Mexico Bariatric Center vs Kaiser - first hand experience and comparison.

[baribetty 165]

I had a VSG through Kaiser, and my partner had theirs through MBC

tldr: MBC falls short in care and cleanliness, Kaiser is cheaper but takes 4-5 months.

With Kaiser, I took 16 weeks worth of classes, did pre-op tests, EKG etc, waited a couple weeks and then had surgery for about $700. Kaiser is certainly the longer but cheaper pathway. I also think there is a lot of value in getting your head in the right place before surgery, and committing to 4+ months of pre-op does the job. It is annoying and hard to wrap your head around at the beginning but it went by quickly for me, even having to drive 1.5 hours each way to classes. I’m glad I used Kaiser so we have the resources given to me for him to use as well.

MBC: Surgery is scheduled 2 weeks out from pre-approval (website form) and deposit, as thats the timeline required for the pre op diet. This is VERY fast and convenient. We paid about $5000.

We are all familiar enough with US standards for hospitals, so here is where MBC falls short on that front:

- his incisions bled through his gown after surgery, they would not give him a clean gown and told him he should just put on his street clothes. So, he wore a bloody gown for 2 days as the waist band on his sweat pants would’ve been super uncomfortable.
- bandages/tape on floor of recovery room from previous patient.
- Less than ideal bathroom cleanliness in room
- Broken toilet for the entirety of his stay (he requested it to be looked at, at least 6 times before just pleading for it to be turned off at the Water so it would stop running so he could sleep. There was urine and vomit in his toilet for his whole stay.

Care comparison:

Kaiser: I was on a morphine drip and could push the button every 10 minutes if I was experiencing pain. I was given injections for nausea. Lots of room to walk the halls. Attentive nursing staff. It was overall great.

MBC: any time he asked for pain or nausea medication the nurse would say “I will check” and leave the room. Then, he’d wait an hour and have to ask again, only to hear the same response. You’re pretty on your own during recovery. He found that this was also the case for the other patients he drove back to San Diego with after surgery. It was not simply a bad experience, but the standard.

Technically MBC contracts with the hospital to use their facility, and the nurses do not work for them directly. They have no skin in the MBC game when it comes to patient satisfaction and it shows. We hoped that tipping would help, but it didn’t seem to make a difference.

My incisions with Kaiser were glued shut. His were open and we changed the gauze every day. It’s a little scary looking and you’re left wondering, “is this normal? Are these infected?”

Kaiser: no drain, no leak test
MBC: drain and leak test.

Kaiser: you get a full binder of pre and post op instructions with diet guides for life.
MBC: all of their instructions are on their website. What you see online before surgery is generally what you get in that regard. It is convenient to google quick answers to things like how many Fluid ounces I should be having, etc and accessing the info easily on their website however it is no where near as comprehensive as Kaiser.

Feel free to ask me anything, I’m sure there’s more for me to add and I will in comments.

If you go with MBC, you should have low expectations and be willing and comfortable advocating for yourself.

Ultimately, both work but the cleanliness and lack of care from MBC made me uneasy.

[summerseeker 2,138]

Thank you for the information. Its very useful. I wonder if the hospital in Mexico know how bad the aftercare facility actually is? They should

[Sleeve_Me_Alone 656]

That is terrifying. I had surgery in Mexico, at HospitalBC, and had a better experience than I'd ever had at any US Hospital! I'm so sorry your partner had such an awful experience! Hopefully, they are on the mend and well on their weight loss journey! Thank you for sharing!

[Merri Beth 96]

On 12/28/2022 at 12:46 PM, baribetty said:

I had a VSG through Kaiser, and my partner had theirs through MBC

tldr: MBC falls short in care and cleanliness, Kaiser is cheaper but takes 4-5 months.

