Anyone heard of Dr. Francisco Gonzalez in TJ?

[karenr204 0]

When Dr Ortiz was coming to speak to me before my surgery his cell phone rang and he answered. Overhearing part of the phone conversation it was a patient who had been banded for quite some time so I can say that he is there for his patients when they call. He spent well over ten minutes speaking with her and then also wanted her to email as well. I never got the impression that her call was an inconvenience to him. In fact, he stated to me after that the reason we have his number is in case we need it.

Karen

[NM Sunshine 1]

WasaBubble

Here's the stats I got from Dr. Gonzales clinical Co-ordinator Dr. Valenzuela MD

total complication rate including infection, slippage, body rejection, erosion, reflux and all other minor complications is less than 3%.

I'll check out that thread you talk about.

[jennypoo 0]

I was one of the ones Dr.V gave the high stats to and I posted that back when this first came up.

Dr. G was one of the doc's that I was choosing to go see.But when Dr V gave me the stats I was shocked and crossed him off my list.He might have excellent follow up care but I wasnt chancing it.

I would have choosen Ortiz(assembly line from whats said) over Dr G

stats.

[Lap-bandit 0]

I don't know about your friend's case specifically but if you talk to a number of Ortiz patients they typically say that he's great about returning phone calls, etc.

The 4% erosion stats for Gonzales came from his office. If you look earlier in this thread you'll see where one person posted the email from his office giving the stats. There was a huge amount of drama during that time. I dared to offer the 4% stats and you would have thought his patient coordinator was going to have heart failure. She insisted that Dr. G was wrong, his stats were not that high. HA!

So Wasa.....I would like for you to tell me exactly what it is that Dr. Gonzalez is doing to cause all these erosions. From the information that I have read, it is due to the way we as patients follow the rules. Below is a list of potential things that could cause erosion. I would like everybody to read this

because I am not seeing where the doctor is causing the erosions. WE are the ones that are responsible for following the directions. The doctor CANNOT follow us around to make sure we are doing the things that will keep erosion and slippage and other possible complications from happening. You have been slamming Dr. Gonzalez's complication rate.....but what you don't seem to get, is that if somebody has an erosion.....it is not necessarily due to anything that the doctor may have done. If you find somewhere that it says....erosions are completely the doctors fault. Please post.....I would love to see that, but until then....I think this erosion rate discussion is over. Quit trying to discredit the man. He is a good doctor and has a wonderful staff. For some reason, you cannot accept that and you have to just keep stirring the pot!

EROSION

Erosion can become a problem for a patient if the patient

Doesn’t follow the simple guidelines set forth by the doctor.

HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES

You should not consume alcohol, if you consume any alcohol you may

cause damage to the stomach at the neck of the band (an ulcer).

If you eat spicy food or certain types of medication you may also cause harm

to the stomach.

If you DON’T protect your stomach while you have gastritis (like eating

Tums or any other antacid), this can and usually does cause the acid in your

stomach to erode to the band.

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

WasaBubble

Here's the stats I got from Dr. Gonzales clinical Co-ordinator Dr. Valenzuela MD

total complication rate including infection, slippage, body rejection, erosion, reflux and all other minor complications is less than 3%.

I'll check out that thread you talk about.

Yes, they are averaged out. Individually they are >1% infection, >2% slips, >4% erosion. It's never a good idea to accept "averaged" stats for complications, much better to get them individually.

[Lap-bandit 0]

<p>

I was one of the ones Dr.V gave the high stats to and I posted that back when this first came up.</p> <p> </p> <p>Dr. G was one of the doc's that I was choosing to go see.But when Dr V gave me the stats I was shocked and crossed him off my list.He might have excellent follow up care but I wasnt chancing it.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>I would have choosen Ortiz(assembly line from whats said) over Dr G </p> <p>stats.

</p> <p>Jennypoo.... Why don't you also go read up on erosions and learn what really causes them and once you do that, then you can comment on Dr. Gonzalez's erosion rate, because as I just posted.....erosions are not soley caused by the doctor.....it is what WE do after getting the band and how WE follow directions that can potentially cause complications. I guess I should blame Mcdonalds for me being fat too.....since they are the ones that forced the food down my throat! BTW, I hope you don't have any of those complications and need Dr. Ortiz to do follow-up.....I heard his follow-up is less than desirable.</p>

[NM Sunshine 1]

WASaBub

I read the posts at the thread you sent me. Now I can see where all this 4% erosion rate rumor originated from. Is it possible that this one person who quoted Dr. Valenzuela (Dr. Gonzales' Clincal Co-ordinator) added the 'erosion rate less than 4%' to Dr. Valenzuelas' email???

I know that there are people who work for doctors to discredit other doctors.

Everyone on this forum who've been banded by Dr. Gonzales are VERY pleased with him and his team.

