month you are doing. It was pretty fast I might say. Thanks a lot for taking the time. (oh my god!! ) Red Flag right here!!

I got this from Dr. Gonzalez website

With over 2,500 Lap Band placement procedures, Dr. Gonzalez is among the world's most experienced surgeons in this field.

Outrageous!!

Ok so I made my point and I spent some time writing this posts I have made my decision and I will move forward. I hope this helps people.

food4less.

Below is my response other posts.

I like to be straight forward with the facts, no wonder we hear all the horror stories. You might be the lucky ones but what about a complication at the SURGICAL CENTER no intensive care units????? Or a complication at the HOTEL (recovering at a hotel??) some people just don’t care. You don’t care he is lying about his experience. I am still doing research and I am encountering some pretty dishonest stuff about him and other doctors. I will have my surgery in Mexico I know there are some pretty good doctors there. This is not personal with him, is about getting the facts out there so people can make the right choices with real facts. I am pretty sure there are some people on his payroll in this forum, its time we tell people what is going on, what are you going to do the day something bad happens and you are supporting a bunch of lies. Let’s be truthful in our comments and get the facts out there!!! . I am happy that you guys had a good experience but if you know your doctor is lying about his experience you are putting others at risk ( maybe you don’t want to know) this is selfish and dangerous to others. I am not in rage with him I am in rage with people that are not telling it how it its.

food4less.

HEY ALL, I wrote Dr.V about the crazy person and told him everyone booood him/her. I asked about those erosion figures. He wrote me back and here is what he said.

Someone sent you erroneous information. We’ve been getting reports of someone doing that. It is sad that competing doctors or who knows what individuals have to resort to such measures to try to discredit Dr. Gonzalez spotless record. My recommendation to you is simply to ignore them. Our total complication rate including infection, slippage, body rejection, erosion, reflux and all other minor complications is less than 3%. That is an extraordinary number. Our patients referrals and track record speaks for itself.

Doctor Gonzalez began using the new technique more than seven years ago and has not used any other since.

Thank you for your confidence in our team, and please contact me should you have any other questions.

Sincerely,

Dr. Valenzuela

Hows that food4less:wacko:

[maddy1969 0]

maddy1969

You pay with a credit card or a debit card unless you are getting a loan for the surgery. I don't think you pay until the day you arrive there. I will be flying in this monday (2 days from now) and haven't paid nor have they asked me to.

Thanks NM Sunshine, I think you are right. I called Laura and she said I could go to the web site and pay initial payment there or I could pay via credit card but she didn't pressure me for payment at all, if I didn't bring it up I'm not sure she would have asked (?). The pre-op diet is a little hard I think. But if all you guys and gals did it so can I. I'm so convinced I made the right choice with doctor G and his team. I haven't gotten this much service from any other doctor that I've called or emailed. I read some bad posts about him by someone claiming to have bad information about doctor G. Shameful behavior. I was under the impression more mature people posted here. I hope that she sees the harm that she is doing to this nice forum. New people reading this forum are going to think we are all lunatics.

[NM Sunshine 1]

Maddy1969

The pre-op diet was real hard for me. Then the last 2 days have been loaded with to-do's, running around. I found it was very easy to eat a couple bites of cottage cheese and nothing else til late evening...this morning, I weighed myself and I have lost 5 pounds!!!!!!!!! mostly over the last few dAYS.

TUESDAY IS BAND DAY. WON'T BE BACK ON NET UNTIL FRIDAY OR LATER.

[maddy1969 0]

Is that right, wow! I can see myself losing five pounds in only a couple of days. You seem to have a thing for cottage cheese sunshine. I wish you the best and calm down! Get everything squared away and look at the whole thing as a little vacation. Please keep us all updated at all times. We will be patiently and eagerly awaiting details on you experience and your great outcome. Take care!

