Another Patient Death at A Lighter Me (ALM) with Dr. Jose Luis Curiel Marchena

[Noneyo 171]

This is such sad news and we should all pray for this sweet family who lost their mother. It is heartbreaking.

One of the many purposes of a site like this inform and educate patients about the doctors available to them. To say people only go to Mexico because it's cheap or because they want it done fast is very judgmental and uninformed. That is not why I went, I had a choice, and the cost would have been the same with insurance coverage or going to Mexico. You cannot unilaterally categorize an entire country and patients who choose to go there based on your preconceived notions. People die on tables in the US also and the US has butcher assembly line doctors as well. You are naive to think you any safer when you do not do you research. My mother, an RN, worked directly with bariatric patients post op in Texas and I could tell you some pretty scary stories about many US TX surgeons. YOU have to do your research wherever you decide to have your surgery. There are some very good and experienced surgeons in Mexico and the US and mine happened to be Dr. Illan. I am a mother of 3 and you can bet I did my research.

Thank you Alex for keeping us informed and please people, do your research.

[HeatherS. 230]

9 hours ago, PatientEleventyBillion said:

I just want to point out, from one public relations person to another, that you are doing far more damage to yourself and your company's reputability than @Alex Brecher could ever hope to do. And I thought United's PR was bad.

Please stick around, this is quite entertaining.

This is the kind of PR mistake that only gets compounded by returning to comment as she has here. At this point, I wonder if she thinks Alex is paying us all to post or something.

It wasn't a "big story" until she made it one by ignoring repeated polite (and then direct) requests from multiple people for her to confirm or deny and straighten out any errors.

[Please 188]

On 2017-04-20 at 10:23 PM, Sandy Johnson said:

Patients my not bring minors as their companions. All companions must be responsible adults. Was a claim made that this was confirmed with the Mexican consulate? What is that person's name? We have worked with the Mexican consulate for several years. All of a sudden you're following ALM making statements like "another death". If you were doing your due diligence, you would know that ALM has one of the lowest the lowest complication rate in north America! You've claimed Bariatric pal has had no deaths in 8500 surgeries. Very doubtful. You haven't been doing surgeries in Mex that long. You had lapbad surgery in New York, NY. I know who your surgeons are and their history and reputations. However I'm not going to make any detailed statements. Just by speaking in general most people have enough information to find what they need!

You don't need a companion to have surgery, I went alone.

[BigUtahMan 207]

So apparently-

1) Someone tragically died in Mexico. (Sources provided info, confirmed by another patient)

2) How or why? After many posts by the company owner, still unknown, but the company is pretending nothing happened. (Star witness dead.)

3) A 14-year-old daughter may or may not have been there, may or may not have been stranded in Mexico.

Whether an exception was made by the company, or they the patient simply lied and broke the rules, the witness was unaware of the companion, or the deceased person had no companion, it is still unclear from the posts.

But all of us, hope her family including the 14-year old is home safe and finding peace in their time of loss.

(Sandy also never mentioned regret or gave any sympathies to obviously mourning family. Although she can't, as she still hasn't admitted to the death of a patient which prevents her from being human and sorry. I would have hoped the hospital/Dr would have paid and even accompanied the child back to her home with as little additional trauma as possible. If there was a child left stranded MX regardless of the reasons for the death, and they did not make every effort to get her home, shame on that entire organization for not being human, at a time when being human is job #1. It shouldn't take a government agency MX/US to do the right thing.) I can appreciate a stranded minor being out of the country can complicate things quite quickly and easily. Which also likely means, there was also likely involvement with the both US and MX consulates. (Assuming one would be involved and not the other is a stupid argument Sandy attempts to make, as they both have reason to be involved or at least aware of a situation of this magnitude. Or maybe deaths are so common with Sandy's group she is extremely aware of the exact procedure and which Government organizations get involved and which don't? Who knows...)

First off, while I respect the privacy of the family, this is nothing less than tragic for them, and I hope they find peace with God in this difficult time of their life. We all knew that this result could have happened to any of us, that doesn't diminish the significance when one of us becomes a part of that horrible statistic.

Secondly, the apparent denial and attempted cover-up only beg the question of medical negligence as a motive to deflect and attack anyone asking or seeking the truth. If their #1 doctor was actually #1, then this wouldn't be as big of a deal.

I have no fears about Medical Tourism, but I do have fears about trusting and supporting bad doctors and bad businesses anywhere and everywhere. Sandy, you have communicated all I need to know about your business, business practices and the reputation of the doctors associated with it. I hope anyone considering your group for medical procedures reads this thread first.

[sxynana 44]

I had surgery in Mexico with Dr. Cabrera Oct 3, 2016. I am a very succesful small business owner. My health insurance would not cover the surgery so after MUCH research, I chose Mexico Bariatric. My surgeon, hospital staff and overall experience was awesome. I would recommend Dr. Cabrera and Mexico Bariatric to anyone considering the surgery. Mexico Bariatric is an American based company. And I failed to mention I am a registered nurse with 20+ years experience and my business is in medical field.

[NCgal1999 5]

I can absolutely confirm Alex Brecher was in Tijuana the week in question. I had my surgery at Oasis of Hope hospital on 4/17/17 and the day I got there he was at the hospital talking and taking photos with the doctors. While I was checking in he went out of his way to introduce himself, which I thought was really nice.