I don't know of any 'she' patient co-ordinator that Dr. Gonzales has.

You say that your doctor has a .0016% erosion rate. That leaves me suspicous that you may be working for your doctor to slam Dr. Gonzales.

[jennypoo 0]

Little touchy today arent we!!!

Once again Im posting what I recieved from Dr.V

Jennifer:

One hotel night is included in the package, usually patients pay for one additional night, since it is more comfortable to stay at the hotel. You do not have to get the 3rd night, you may stay at the surgical center is you wish and so can your companion.

Erosion rate is less than 4%, and slippage rate less than 3%.

Contact me with any questions, no problem!

Sincerely,

Dr. Valenzuela

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

So Wasa.....I would like for you to tell me exactly what it is that Dr. Gonzalez is doing to cause all these erosions. From the information that I have read, it is due to the way we as patients follow the rules. Below is a list of potential things that could cause erosion. I would like everybody to read this

because I am not seeing where the doctor is causing the erosions. WE are the ones that are responsible for following the directions. The doctor CANNOT follow us around to make sure we are doing the things that will keep erosion and slippage and other possible complications from happening. You have been slamming Dr. Gonzalez's complication rate.....but what you don't seem to get, is that if somebody has an erosion.....it is not necessarily due to anything that the doctor may have done. If you find somewhere that it says....erosions are completely the doctors fault. Please post.....I would love to see that, but until then....I think this erosion rate discussion is over. Quit trying to discredit the man. He is a good doctor and has a wonderful staff. For some reason, you cannot accept that and you have to just keep stirring the pot!

EROSION

Erosion can become a problem for a patient if the patient

Doesn’t follow the simple guidelines set forth by the doctor.

HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES

You should not consume alcohol, if you consume any alcohol you may

cause damage to the stomach at the neck of the band (an ulcer).

If you eat spicy food or certain types of medication you may also cause harm

to the stomach.

If you DON’T protect your stomach while you have gastritis (like eating

Tums or any other antacid), this can and usually does cause the acid in your

stomach to erode to the band.

HA! There you are, haven't seen you posting in some time. I thought my posting on this thread would bring you out.

There are many that would disagree with you about erosion. Much of the old information has been demonstrated to be false regarding erosion. Erosion is from the outside of the stomach, eating spicy foods isn't going to affect the outside of the stomach lining. They used to think erosion was from smoking. That is been disproven. Then they thought erosion was from NSAIDs, again... disproven. Spicy food... disproven. Those are issues from inside the stomach lining.

If you think about a dog and a collar, ever see those horribly abused dogs that get a collar as a puppy and the evil owner doesn't replace the collar as the dog grows up? The collar becomes too small and it erodes into the neck of the dog and needs to be removed surgically. Same concept applies to banding.

Now they think it is from a band that is too small for the patient (doc's fault) or from a fill that is wayyy too tight for a long time (patient's fault).

If posting a doc's own stats is "discrediting" him, so be it. They aren't my numbers, check out the email Dr. Valencia sent to Jennypoo. The numbers come from his office, not my mind.

I don't know if Dr. G is a good surgeon or not, not a clue. But just as I have told you and the other alter IDs previously, the 4% erosion stat is concerning, and it is.

EVERY doc has his negatives. People are human and they aren't perfect.

[jennypoo 0]

WASaBub

I read the posts at the thread you sent me. Now I can see where all this 4% erosion rate rumor originated from. Is it possible that this one person who quoted Dr. Valenzuela (Dr. Gonzales' Clincal Co-ordinator) added the 'erosion rate less than 4%' to Dr. Valenzuelas' email???

I know that there are people who work for doctors to discredit other doctors.

Everyone on this forum who've been banded by Dr. Gonzales are VERY pleased with him and his team.

I don't know of any 'she' patient co-ordinator that Dr. Gonzales has.

You say that your doctor has a .0016% erosion rate. That leaves me suspicous that you may be working for your doctor to slam Dr. Gonzales.

Nope sorry didnt add the erosion rate to the email he sent me.I dont have a need to.I dont work for any other Doc's.Just being banded and living a healthier life stlye.

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

WASaBub

I read the posts at the thread you sent me. Now I can see where all this 4% erosion rate rumor originated from. Is it possible that this one person who quoted Dr. Valenzuela (Dr. Gonzales' Clincal Co-ordinator) added the 'erosion rate less than 4%' to Dr. Valenzuelas' email???

I know that there are people who work for doctors to discredit other doctors.

Everyone on this forum who've been banded by Dr. Gonzales are VERY pleased with him and his team.

I don't know of any 'she' patient co-ordinator that Dr. Gonzales has.

You say that your doctor has a .0016% erosion rate. That leaves me suspicous that you may be working for your doctor to slam Dr. Gonzales.