[bakerman 0]

I too am getting surgery on the same date as you Bakerman. I am trying hard to convince myself that everything will be alright but it is hard. Reading this forum has helped me so much. I haven't paid any money yet, I heard about the $500 retainer but they didn't ask me for it. I spoke with Laura to schedule but I hung up and forgot to ask how to pay. Do they ask you for the money or are you supposed to tell them? It was a little odd for me. Once you schedule do you pay? What if I don't pay will I lose my place? They never really talk about money, do they? I'll just call her back.

Congrats on setting your date bakerman and good luck:clap2: I am going down to have mine done on Sept. 14. Good luck with less beer. My husband has me doing a personal challenge to do the pre diet from Sept. 1 to my date and the longer you do it the less you want I just try to stay busy. Plus the ten pounds I have lost helps. Good Luck

Great to know we'll down there for surgery together Maddy, I know we are getting in with the best! As far as payment, I just paid thru paypal and that was it. Lets keep in touch. Will you be at the clinic or the hospital?

Thank you very much idloserm, the beer reduction will be HARD, but que-sera-sera! Whatever it takes. Staying busy will be the best distraction from food. It's when you wind down from work that all the cravings kick in. I've been doing a lot of walking and I really thinking of starting swimming.

I wish you luck, I wish you plenty,

may you shed those pounds,

begin with twenty!

[bakerman 0]

Maddy1969

The pre-op diet was real hard for me. Then the last 2 days have been loaded with to-do's, running around. I found it was very easy to eat a couple bites of cottage cheese and nothing else til late evening...this morning, I weighed myself and I have lost 5 pounds!!!!!!!!! mostly over the last few dAYS.

TUESDAY IS BAND DAY. WON'T BE BACK ON NET UNTIL FRIDAY OR LATER.

Good luck NM, keep us posted when you get back!

[NM Sunshine 1]

maddy

still packing up to leave. will stay at a campground tonight. the 5pds could have been some Water. Don't know how much of it is.

I like cottage cheese cause it's about the only thing wwe are allowed to have that feels a bit filling. Also it is easy to grab on the go.

[short c 1]

Food4less,

You seem really upset.It would seem that you feel the need to set 'the record' straight. Whenyou checked with Inamed, did you check the rates of all the docs you were considering? Has Dr. Ortiz ( admittedly a spokeman for the company) really done over 4500? Each doctor prints stats because we patients seem to be making our decisions based on numbers... what we really should be caring about is not who has done the most, but who has an overall focus on excellence in patient care- from first contact through surgery and beyond. From what you've no doubt read here on the boards, Dr. Gonzalez has a loyal following BECAUSE of the kind of consistent care he provides.

I was not even banded by Dr. G, but in retrospect wish I had been. Dr. Ortiz did my band and it was done ( as many are ) in a clinical surgical centre with no access to an ICU at the ready. Unless there are co-morbidities, this is really very minor surgery.In Dr Ortiz's practice , it is like an assembly line (some patients didn't even get to talk to the doctor before surgery!) In the US and Canada, this is mostly performed on an outpatient basis!

As for less than the 3% complication rate - you have erroneously translated that fact into "75 serious complications". Come on, be real here - acid reflux, for instance, while unpleasant is not serious. When you mix up your facts like you have , and add a tone of outrage, you do make it difficult to have anyone take you seriously.

It is likely that every website on the internet contains inaccuracies. For instance, Dr. Ortiz's site misrepresents as well- he does no follow-up to speak of and there is no 'nursing care' available at the hotel the following day, as is suggested on his site. The TV show 'interview' that is available for viewing on his site was one that he paid for - an infomercial....

At the end of the day, we each, as adults, make the decision that feels best for us.NUmbers can be made to lie, as you yourself have just shown us with your "75 serious complications" statitical gymnastics. As a patient, I believe that we need to gather info from those who have 'been there, done that.' People are not stupid, and post purchase rationalization and cognitive dissonance will only go so far. If they are unhappy with their experience, as I have been, they will speak up.

