Sonographer1963
New Member
Having gastric sleeve on May 8th in Tijuana Mexico. Starting to get a little nervous. Lots of people giving me a hard time about having it done in Mexico. Any advice?
Surgery in Tijuana Mexico
- Thread starter Sonographer1963
- Start date
dianeseattle
Member
I don't really understand why you're coming here at virtually the last minute to ask the opinion of a group of strangers about a major decision in your life.
Nobody signs up for surgery in Mexico because they have heard about their fine medical training and world-class facilities. People have surgery in Mexico because it's cheaper and you don't need to meet stringent qualifications insurance companies in the US would require.
Even a cursory examination of Internet Resources reveals that surgery in Mexico is at best a risky proposition. Realistically you're taking a risk with your life. And if you cross the border, you have crossed into international territory where you have no legal standing. If something goes wrong, you are on your own.
So if some of us address you and say you should cancel the surgery and go through common channels available to every American citizen in the United States, are you going to then cancel your Mexican surgery? We don't even know that you are really having surgery in Mexico because you joined this group an hour ago, to ask one question, and now you're nowhere in sight.
For the edification of everyone here I will simply state the obvious: If you choose to go to another country to seek medical care, you are on your own. If your friends and family are warning you against it and you still intend to do it, again, you are on your own. If you come to an anonymous internet support group seeking some kind of advice, you are worse than on your own because you're asking complete strangers to weigh in on a decision where your life is involved.
Why don't you go ahead and post the name and internet address of the clinic where you're going to have your surgery done, so we can do some actual research on the place? We can find out what their mortality rate is. We can find reviews for this any legitimate clinic all over the world. If we don't know the name of the clinic you're asking strangers for their opinion about, you're dealing with an incredible abstraction. Bariatric surgery is serious major surgery that removes and alters your internal organs for the rest of your life. It is a reconstruction of the organs you were born with in order to correct a critical condition that has the potential to kill you, whether you have surgery or not.
This is not a frivolous question, to be tossed out onto the universe, as if you're rolling a pair of dice.
A real fear of losing your life is what pushed you to consider bariatric surgery in the first place. Now you're asking complete strangers to weigh in on another element of choice that can take your life. I am absolutely not going to share my opinion with you.
And I'm going to say what I always say: call your doctor. If you go ahead to a strange place that may be nothing more than a rehabbed dental office in a foreign country and give a stranger permission to cut and snip and so your body open and closed, again, you. Are. On. Your. Own.
Again.
And if I have been in any way vague in my response to your post, let me be completely clear right now. If this is how you are approaching major surgery, you are obviously not prepared for the surgery, or for the life you will live afterward.
Sonographer1963
New Member
I have done research. I work in the medical field and have done many hours of research. I suppose I was wondering if anyone had the experience in Mexico and what their experience was like. A friend told me about online support groups and this is my first experience.
dianeseattle
Member
Okay so why don't you just go ahead and share your research with us about this particular clinic that you are going to have major surgery in? We don't know anything about it. You say you've done research. What has your research revealed? Is this something that we should be considering? Would you recommend this to anyone in this group?
My surgery was performed at Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle by Dr. Richard Thirlby in 2007. He was considered one of the best bariatric surgeons in the United States at that time. He is now retired. I saw him for follow-up once a year for 7 years after my surgery and also participated in a University study that was attached to Virginia Mason from the University of Washington at that time.
And what is the reputation of your doctor at the clinic in Mexico where you are going to have surgery? Did you choose this Clinic because it has some great reputation?
My surgery was performed at Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle by Dr. Richard Thirlby in 2007. He was considered one of the best bariatric surgeons in the United States at that time. He is now retired. I saw him for follow-up once a year for 7 years after my surgery and also participated in a University study that was attached to Virginia Mason from the University of Washington at that time.
And what is the reputation of your doctor at the clinic in Mexico where you are going to have surgery? Did you choose this Clinic because it has some great reputation?
Texnoble
Member
Lots of people giving me a hard time about having it done in Mexico. Any advice?
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Hello Sonographer- I've heard of medical vacations and that is getting to be a trend. I've heard that foreign countries treat medical patients like royalty during the process. We've also heard about the horror stories like DianeSeattle describes. Did someone recommend the clinic you are going to? I think you owe it to yourself to get a first-hand account from one of their former patients. Bariatric surgery has become quite routine and my doctor has done so many he seemed bored talking about it! Even so, you would like to have some assurance on your doctor's length of experience, training, and patient satisfaction. So many of us are thrilled with our surgeries, however, there are accounts on here from those who had complications. Are you prepared for that possibility?
