Help! Self Pay: To Mexico or not

[Beans2005 0]

Hello, I am researching my options on where to get my lap-band. I am a self-pay and attended a seminar here in Washington and got very excited about the surgery. I have been researching surgeons and need some advice.

1.) Travlling to Mexico and having Dr. Ortiz do the surgery

or

2.) Staying in Washington state and paying twice the amount but be close to home. Dr. McMahon at Swedish is the surgeon I am interested in here.

Please, any suggestions, stories and antecdotes are welcome!!

[snowbird 2]

In Washington you are lucky to have a clinic that will do fills on Mexican patients. If I were paying for this surgery without insurance, I know what I would do--oh, wait--I already did it.

Truthfully, my insurance reimbursed me for my Mexican surgery. They would have paid in the US too, but I chose the more experienced surgeon. However, I knew that half the year I lived within driving distance of Tijuana and could return there for aftercare. My daughter, however, had her surgery in Mexico and gets fills in western Washington at a reasonable rate close to home.

When you are talking about $10,000 or more in price difference, that will pay for a whole lotta trips back to Mexico. I know I can get into see a doctor at my Mexican clinic at a moment's notice (I have gone there with no appointment, and know this is true) and can get a fill whenever I need it for $100.

Edited July 1, 2008 by snowbird
adding another thought

[eejaydiva 3]

I self paid $9000 in Denver for everything and I know for a fact my doctor flies people out here from various places. I'd shop around, chances are that there is a reasonable price in your neck of the woods. Mexican patients report mixed results, the biggest problem being that other docs won't TOUCH a Mexico patient for fills or after care, leading you to pay upwards of $600 or $700 for fills. As well, Mexico docs have been known to use older model lap bands, which are known to erode and cause slippage. Having been a USA patient, I'm only telling you of what I've heard and seen chatting with others.

Good luck!

[ilse72 0]

Beans, Dr Ortiz has a well earned reputation. If you do a search on here for Dr. Ortiz or Mexico, you will read all the glowing reports on him. He has been doing lapbands longer than any US surgeon and, in fact, has educated a lot of our surgeons on how to perform the surgery. If you have a fill center readily available, you can truly consider him.

I would use him in a heartbeat (I am self pay too) if we had a fill center but we don't have one in our entire state!

[snowbird 2]

ejm,

Don't lump all "Mexican doctors" into an unsavory pile. I've had plenty of unpleasant experiences with "American doctors." There are good and bad doctors in both countries.

[cosmos110 0]

Dear Beans

My story is plastered all over this site. I went to Mexico and was banded in 2006. I nearly died the day after surgery and came back to Houston with pneumonia.

I had to be debanded about 8 months later. I could drag you through it but I will just say that I'd give anything to go back and rethink that decision. A lot of people here on this site brush me off as an idiot who can't do research but I'd tell you that nobody can reliably research a Mexican doctor. It is Mexico. Things get bought and sometimes swept under the table. My Doctor looked like he was without blemish at the time.

Know this if you stick to your guns about Mexico you'll have no legal recourse, no doctor in the USA will touch you. If you save up another couple thousand dollars you could avoid my mistake and find a reliable doctor here in the USA.

It doesn't make sense to have major surgery in a place where you can't drink the Water.

Good Luck

[georgebals 0]

Dear Beans, I was living in Alaska & attended my 1st weight loss seminar at Tacoma , Washington. This clinic was tied in to a Hospital in Monterrey. I thought about Mexico. This was about 10 years ago. I have owned property on both coasts of Mexico. Now I rent an apartment in Las Vegas, Nevada. Still own a fishing shack in Belize. I would not have band installed in Mexico unless I planned on living there. Or there was an agreement between Mexico & stateside clinic. My friend got a band in Tj. She could not find a place to give her a fill without $3,000.00. I had to get some other operations (spine fusion, rotator cuffs,&) before getting banded. Buy this book, Weight Loss Surgery with the Adjustable Gastric Band. You can get it at Borders. For me the band is the best thing ever. Social Security Disability payed for most of my band. I was banded on 1/15/08. Dr. Soong & Dr. Atkinson did the deed well. #115 pounds Lost!!! No fills. I am going to give myself about a year or 2 here, Then head south bound again. The most changes are in my head & making good choices. What ever you do, I wish you the best of Luck. Losing Large in Vegas & Loving it. Hasta Pronto, George :thumbup:

[eejaydiva 3]

Snowbird,

I suggest you re-read my original reply. Not ONE WORD of negativity was said about the docs themselves down there in Mexico. Being from Tucson, I have tons of experience in traveling to Mexico. The whole importance of Beans posting this thread was to hear various opinions and input from others. That's what I gave Beans.< /p>

Besides, if you research the lap bands product listing, they are not even licensed to be sold in Mexico, so those docs often don't have access to the most recent band versions. There is a reason American docs won't touch Mexico bandsters.