There is no perfect Doctor out there, and with a few exceptions, technically they are all fine and will do a good job on your body. This is NOT brain surgery - this is an easy operation as operations go.SO whether a doc has done 4500 or 2500 or 1500 or 10,000 is really moot. Once they've passed the 500 or the 1000 mark, you can pretty much imagine they could do it in their sleep. I think the proof is inthe pudding... are the patients happy?

Dr. G's patients ALL seem to be very happy with the surgery and the care they received. When you're doing your research, look at the WHOLE picture- the overall philosophy of care. I made the mistake of going with the guy who had the biggest numbers..

SO food4less, good luck in your journey. I hope you find a doc and his/her practice with whom you can feel comfortable. You've stirred up some emotion here on this site- which is interesting of itself. People feel strongly about you making accusations against a team of doctors that they feel have done well by them...

3%, good success rate?? In more than 2500 procedures? 75 serious complications.. wow!! Dr. Valenzuela, now I am glad I am looking in to other doctors, you had the time to write to this forum with the approximately 60 surgeries a month you are doing. It was pretty fast I might say. Thanks a lot for taking the time. (oh my god!! ) Red Flag right here!!

I got this from Dr. Gonzalez website

With over 2,500 Lap Band placement procedures, Dr. Gonzalez is among the world's most experienced surgeons in this field.

Outrageous!!

Ok so I made my point and I spent some time writing this posts I have made my decision and I will move forward. I hope this helps people.

food4less.

Below is my response other posts.

I like to be straight forward with the facts, no wonder we hear all the horror stories. You might be the lucky ones but what about a complication at the SURGICAL CENTER no intensive care units????? Or a complication at the HOTEL (recovering at a hotel??) some people just don’t care. You don’t care he is lying about his experience. I am still doing research and I am encountering some pretty dishonest stuff about him and other doctors. I will have my surgery in Mexico I know there are some pretty good doctors there. This is not personal with him, is about getting the facts out there so people can make the right choices with real facts. I am pretty sure there are some people on his payroll in this forum, its time we tell people what is going on, what are you going to do the day something bad happens and you are supporting a bunch of lies. Let’s be truthful in our comments and get the facts out there!!! . I am happy that you guys had a good experience but if you know your doctor is lying about his experience you are putting others at risk ( maybe you don’t want to know) this is selfish and dangerous to others. I am not in rage with him I am in rage with people that are not telling it how it its.

food4less.

[Lap-bandit 0]

food4less sounds a lot like somebody else I heard ranting....maybe food4less is not new to the board....only new to the name "food4less". What do you think BA Loser...sound familiar to you???

[Lap-bandit 0]

Bakerman- Congrats on your upcoming surgery and good luck! I am being banded on Friday and I am confident that I made the best decision. I have had nothing but wonderul interactions with Dr. Gonzalez's staff.

And to all who are scheduled to have surgery or are just looking into having surgery with Dr. Gonzalez - Do not let one person's crusade to discredit Dr. Gonzalez discourage you. I would like to say that first off, nobody is even certain what causes band erosion. You cannot just start bashing a doctor due to complications that they may have no control over. I have read different things on erosions and I have not found one place that says it is the doctors fault for erosions. ANY procedure carries complications and risks, but I would say that the person who is writing the "bad" posts about Dr. G is the same one writing them on another thread....sounds like the same type of writing to me.

But, as I said, I am having surgery on Friday and this person is not going to discourage me from the decision that I have made. You just can't go around blaming the doctor for all your problems. Normal people who are researching doctors do not go and bash them their very first post to a thread....that is a little disturbing Wasa...oh I mean food4less...sorry I was getting you confused with some other person.

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

that is a little disturbing Wasa...oh I mean food4less...sorry I was getting you confused with some other person.

Sorry, do try again.

