Banding out of the USA

[christaO 0]

Is there anyone out there that was banded outside of the United States that is willing to share information with me I would greatly appreciate it since my insurance company wont pay I need to find affordable yet safe surgeons THANKS for any information

[FailureIsntAnOption 0]

Hello,

My name is Donna. I too was self pay. I went to Mexicali, Mexico and was banded by Dr. Alberto Aceves in April of this year. I was fortunate that I had recommendations from a few people that my husband works with but it was still scary due to the unknown and having it done in a foreign country. I was pleasantly surprised that my medical care and stay exceeded my expectations. The hospital was clean and state of the art and the surgeon and staff were top notch. I paid $7,000 but I just saw that they have reduced the price to $6,500. There is also a clinic in Tijuana Mexico that advertises $5,000 but I don't know anything about the surgeon there. I can tell you that Dr. Aceves has patients that travel from all over the US for his services as I met several during my stay. If you would like more info., send me a message and I will give you the contact info. Good luck to you.

[Headhunter 6]

Is there anyone out there that was banded outside of the United States that is willing to share information with me I would greatly appreciate it since my insurance company wont pay I need to find affordable yet safe surgeons THANKS for any information

Christa;

Generally, I would be opposed to having a LB installed outside of the country, or even outside of your own geographical area. There are many things to consider, particularly the aftercare. Many US Doctors will NOT provide aftercare to patients that are banded outside of the country. I also feel that it's very important that you be within a reasonable proximity to the facility and Surgeon that performed your procedure, in the event that there is a problem of some sort. Also, there is the issue of liability in the event that is a problem....it's hard to go after an out-of-country Doctor if something goes wrong. Finally, there is the increasing incidence of violence along the Border cities with Mexico. Those are just a few of the reaons to re-think the idea of going to MX for surgery. Note that there are SOME Drs here in the US that are lowering their rates to attract additional patients....the economy is htting even the WLS industry!

Now, having said all that, there IS another side to the issue, and I would refer you to WasaBubbleButt here on this forum. She had her surgery (Both of them) performed in Mexico, and she is probably the resident authority on the subject here. She has some excellent information that will help you make the choice, and if you choose to go to mexico, she will know WHO you should be seeing there for your surgery. She's terrific, and a great source of information.

She is a member here, BUT she spends more time these days over on the "sleeve" forum (www.verticalsleevetalk.com) where she is a moderator. I cannot overemphasize the quality of information that she has, so I would highly recommend that you PM her....she's always glad to help!

HH

[FailureIsntAnOption 0]

What HH said in regards to doctor's in the USA not treating patients for follow-up care who had surgery out to the country is complete BS.

Also, Mexicali is completely safe and has had no incidents of violence in the recent past because I have done my homework and besides I have spent time there over the past few months as well as others that I can put you in contact with to put your mind at ease. I have traveled all over the country and to many areas of Mexico and have only felt unsafe in TJ. HH doesn't know me from Adam but seems to have some kind of issue of being the authority on everybody else as well as trying to undermine my personal experiences with his criticism.

I have told you from own MY personal experience that I have received excellent care from Dr. Aceves and his staff and I have been there and am speaking from personal experience which HH is not. Dr. Aceves has performed over 3,000 WLS and the hospital is state of the art. Only a lawsuit minded individual is worried about having legal recoase. If you go to a good surgeon instead of a hack you don't have to worry about such things. Obviously HH didn't do his homework or he would have not made such a mistake. There is an old thread I can refer you to that will totally enlighten you in regards to this individual if you so desire please message me personally and I will provide references from Dr. Aceves patients as well as the thread info. that will make you laugh your A** off.

[FailureIsntAnOption 0]

FYI...one of the LBT forum moderators had Dr. Aceves perform her conversion from lap band to gastric sleeve her name is *Susan* you may want to pick her brain as well.

[elcee 3,343]

There is an old thread I can refer you to that will totally enlighten you in regards to this individual

I found the thread/s you mentioned and they do make for interesting reading. I did give up though after the first couple of pages as there were so many........... Which also means i don't know the eventual outcome.