Beans, my main point was that if you're gonna have to pay minimum of $600 or $700 for a fill from an American doc who's fearful of touching a Mexico band, you would probably be better off just financing your surgery thru Care Credit or your doc's payment plan. I pay $146 a month.

[kiz 1]

It doesn't make sense to have major surgery in a place where you can't drink the Water.

I wouldn't consider Mexico either. My husband and I went on vacation there once (Cancun), and also took in an afternoon trip from San Diego to Tijuana one time, and that was enough to convince me that I wouldn't go to a Mexican hospital to save a few thousand dollars for a medical procedure (spending half our Cancun vacation in the hotel sick as puppies, let alone the extreme poverty, are just two of my reasons). I'm sure there are very skilled surgeons there, but that's not enough for me to put my life in the hands of a Mexican hospital. No way, nada, ain't happening. I'm even picky about the American hospitals and doctors I'll go to. I've read post after post of people who have had very good outcomes from Mexico, but it's just not a risk I'm willing to take. I also like the fact that the doctor I'm going to is right here, in case down the road something does go wrong. Some people may think this is a waste of money, but for me, it's money well spent.

[cosmos110 0]

ejm,

Don't lump all "Mexican doctors" into an unsavory pile. I've had plenty of unpleasant experiences with "American doctors." There are good and bad doctors in both countries.

You'll find that Snowbird and several others flock to a thread like flies to methane gas anytime something neutral or heaven forbid NEGATIVE is posted about Mexico.

I'm not slamming Mexican Doctors. I am questioning the wisdom of having surgery done in Mexico. If anything goes wrong, you loose. Like me. Here we depend on our legal system. It's not perfect but it keeps the "little (Poor) guy" from being the "fall guy".

[Beans2005 0]

Thanks so much everybody, I really appreciate your input and have a lot to think about. My husband is worried about me getting the surgery in Mexico and would rather pay more for me to get it done in Seattle. Looks like we have much to discuss!

[Macceyi 0]

I also had to pay out of pocket, so I chose to go to Mexico. I used Dr. Alverez, I found him through the internet www.endobariatric.com. My cost was $6,999, that included everything but airfare. Everything went perfectly! The Dr. and staff were wonderful, I do not regret it at all. The hospital was very outdated, but very clean. The hospital was located less than a mile across the border and I did not need a passport only my birth cirtificate and photo ID. Hope this helps! Kathy

[Bratty_Nicole 0]

Beans2005 - I am going to do self pay as well and found a doctor here in Colorado that includes everything (including post-op care for 3 months) for only $9950. I don't know how much it would help you since you don't live in CO, but his fills are also only $15 after the 3 month post-op time period. I haven't had the surgery yet, but people on here that have with him have done really well. At the same time I have heard of many Mexican doctors that do an incredible job and are very experienced! Just because they are in Mexico doesn't mean they are "bad". I say do what feels right to you!

If you want more info on the doc in Colorado his name is Dr. Gerald Kirshenbaum and the website is www.lapbandrockies.com

Good luck!

Edited July 2, 2008 by Bratty_Nicole

[Totallytater 1]

I flew from NC to Colorado for Dr. Kirshenbaum for under $10,000. He is so great, he would be worth twice the price. I also fly back and forth to Denver for my $15 fills. Also very worth it.

[SeattleSweetie 5]

Dr. McMahon at Swedish is the surgeon I am interested in here.

Dr McMahon is my surgeon! I just had my surgery last Monday, and he and his staff have been really great. Someone (Usually Jeri or Carol) is always available to talk to when I have questions or concerns, and Dr McMahon himself has been really great throughout my time with them. He always makes a point to stop in and see how I'm doing anytime I come into the office for any reason, even if it's just to talk to the nurses or nutritionist, or whoever.

I was originally scheduled for surgery on May 5th, but when he went in, my liver was really really big and there was just no way to do the surgery laproscopically, it either needed to be converted to an open surgery or I could just diet for a few weeks and come back and do it right the second time. He stopped the surgery, feeling the diet was the best option (He said he didn't want to give me a huge scar across my whole stomach at such a young age (I'm only 24) without at least trying the diet first, and we could do an open later if the diet still didn't work.)

Anyway, as soon as he stopped the first surgery, he went out and found my mom, who was the person with me, in the waiting room and sat and talked to her for, like, 15 minutes all about the surgery, what was wrong, what the options were, what he thought would be the best plan of action and answered all of her worried-mother questions and was just very supportive.

My mom's been around the block a couple times with various surgeons and doctors in her life, and she was really impressed with him, probably even more so than me, just because he was so willing to sit and talk to her about everything as if there was nothing more important to him at the time.

So anyway, back to the point here, I don't know anything about surgery in Mexico, but if that's the route you choose, maybe it wouldn't hurt to see if doctor McMahon and his staff could handle your fallow-up care and fills here afterward?

I wish you all the luck in the world, whatever your choice!

Edited July 3, 2008 by SeattleSweetie