You can suspect whatever you wish regarding where I work. Doesn't make it factual. I do not work for Aceves and never have. I can make much more money as a nurse than a patient coordinator.

Yes, I picked a doc based on many issues and that includes stats. Why wouldn't I? Should I have chosen any random doc? Or should I have chosen the doc with the highest infection stats? How about the highest erosion stats? Perhaps I should have picked a doc with the least experience, would that have been better?

I made the decision that was right for me and everyone else needs to do the same. But hiding information from people regardless of who the doc is, well... it's wrong. Averaging out stats is wrong in my opinion. Let people have ALL the information and let them decide from there.

I'm not slamming anyone. Well, there are two docs that are quite dangerous (Dr. G is not one of them) and I do tell people my opinions of those docs. No question about it. I want for the whole world to be banded, even skinny people too so they never get fat. There are lots of good and safe surgeons, I would just like to see people do their research and find the doc that is the best fit for them. Nothing more.

If I was a patient coordinator I darn sure wouldn't push other docs such as Rumbaut. I personally believe Rumbaut and Aceves are best due to stats, history, education, experience, etc. etc. etc. It is merely my opinion that they are the best just like your opinion is that Dr. G is the best. If I was a patient coordinator I darn sure wouldn't be telling about Rumbaut. That wouldn't make a lot of sense.

Rumbaut is also banded himself so he gets things others docs wouldn't.

The 4% erosion is not a rumor, it is what your doc's office is telling people. My friend was researching docs for her own band and I believe she was the first one to tell me about Dr. G, I had never heard of him prior to that. She is the one that obtained the info. The email Jennypoo posted is another. Dr. G's office will give you the stats (not averaged, but individually) if you ask. They did for my friend and they did for Jennypoo.

[NM Sunshine 1]

I have just e-mailed Dr. Valenzuela asking for the erosion stats.

What are other typical to good doctors' stats on erosion?

[Lap-bandit 0]

HA! There you are, haven't seen you posting in some time. I thought my posting on this thread would bring you out.

There are many that would disagree with you about erosion. Much of the old information has been demonstrated to be false regarding erosion. Erosion is from the outside of the stomach, eating spicy foods isn't going to affect the outside of the stomach lining. They used to think erosion was from smoking. That is been disproven. Then they thought erosion was from NSAIDs, again... disproven. Spicy food... disproven. Those are issues from inside the stomach lining.

If you think about a dog and a collar, ever see those horribly abused dogs that get a collar as a puppy and the evil owner doesn't replace the collar as the dog grows up? The collar becomes too small and it erodes into the neck of the dog and needs to be removed surgically. Same concept applies to banding.

Now they think it is from a band that is too small for the patient (doc's fault) or from a fill that is wayyy too tight for a long time (patient's fault).

If posting a doc's own stats is "discrediting" him, so be it. They aren't my numbers, check out the email Dr. Valencia sent to Jennypoo. The numbers come from his office, not my mind.

I don't know if Dr. G is a good surgeon or not, not a clue. But just as I have told you and the other alter IDs previously, the 4% erosion stat is concerning, and it is.

EVERY doc has his negatives. People are human and they aren't perfect.

BRING ME OUT????? I do not spend 24 hours a day on the computer as I can see, by your 4,000 plus posts, that you must certainly do. Is that what you do for a living.....sit in front of the computer and post crap to scare people. Do you realize that you you have only been a member since March of this year and you have over 4,000 posts.....what person has the time to sit and write that many posts. I, for one, have a job and a family. I would say that you should probably get out more often instead of sitting on the computer. It looks like the computer is your only friend. What a shame. I am not going to play into your little game. I was banded by Dr. Gonzalez, you were not.....and to sit there and spout off about a doctor that you NEVER even went to is ridiculous.

For all those out there that are scared because of what this "expert poster" has written...just know that Dr. Gonzalez is a wonderful doctor and person. He treats you as a person, not a number and his follow-up is better than any doctor here in the US. If you are afraid of complications, then don't ever have surgery......EVERY procedure carries risks. I just know that if I were to have a serious complication, Dr. Gonzalez would be there for me a 100%. That is what is really important. I can email Dr. Valenzuela, the Clinical Manager, and he usually responds the same day and if not, it is the very next. I am not here to tell you who to go to, but I am going to stand up for my doctor when somebody, who obviously has some issues, is trying to make him sound like a unskilled surgeon. If I developed a complication and had to do it all over again.....I would still go to Dr. Gonzalez.

[NM Sunshine 1]

jennypoo

How come you suddenly show up on this thread? You are the one who started this rumor. There is no reason to believe that the quote you sent is not falsified. I'm waiting to get a reply from Dr. V and will post the stats I get

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

I have just e-mailed Dr. Valenzuela asking for the erosion stats.

What are other typical to good doctors' stats on erosion?

Per Inamed global erosion stats are 1.3%.