Nothing against HH but it is useful to look at previous posts from people especially when they appear to be an expert.

I will agree with HH's advice usual advice though which is to research and make sure you pick the right WLS that will suit you. And WASA does seem to be an expert on researching Dr's and i have a feeling that she also used Dr Aceves.

[Headhunter 6]

"donna":

My post was not directed at you in any way, shape, or form.

If I HAD been addressing you, I would have used more single-syllable words so that you might understand.

So, let’s take a look at the most recent load of excrement you’ve released on this forum, shall we?

And note: I did NOT address YOU in my post. You turned around and blathered out your crap so that you could simply start something again. You need to grow up.

“Mexicali is completely safe and has had no incidents of violence in the recent past because I have done my homework and besides I have spent time there over the past few months as well as others that I can put you in contact with to put your mind at ease. I have traveled all over the country and to many areas of Mexico and have only felt unsafe in TJ.”

I didn’t specify any place or location. I stated the FACT that there has been increasing violence in Border towns. That is a FACT, whether YOU like it or not. It doesn’t happen everywhere, but it DOES HAPPEN and any intelligent consumer needs to take that simple FACT into consideration when selecting location for their Surgery, ESPECIALLY when they are leaving the protection of their OWN COUNTRY.

““Mexicali is completely safe and has had no incidents of violence in the recent past because I have done my homework and besides I have spent time there over the past few months as well as others that I can put you in contact with to put your mind at ease.”

Huh?

Whatever “Homework” it is that you’ve done has certainly not taught you to construct a sentence that is intelligible. I’ll just have to assume that you did your “homework” in the same place you did your “homework” on Gastric Bypass.

“HH doesn't know me from Adam but seems to have some kind of issue of being the authority on everybody else as well as trying to undermine my personal experiences with his criticism.”

That’s right. I DON’T know you. Nor would I want to.

“undermine your personal experiences”??? What the hell does THAT mean? Thus far, you haven’t proven that you have ANY personal experience in ANYTHING other than spouting MISINFORMATION. As far as your surgery experience in Mexico, I have No problem with you talking about that. It was YOUR experience. Criticize your experience??? Just when did I even MENTION you in my response? I didn’t. Get over yourself.

Here’s a little Factoid for you: I have addressed the issue of Surgery in Mexico in numerous threads here LONG before you ever showed up in this forum. And I will continue to do so long after you have moved on. I ALWAYS give my point of view, and I ALWAYS refer the OP to WasaBubbleButt, who is an ACKNOWLEDGED expert here at LBT on the subject of Mexican Surgeries. Unlike YOU, I recognize that there are different viewpoints on the subject, and I am happy to provide anyone with the source of the opposing arguments. THAT is where OPINION comes into play. There is difference between FACTS and OPINION, and someday when you grow up you might “get” that. When I have an OPINION, I state it is as such. And when a fact is a FACT, I do the same. You seem to think that everything you have in your head is a “fact”. It ain’t.

“I have told you from own MY personal experience that I have received excellent care from Dr. Aceves and his staff and I have been there and am speaking from personal experience which HH is not.”

Ok, AGAIN: where in the hell did I say ANYTHING about YOUR experience in Mexico? OR Dr. Aceves? Or ANYTHING that you said??? C’mon….spell it out….where did I address you AT ALL in my post??

Maybe one of your Imaginary Bypass friends is telling you this stuff….

“Only a lawsuit minded individual is worried about having legal recoase.”

Ya think so, eh? A dumb-ass statement if I’ve ever heard one. When you grow up, perhaps someday you will come to understand the realities of financial responsibility. And what can happen when you make BAD decisions. Like I did.

“If you go to a good surgeon instead of a hack you don't have to worry about such things. Obviously HH didn't do his homework or he would have not made such a mistake. There is an old thread I can refer you to that will totally enlighten you in regards to this individual if you so desire please message me personally and I will provide references from Dr. Aceves patients as well as the thread info.”

