Update to Tijuana DS surgeon

First let me say, Marty (who was not expected to live a week ago) has since had 11 surgeries and been upgraded to 20% chance of survival. He had stomach leaks (3, I think), gangrene, spleen removal, and not sure what else. He is having the gangrenous tissue debrided (sp?) daily, so thank goodness he is being kept comatose. Uck! Still in ICU in San Diego. The surgeon who performed his DS was Dr. Huacuz in Tijuana. I know he has done some successful DS's, but is not listed at DS.com. His website says he also does plastic surgery. Not sure why this bothers me, but it does. His site also says he had a short course in DS with Dr. Baltasar, who I've heard is a great surgeon. Another thing that bothers me is since we work for the Tx. Prison System we have BCBS Health Select, which excludes WLS and any complications caused by WLS. I can only imagine the financial ruin they'll face, whether Marty lives or dies. Pre-ops looking for a DS surgeon, do your research and go to DS.com for a list of known DS surgeons. Yes, DS is the best WLS (check the stats), but it is not a simple procedure that any surgeon can do.  Johna

Oh Johna, I'm so sorry about your friend Marty.  I will be keeping him and his family in my prayers.  I'm hoping that somehow the insurance does cover at least part of his costs. I really wonder if Dr. Huacuz did do a course with Dr. Baltasar.  The other surgeons he's trained are excellent... and Huacuz just doesn't seem to cut it. 

I know he did Tiffany's (Happy Days) DS and she's doing fantastic! Have you seen her before and after's? But, I keep hearing he's kinda shady...

Wow and how sad for Marty and his family....that's about all I can muster.  It's just so awful a story, but a real reminder to people to find a very experienced DS surgeon.

I am so glad that you found out which doc it was in TJ.  I had been thinking of going to Dr. Huacuz, but after finding out it was him - there is no way.  I decided early this afternoon to go to Dr. Lane in Ohio.  They actually made my consult appointment for June 26th, I believe.  I'm so glad I waited and researched before just jumping right in head first.  Thank you for checking that out, Johna.

i wish you luck on your surgery. i went to dr. huacuz and he is really a good doctor. he takes a lot of very high risk patients. but i was there when marty was. i know that dr.huacuz was there nite and day working on him 24/7. whatever happens it wasnt due to dr. huacuz having lack of skill or care. the patient has bmi of 70 with tons of previous medical history. no one would touch him in the usa. i hope that you do well with your doctor . please dont believe all you here on this forum. i know many patients that have good lives thanks to the hard work of dr. huacuz. i know im one of them. he will be my doctor always. i dont work for him or get paid to write. im just a girl who has had 3 surgeries by him. i had plastic surgery too. he did great work. great.

How do you know Marty's previous medical history??? Yes, he could've had surgery anywhere, and was scheduled with a world renowned surgeon in Brazil. But, Marty wanted to have surgery "now" instead of waiting on a good surgeon he took "now and cheap". Not a good idea, but should he pay for it with his life? And, I have a problem with a doc who does boob jobs for a living, and dabbles in WLS on the side... or is it vice versa? What. is he a dentist, too?  Total slimeball, and I am hoping he eventually gets his license yanked.

I'm sorry Marty has to go through this. Take what giggles said with a grain of salt, as I seen you have for the most part. They had the Lap-Band! Which is soooooooo EASY to do compaired to a DS.

It's amazing to me how they come out of the woodwork.  Truly.  I tried to contact this giggles person to ask them about Dr. Huacuz for my personal questions and never could get a reply from them, and bam! as soon as someone mentions Dr. Huacuz, here they are.  Amazing. Botched Surgeries by Dr. Huacuz that I know of - that scare the HELL out of me: 1. Adrienne (adee_baby) 2. Belinda - sponge left inside her lap-band port 3. Marty (all of his problems) Follow-up with your patients for years on out is very crucial for any doctor - in the States or in another country.  One of the biggest complaints I have heard from patients of his is that he doesn't return calls when they aren't happy with him.  It's my humble opinion that if a doctor who is just 8 miles from San Diego has a problem he can't handle, instead of letting that patient get to death's door, put them in your car and take them to the nearest hospital.  Save their life.  Even if it wasn't the outcome you hoped for, you did what you could do.  After hearing this about Marty, I would rather have a gastric bypass than to ever go to Dr. Huacuz.  That scares me.  I have too much to live for than to give my trust and my life to a doctor like that who doesn't give a flip about his patients and only his bottom line. Excuse my anger, but it really ****** me off.  Yes I know that Dr. Huacuz has had a few surgeries turn out really good.  I'm happy that there are a few people out there who can live to tell.  Some aren't. My thoughts and prayers go out to Marty and his family and I hope he pulls through to come back here and tell us his story.

Do you have a link for Belinda?  I am saving these stories, some of us are trying very hard to get the Mexican gov't to do something about Huacuz (ask Johna, Johna knows details of our efforts) and all the examples we can get, the better. We have been in touch with two people, one is very willing to help us all he can.  But we need to start giving more detailed examples, names, etc.  They are wanting medical records, the works.  If we don't give them what they need, they can't do anything about him.  So I'd like to contact this Belinda person and see if she would be willing to work with the Mexican authorities and do something about Huacuz once and for all.