Researching doctors in Mexico

[HeavenlyGirl101 36]

I used Dr Ariel Ortiz for my LapBand in 2010. He is amazing. I have seen him on TV 3 times since my LapBand. On the Doctors, on Oprah and Dateline. I follow him on FB. He has been doing live surgeries for the last month. OCC is amazing with follow up, nutrition and their WLS forum. That being said. I couldn't afford to use him for my sleeve revision last month. He was almost $4000 more than DR Fernando Garcia. I had my sleeve done at CER surgery center. I was very happy with my care and hospital stay. BUT if I had deep pockets I would choose OCC Dr Ortiz. He is the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm going to Dr Fernando Garcia on 8/5. I'm so nervous. Did you have any complications?

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[tcjmom 20]

I had my surgery with Dr. Garcia at the end of April and went to Tijuana by myself. I was way beyond nervous. They do give a med to calm the nerves beforehand. The surgery was done before I knew it though. CER was very clean. All but one nurse spoke English (and the one who didn't spoke enough that it wasn't a problem....I had surgery on a Saturday and I suspect it was because that was on the weekend). I didn't have any complications, but I was very nauseated by the pain medication. They were very good at giving me anti-nausea medication and switching up the pain meds to give me something which would nauseate me less. I stayed just the standard time for recovery but by the time I left, I wasn't on *any* pain medication for my cross-country flight (not even Tylenol).

​I know saying 'Don't be nervous' doesn't stop you from being nervous, but the surgery was probably one of the best decisions that I made.

[HeavenlyGirl101 36]

Thank you for posting this @@tcjmom

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[tcjmom 20]

Oh! I would recommend bringing a *heating pad* and your own bouillon. The heating pad was wonderful post-surgery - both in the hospital and back at the hotel. My flight out to TJ was significantly delayed due to mechanical issues on the plane and it was really nice to be able to just get a cup of hot Water and make my own bouillon (at the airport and on the plane when we finally took off). The bouillon at the hotel was kind of meh (and the free popsicles are pretty hit or miss....mine were all misses, one person had one flavor that was fine). There is a coffee pot at the hotel and I was able to just run hot bottled Water through it to make my bouillon. There will be a small safe at the CER Hospital where you can put your $$/passport. Do bring a little extra money along because Dr. Garcia has a great driver and he'll happily bring your group on a tour of Tijuana. He's not a tour guide, but he grew up in TJ and will show you the city from a local's perspective....he doesn't ask for $$, but you'll want to tip him at the end.

​Hopefully the fact that we all felt up to taking a tour the day before our flights took off makes you feel pretty good about the surgery.

[cassidyolularoe 0]

Hi! I went to TJ and my surgeon was absolutely FANTASTIC! His name is Dr Alberto Michel and I have zero regrets about my decision! He works primarily at the Hospital Insurgents Rio

I am a registered nurse here in the US and my care was excellent.

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I was sleeved 7/18/16

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[GACaldwell 112]

I went to Dr. Lopez Corvala at Hospital Angeles for my surgery in Tijuana. I can't say enough great things about the experience EXCEPT the travel to and from....we got caught in the Southwest Airlines Meltdown on 7/21/16. My patient coordinator-Kim- Was excellent at rescheduling my surgery after TWO flight cancellations and us not being able to get out till the next day.

We were met at the hospital door by the concierge and she whisked us through the process of blood work, xrays and getting to our room where a welcome bag of bottled Water, slippers and things were waiting. By the time we got there the Dr & his team were there waiting on me (A nice change from waiting on drs here in the US!) I was in surgery within the first hour of arriving at the hospital and I LOVED that because I had waited long enough!

The staff was excellent and everyone spoke enough english to understand me when I needed something. Another difference, when the nurses say they are going to ask the Dr. something they mean RIGHT THEN...there is no waiting around for answers! They go, make the call and come right back to take care of you. I saw my Dr every day I was there (even over the weekend) and saw his team multiple times a day.

The hospital was incredibly clean and well maintained. The cleaning ladies came in twice a day every day and nothing was ever dirty.