Huh? WTF? You act like this is something you have “uncovered”. In ALMOST every post I make in this forum and elsewhere, I state ABSOLUTELY that I MADE A MISTAKE in choosing my SURGERY and my SURGEON. Why can you NOT UNDERSTAND that? I say it over and over. Ok, I think I know….

The ONLY reason I spend any time here at all is to help people AVOID making the mistakes that I made. And do you know why some people make mistakes? By listening to people like YOU….who haven’t got a ghost of a clue about what they’re talking about.

And the thread you are referring to that will “totally enlighten” the OP? Go ahead. Bring it on. Send the link out to EVERYONE you know, including your imaginary Bypass friends. I have NO APOLOGIES for that thread. Everything I said then, I say now. The lap band almost killed me. I suffered enormously as a result of that experience. And some people here tried to turn it into something it wasn’t, because they didn’t want to accept the fact that there might just be some problems with the Lap Band

But an interesting thing has happened in the year since that thread appeared. Some of the people that criticized me most harshly have had their BANDS REMOVED. Others have regained weight. Others have said that they have regretted getting their bands. And others have gone along just fine, and are healthy, happy and trim. Because THAT’S what happens with the Band….it’s good for some, not so good for others, and it’s HORRIBLE for some people as well.

And if YOU can’t read my posts and past threads and UNDERSTAND that fact, and what I am trying to do, then you have a very BIG problem. BUT….I think we have already established that….FACT. You do, indeed have a Big problem. No opinion there….simply FACT.

You need to grow up and pay attention to what you DO know. And Not what you DON’T. And It’s quite clear that the former is bigger than the latter.

HH

A NOTE TO THE MODERATORS: You will kindly note that I did not ONCE mention this person in my response to the OP. I did NOT address ANY of my comments to her or her experience. Those of you who know me, know that I have addressed the Mexico subject on a number of occasions, in exactly the same way I did, as I have stated. “donna’ decided to “engage” me here with references to past threads, etc. I didn’t start THIS one.

[Headhunter 6]

I found the thread/s you mentioned and they do make for interesting reading. I did give up though after the first couple of pages as there were so many........... Which also means i don't know the eventual outcome.

Nothing against HH but it is useful to look at previous posts from people especially when they appear to be an expert.

I will agree with HH's advice usual advice though which is to research and make sure you pick the right WLS that will suit you. And WASA does seem to be an expert on researching Dr's and i have a feeling that she also used Dr Aceves.

Elcee;

yes, it is interesting reading.:thumbup:

It was an interesting experience. Some 300+ responses. And i don't blame you for not reading through the whole thing....it was a mess. It was a very enlightening experience. for me.

As far as the eventual outcome, it ultimately died. I came on and made one final post 2 days before my surgery, I think it was. I apologized to the forum as a whole for "entering" the way i did, with as much drama as I did. But, I was facing a surgery where the outcome was somewhat questionable. I sincerely felt that I needed to make people aware of MY experience so that they would not make the same mistakes that i did. And since then, THAT has been my message: Choose the surgery carefully. Choose the Surgeon carefully. Cover ALL your bases. And I have been very consistent in that message. As far as being an "expert", well.... I AM an expert....an expert in MY OWN experience, and that is all I have ever claimed to be.

And yes, Wasa did use that Dr, I believe. Wasa is "good people". She's a nurse, and she knows her stuff. She was one of my "critics" in that orginal thread, but we corresponded offline, I sent her some Endoscopy pictures of a tube from the band snaking through my colon, and she uiltimately came to trust what I was saying. She is a REAL asset to this forum. She doesn't take any crap, and she puts in a LOT of time trying to help people through the WLS "minefield".

HH

[FailureIsntAnOption 0]

Crista,

I would like to apologize to you for getting a little testy in my post last night. Please understand that I have been harassed by HH numerous times in another thread entitled "Please Help" and quite frankly have had enough of him trying to undermine my credibility, calling me names and inferring that I don't know what I am talking about. I mean come on, a person would have to be a complete idiot not have researched all wls and surgeons before making a choice. I have begun steps to stop this individual in his tracks since he seems to have some sort of vendetta against me. Or better phrased "cease and desist" I wish you luck in your decision and if you are interested in those referrences I promised you I will be happy to send you names, telephone numbers or email addresses so you may talk to more people. HH did however give some good advice in regards to speaking with wasabubblebut. I urge you do do this.