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[JenSev 57]

I can also confirm that Alex Brecher was in Tijuana until April 21st as that was my surgery date with Dr Illan and he personally visited me in my hospital room that day.

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[K1V990 29]

Why would anyone go to Mexico for any type of medical treatment? Its Mexico, hello!

Because WLS is fuckin' expensive and a lot of insurance companies don't cover enough of the price. Mexico is cheaper, with some great doctors

[TayTay0205 9]

I went through ALM - I am 11 days post op and have no complaints. I would do it all over again in a heart beat. My Sleeve was done 4/20/2017.

I would recommend them to anyone. They treat their patients with care & concerns. You can't say they aren't good doctors or facility. One of the ladies couldn't have her procedure due to concerns with her EKG. If they were that bad of a facility they would have went ahead with the surgery.

All the doctors at the facility are respectful & have a wonderful bedside manner!

Even though it is a sad situation when someone passes away. We all know the risks going into this surgery.

Edited May 2, 2017 by TayTay0205

[PatientEleventyBillion 851]

49 minutes ago, TayTay0205 said:

I went through ALM - I am 11 days post op and have no complaints. I would do it all over again in a heart beat. My Sleeve was done 4/20/2017.

I would recommend them to anyone. They treat their patients with care & concerns. You can't say they aren't good doctors or facility. One of the ladies couldn't have her procedure due to concerns with her EKG. If they were that bad of a facility they would have went ahead with the surgery.

All the doctors at the facility are respectful & have a wonderful bedside manner!

Even though it is a sad situation when someone passes away. We all know the risks going into this surgery.

The best date.

[nomorefatjo 28]

I went to Mexico and it was fine. I didn't weigh enough in the states to be considered for bariatric surgery. I would do it all over again. The staff was fantastic and the Drs we great. Just saying.

Sent from my LGLS992 using BariatricPal mobile app

[TheBearguy8 58]

I am also sad to report suspicions about ALM denials here...I was offered contact to speak with a male since I'm finding men's experiences seem to be quite different with BGS. I got an invalid email address repeatedly, was told I would be contacted to discuss ALM as an option for my upcoming surgery. I gave my number, waiting to be called or email a week ago, and nothing. I will be sticking with Almanza for my next week May 11 surgery.

[maggieO 33]

I can also confirm that Alex Brecher was in Tijuana until April 21st as that was my surgery date with Dr Illan and he personally visited me in my hospital room that day.

Sent from my SM-G900T using BariatricPal mobile app

We just had another (supposed) ALM patient confirm there was another patient death at ALM (ALM) with Dr. Jose Luis Curiel Marchena. She claims that she was there.
How can you continue posting that this is fake news? These facts aren't disputable. It's truly sad. Patients need to know the truth about surgeons and companies they deal with when coming down to Tijuana.

So Alex works for one of ALM competitor's...

Who also happens to be the company exclusively promoted by this forum.

It would be nice to hear the facts from someone with no skin in the game. As it stands both parties have a decent incentive to lie.




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[HeatherS. 230]

35 minutes ago, maggieO said:

So Alex works for one of ALM competitor's...

Who also happens to be the company exclusively promoted by this forum.

It would be nice to hear the facts from someone with no skin in the game. As it stands both parties have a decent incentive to lie.




Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using BariatricPal mobile app

Except that Alex's contributions here have not established him to be dishonest.

There is no censoring going on when someone talks about another business doing WLS in Mx.

This forum overall is where people go to seek information. Alex reported what he heard and said people should contact Sandy for correction or confirmation.

Instead he got confrontation.

Because the confrontation seemed personal, I, an information-seeking person on the forum asked politely if the information was accurate. Others did the same.

Sandy ignored the majority of all of those questions and kept attacking Alex, which struck many of us as unprofessional and bizarre for a person in her position.

Alex's replies were all professional and did not include the thinly veiled accusations against Sandy herself which Sandy's posts exhibited toward Alex.

And many of us pointed out to Sandy that this never even would have been a "thing" if she had just answered one of us instead of being cagey and attacking Alex. It's the immature refusal to set the record straight everyone is concerned about, because it shows the company in a poor light.

That, I'm afraid, is clearly and solely on Sandy.

Disclaimer: I don't know Alex or Sandy, and as a post-op who did not go to TJ for surgery, I have zero dogs in this race.

[PatientEleventyBillion 851]

12 minutes ago, HeatherS. said:

Except that Alex's contributions here have not established him to be dishonest.

There is no censoring going on when someone talks about another business doing WLS in Mx.

This forum overall is where people go to seek information. Alex reported what he heard and said people should contact Sandy for correction or confirmation.

Instead he got confrontation.

Because the confrontation seemed personal, I, an information-seeking person on the forum asked politely if the information was accurate. Others did the same.

Sandy ignored the majority of all of those questions and kept attacking Alex, which struck many of us as unprofessional and bizarre for a person in her position.

Alex's replies were all professional and did not include the thinly veiled accusations against Sandy herself which Sandy's posts exhibited toward Alex.

And many of us pointed out to Sandy that this never even would have been a "thing" if she had just answered one of us instead of being cagey and attacking Alex. It's the immature refusal to set the record straight everyone is concerned about, because it shows the company in a poor light.

That, I'm afraid, is clearly and solely on Sandy.

Disclaimer: I don't know Alex or Sandy, and as a post-op who did not go to TJ for surgery, I have zero dogs in this race.

Having read every post in this thread (not counting if any were deleted), I'd say this is an accurate assessment.