With Kaiser, I took 16 weeks worth of classes, did pre-op tests, EKG etc, waited a couple weeks and then had surgery for about $700. Kaiser is certainly the longer but cheaper pathway. I also think there is a lot of value in getting your head in the right place before surgery, and committing to 4+ months of pre-op does the job. It is annoying and hard to wrap your head around at the beginning but it went by quickly for me, even having to drive 1.5 hours each way to classes. I’m glad I used Kaiser so we have the resources given to me for him to use as well.

MBC: Surgery is scheduled 2 weeks out from pre-approval (website form) and deposit, as thats the timeline required for the pre op diet. This is VERY fast and convenient. We paid about $5000.

We are all familiar enough with US standards for hospitals, so here is where MBC falls short on that front:

- his incisions bled through his gown after surgery, they would not give him a clean gown and told him he should just put on his street clothes. So, he wore a bloody gown for 2 days as the waist band on his sweat pants would’ve been super uncomfortable.
- bandages/tape on floor of recovery room from previous patient.
- Less than ideal bathroom cleanliness in room
- Broken toilet for the entirety of his stay (he requested it to be looked at, at least 6 times before just pleading for it to be turned off at the Water so it would stop running so he could sleep. There was urine and vomit in his toilet for his whole stay.

Care comparison:

Kaiser: I was on a morphine drip and could push the button every 10 minutes if I was experiencing pain. I was given injections for nausea. Lots of room to walk the halls. Attentive nursing staff. It was overall great.

MBC: any time he asked for pain or nausea medication the nurse would say “I will check” and leave the room. Then, he’d wait an hour and have to ask again, only to hear the same response. You’re pretty on your own during recovery. He found that this was also the case for the other patients he drove back to San Diego with after surgery. It was not simply a bad experience, but the standard.

Technically MBC contracts with the hospital to use their facility, and the nurses do not work for them directly. They have no skin in the MBC game when it comes to patient satisfaction and it shows. We hoped that tipping would help, but it didn’t seem to make a difference.

My incisions with Kaiser were glued shut. His were open and we changed the gauze every day. It’s a little scary looking and you’re left wondering, “is this normal? Are these infected?”

Kaiser: no drain, no leak test
MBC: drain and leak test.

Kaiser: you get a full binder of pre and post op instructions with diet guides for life.
MBC: all of their instructions are on their website. What you see online before surgery is generally what you get in that regard. It is convenient to google quick answers to things like how many Fluid ounces I should be having, etc and accessing the info easily on their website however it is no where near as comprehensive as Kaiser.

Feel free to ask me anything, I’m sure there’s more for me to add and I will in comments.

If you go with MBC, you should have low expectations and be willing and comfortable advocating for yourself.

Ultimately, both work but the cleanliness and lack of care from MBC made me uneasy.

i had my surgery at Desert Springs hospital in Las Vegas, the surgeon was from the Surgical Weight Control Center. I cannot say enough good things about the SWCC and the care i received. Everything went smoothly and I did not have the need for any pain meds after surgery. Hospital stay was one day and the care at the hospital was was wonderful, I would highly recommend SWCC and Desert Springs for anyone considering bariatric surgery.

[shelleyrenee3 1]

People reading this that may be looking for “the best” surgery center in Mexico. A friend went to OCC (obesity control center) and she said it was unbelievably clean and best experience. She said it was 5 stars all the way. (Just thought i’d add my 2 cents)

[baribetty 165]

01/12/2023 01:02 AM, shelleyrenee3 said:

People reading this that may be looking for “the best” surgery center in Mexico. A friend went to OCC (obesity control center) and she said it was unbelievably clean and best experience. She said it was 5 stars all the way. (Just thought i’d add my 2 cents)

This was our alternative choice and could have been the better one, now with hindsight. But to be fair, I’ve heard the same thing about MBC however it wasn’t our experience. 

[Amanda Purser 5]

Hi, I went to MBC in June 2022 and had a great experience. I'm sorry yall didn't but when I was there I was looked after very well and everything was kept clean. The only issue I had was my room was hot but I finally figured out the nurses had the remote to the air conditioning and they fixed it for me.