Good Luck to you.
[/QUOTE]
Hello Sonographer- I've heard of medical vacations and that is getting to be a trend. I've heard that foreign countries treat medical patients like royalty during the process. We've also heard about the horror stories like DianeSeattle describes. Did someone recommend the clinic you are going to? I think you owe it to yourself to get a first-hand account from one of their former patients. Bariatric surgery has become quite routine and my doctor has done so many he seemed bored talking about it! Even so, you would like to have some assurance on your doctor's length of experience, training, and patient satisfaction. So many of us are thrilled with our surgeries, however, there are accounts on here from those who had complications. Are you prepared for that possibility?
Good Luck to you.
Sonographer, I echo the concerns expressed by Diane and Tex. How many bariatric surgeries has this Mexican surgeon performed? You must consider the possibility of complications. Are u prepared to be hospitalized in the event of an adverse outcome?
Not sure if you're going there because of the out of pocket expense (cheaper there than the U.S.) & insurance won't cover. Or because the surgeon is identified as the best in the business, but in the future, if problems come up, will your health insurance cover services associated with procedure done out of the country?....and what about the intense follow ups that are recommended? These are things to think abt.
Nevertheless, please let us know you pulled thru and how you're doing. This is serious surgery, and maybe u can share something with us that we hadn't considered. Wishing you the best!
Not sure if you're going there because of the out of pocket expense (cheaper there than the U.S.) & insurance won't cover. Or because the surgeon is identified as the best in the business, but in the future, if problems come up, will your health insurance cover services associated with procedure done out of the country?....and what about the intense follow ups that are recommended? These are things to think abt.
Nevertheless, please let us know you pulled thru and how you're doing. This is serious surgery, and maybe u can share something with us that we hadn't considered. Wishing you the best!
dianeseattle
Member
This reminds me of a joke:
Q: what do they call the person who graduates last in his class from medical school?
(scroll down for answer)
A: "Doctor."
Life contains uncertainties everyday. The skills and ethics of your doctor are essential to know. But a lot of people think doctors are gods. They never question them. They entrust them with most valuable thing they own: Their lives.
But even the worst student in the class who graduates from medical school gets to wear the title of doctor. And when you leave our highly regulated healthcare system, then leave our country with its laws and legal remedies, you are a Stranger in a Strange Land. You can't verify anything. You have no way of really evaluating somebody.
So this trend Tex was talking about, of people taking medical vacations, is very scary. They entrust their eyes, their faces, their internal organs, their teeth, their very lives to people who might not even have gone to medical school, but who took some kind of training.
I think we can all relate to the level of desperation that people have when they do this, because going from obesity to normal, healthy weight is the hardest journey in the world. But somehow it just doesn't seem like it could be worth the risk to go over the border or overseas to entrust your health to a complete stranger.
Q: what do they call the person who graduates last in his class from medical school?
(scroll down for answer)
A: "Doctor."
Life contains uncertainties everyday. The skills and ethics of your doctor are essential to know. But a lot of people think doctors are gods. They never question them. They entrust them with most valuable thing they own: Their lives.
But even the worst student in the class who graduates from medical school gets to wear the title of doctor. And when you leave our highly regulated healthcare system, then leave our country with its laws and legal remedies, you are a Stranger in a Strange Land. You can't verify anything. You have no way of really evaluating somebody.
So this trend Tex was talking about, of people taking medical vacations, is very scary. They entrust their eyes, their faces, their internal organs, their teeth, their very lives to people who might not even have gone to medical school, but who took some kind of training.
I think we can all relate to the level of desperation that people have when they do this, because going from obesity to normal, healthy weight is the hardest journey in the world. But somehow it just doesn't seem like it could be worth the risk to go over the border or overseas to entrust your health to a complete stranger.
honeysgirl
Member
Our local TV station did segment on people who went to Mexico and had to have corrections when they got back to the U.S.
Maybe you can find it. It is KATC.com in Lafayette,La.
Best of luck.
Maybe you can find it. It is KATC.com in Lafayette,La.
Best of luck.
Hi @Sonographer1963 , how are you....hope all is well with you and that your surgery was successful!
dianeseattle
Member
Yes please, it's been 60 days since the surgery. Did everything turn out okay? Did you need any follow-up in the states or see your regular doctor for follow-ups customer. If you had a problem, were you able to see your usual doctor, even though the doctor was unfamiliar with your surgery and how it was performed?