Final note to HH: THE PEOPLE WHO COME TO THESE FORUMS ARE NOT INTERESTED IN THE DRAMA WHICH SPEWS FROM YOUR LIPS AND FINGERTIPS! YOU NEED TO GET OVER YOURSELF. IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW LOUD YOU SHOUT FROM THE ROOFTOPS HOW INTELLIGENT YOU THINK YOU ARE OR HOW IMPORTANT YOU VIEW YOURSELF. IT SEEMS TO ME YOU MAY HAVE SOME SELF ESTEEM ISSUES THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED. KNOWLEDGE ISN'T SOMETHING YOU CAN BEAT INTO PEOPLE AND YOU REALLY NEED TO LEARN HOW TO RELATE TO YOUR PEERS.

Have a good day!

Donna

Edited July 23, 2009 by FailureIsntAnOption

[christaO 0]

Hello,

My name is Donna. I too was self pay. I went to Mexicali, Mexico and was banded by Dr. Alberto Aceves in April of this year. I was fortunate that I had recommendations from a few people that my husband works with but it was still scary due to the unknown and having it done in a foreign country. I was pleasantly surprised that my medical care and stay exceeded my expectations. The hospital was clean and state of the art and the surgeon and staff were top notch. I paid $7,000 but I just saw that they have reduced the price to $6,500. There is also a clinic in Tijuana Mexico that advertises $5,000 but I don't know anything about the surgeon there. I can tell you that Dr. Aceves has patients that travel from all over the US for his services as I met several during my stay. If you would like more info., send me a message and I will give you the contact info. Good luck to you.

I would like any information you have and any others who have gone to the same Dr as you then when you needed a fill was it hard to find a doctor since you had the banding in Mexico and also as a self pay are fills expensive, again thanks for responding I really appreciate your help

[FailureIsntAnOption 0]

Crista,

I will get the info. to you sometime today via private message. I had no problem finding follow-up care here. I actually have Kaiser So. Cal. and they have done my follow-up and have referred me out for my fills. Because the clinic Kaiser referred me to does not fill under fluoroscopy, I have elected to return to Mexicali for my fills which by the way are included in my surgical cost. I have since returned there for two fills. I also located a few other clinics that would have done my follow-up but it just seemed foolish to pay for a service I could have elsewhere for no fee.

I will talk to you later.

Donna

[christaO 0]

thank you for responding and yes I would like as much information as I can get Also was it hard to find a doctor in US to do the fills since they did not due the surgery Are the fills expensive for a self pay person

[belkita 0]

This is the web site of my doctor in case you want to check. It is in Dominican Republic, but you can email him all your questions, and he will get back to you and answered them in a short time.

You will find lots of information by visiting his site.

Dr. Manuel Joseph Ram

[abbypoo 0]

Hey, I just wanted to put my own two cents on this. I too, am self-pay and initially I considered getting my surgery in Mexico. However, after doing a lot of research I discovered that it was in my best interest to go somewhere closer. I'm not saying that the doctors in Mexico are worse than the ones in the U.S., I have read a lot of material that implies that they are actually more experienced because they've been doing it longer. That being said, there are just too many stories for my comfort of people who had their surgeries in Mexico who had complications. It is definitely a small risk, but I'm not willing to take the risk with my health or my bank account. There are also a lot of stories of people on here that have had a lot of trouble finding after-care near them or for a reasonable price. I finally decided to have my surgery here in the states. There is a group of Dr.'s in Detroit who do the surgery for 10,700 and another Dr. in Denver who does it for $9,950. Also, both of those Dr.'s offer financing options where you can finance your surgery just like a car with a low monthly interest. I'm just saying weigh your options before making any decisions. When I first started researching this whole thing back in May I was positive that I was going to have my surgery in Mexico, now I'm being banded here in the states in a couple weeks.