Also, They kept me an extra day at no charge because of the issues with getting our return flights rebooked (Stupid me didn't check and we traveled to San Diego the same weekend as Comicon! Sheesh!)

The flights home were tough...I wish I had taken a few extra days to recover in a hotel room but with kids at home and work, it just wasn't possible for me. I traveled with a pillow though and that helped with the take offs & landings. Between bad weather and flight delays it took us over 11 hours to get home and I was WIPED.

Also, for those of you traveling with someone..my partner found the local places (Ihop, mcdonalds etc) a lot of people didn't speak english and they had menus in spanish...but he was able to use Google translate and get (almost!) anything he wanted ordered.

Another downside, I find that lacking after surgery care (i live in a small town where there are no bariatric drs) in person to be more difficult. You can call the Drs. team any time, but I'm learning to do more research here and online before calling them.

I don't regret it at all though and without the difference in cost, I wouldn't have been able to do it!

[amberb1979 31]

I chose Dr. Corvalo Lopez at Angeles Hospital. It is a teaching hospital and he trained many of the doctors now people are talking about. That's why I selected him. Very good experience. Very nice hospital. Very nice driver. I had my low BMI sleeve on 4/26 and couldn't be happier with my decision or the medical team I chose.

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This is where I'm going on 10/12. How long did you stay in the hotel? Did the hospital and hotel seem high class? I'm very worried lately.. tia

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[VSGButterfly404 29]

I have chosen Dr. Alvarez. Hopefully in October. The only reason I am waiting is because my friend who will go with me can't take off from work until then. New job.

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I'm glad with my decision. I have not had any issues and things are going great. I hope yours goes as easy as mine did!

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I'm thinking about going with Alvarez. I'm so scared at the idea with going to Mexico.

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@@This_IsMyRIHality have you had your surgery? Let me know if you have any questions. I'm almost 5 months post op and have not had any issues... *fingers crossed*

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[This_IsMyRIHality 7]

I have chosen Dr. Alvarez. Hopefully in October. The only reason I am waiting is because my friend who will go with me can't take off from work until then. New job.

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I'm glad with my decision. I have not had any issues and things are going great. I hope yours goes as easy as mine did!

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I'm thinking about going with Alvarez. I'm so scared at the idea with going to Mexico.

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@@This_IsMyRIHality have you had your surgery? Let me know if you have any questions. I'm almost 5 months post op and have not had any issues... *fingers crossed*

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Not yet, I'm going for next year early. I need a co-signer and my grandma told me she would once my car payment is done. which is in march.

[DenniseSalgado 1]

Hi! Im new at this forum.... I'm having my gastric sleeve this October with Dr. Fernando García does someone knows him here? I'm a little bit nervous, could somebody tell me if you had your surgery with Dr. Garcia and how was your experience with him and CER Hospital? Have you achieved your goal? did you have complications? or if it was a smooth experience I would appreciate your comments.

[EventHorizon 4]

I'm following .... I'm also looking into Fernando Garcia.

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[hbrhonda 108]

I used Dr Fernando Garcia and would use him again. The facility was perfect, everything went so smooth. No time to be nervous. Its done before you know it. I used OCC the first time around and Dr Ariel Ortiz was first class. I just couldn't afford to use him for my revision to sleeve. I would highly recommend both doctors.

[cookie49 5]

@@JamieLogical I am planning to go to Dr. A. ORTIZ @OCC in December for the sleeve is there any way I can private message you to ask about your experience?

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[JamieLogical 8,708]

@@JamieLogical I am planning to go to Dr. A. ORTIZ @OCC in December for the sleeve is there any way I can private message you to ask about your experience?

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Sure feel free to private message me anytime! You can do that by clicking on my portrait to go to my profile, then clicking "send me a message".

[CedarMan 4]

Hi there,

Myself, my wife and my brother in law all had surgery within the last two months in Mexico. Let me know if I can be of assistance. We had the most amazing experience possible. Hope to hear from you!!

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