I would suggest two things. Read my posts, have I *EVER* held back when I have something to say? No, I haven't. I tell it like it is. To suddenly come up with a new ID so I don't tell things exactly as I see them isn't close to accurate. If I don't like a given doc I couldn't be more clear about it. Huacuz? Lopez from Betancourt? Never once did I hide my opinions and feelings and amazingly, I did it under this ID. I was blunt and to the point.

I have no opinions about Dr. G, I don't have enough information to make an overall opinion and that is why I left it at the single stat, 3-4% of erosion is concerning for me.

The 2nd thing I would suggest is having a mod compare IP addresses. That should clear things up. Including the extra personalities the patient coordinator has been coming up with. She got caught on another thread, pure and simple.

I pointed out one stat as presented in Dr. G's advertising. I was pretty clear it was a concern for me, nothing more. Now look at the feetie stomping and balling up of fisties as well as regular old temper tantrums.

I write any damn thing that pops into my wee head under *this* ID, there is little reason to lower myself to the levels of others. I have a lot of faults but using two IDs on the same board isn't one of them. I do use different IDs for other boards, for example on OH I am KabukiCoyote (something quite well known and I have never hidden this), but two IDs on the same board? Nope, not my style. My posts prove that.

Besides, I would have come up with something far more creative than Food4Less if I were to lower myself to those games.

Cheers.

[short c 1]

food4less

in your post here you rant on and on about docs who do the surgey in a surgical centre and not in a hospital.To quote you" You might be the lucky ones but what about a complication at the SURGICAL CENTER no intensive care units?????

BUT interestingly, in a thread about Dr. Ortiz, you write that you have done all your research and you have 100% confidence in Dr. Ortiz, and are considering him for your surgery.

Either you have not done your research or you are fronting for a doc - Dr. Ortiz does his operations in a 'surgical centre' of his own making.When I asked his mother how far we were from the nearest hospital, in case something should happen, she shrugged it off and said - "oh , not far, dear."

i quote you

Or a complication at the HOTEL (recovering at a hotel??) some people just don’t care.

Your Dr. Ortiz, in whom you have 100% confidence dropped us off at the hotel the morning after the surgery and never called or had anyone check on us....

So, food4less, are you for real? Are you really a potential patient or have you been hired to slag certain docs who have been getting rave reviews?

I simply don't believe you anymore because you are contradicting yourself, misquoting and massaging facts.

3%, good success rate?? In more than 2500 procedures? 75 serious complications.. wow!! Dr. Valenzuela, now I am glad I am looking in to other doctors, you had the time to write to this forum with the approximately 60 surgeries a month you are doing. It was pretty fast I might say. Thanks a lot for taking the time. (oh my god!! ) Red Flag right here!!

I got this from Dr. Gonzalez website

With over 2,500 Lap Band placement procedures, Dr. Gonzalez is among the world's most experienced surgeons in this field.

Outrageous!!

Ok so I made my point and I spent some time writing this posts I have made my decision and I will move forward. I hope this helps people.

food4less.

Below is my response other posts.

I like to be straight forward with the facts, no wonder we hear all the horror stories. You might be the lucky ones but what about a complication at the SURGICAL CENTER no intensive care units????? Or a complication at the HOTEL (recovering at a hotel??) some people just don’t care. You don’t care he is lying about his experience. I am still doing research and I am encountering some pretty dishonest stuff about him and other doctors. I will have my surgery in Mexico I know there are some pretty good doctors there. This is not personal with him, is about getting the facts out there so people can make the right choices with real facts. I am pretty sure there are some people on his payroll in this forum, its time we tell people what is going on, what are you going to do the day something bad happens and you are supporting a bunch of lies. Let’s be truthful in our comments and get the facts out there!!! . I am happy that you guys had a good experience but if you know your doctor is lying about his experience you are putting others at risk ( maybe you don’t want to know) this is selfish and dangerous to others. I am not in rage with him I am in rage with people that are not telling it how it its.

food4less.