Drs. Valenzuela, Ortiz, or Joya?. Can't decide, need help.

I'm hoping to schedule VSG in Sept or Oct and have done quite a bit of research and have narrowed my choice down to three...Valenzuela, Ortiz, and Joya. Some of the factors for consideration are  location (I'm traveling alon),cost (otherwise Alverez would be in the mix), surgery facility ( hospital, clinic), experience with the procedure, patients with negative experiences, etc. Any help, feedback, comments appreciated.

I am about four months post vertical gastric sleeve.  I went through MexicoBariatricCenter and Christy was my coordinator.  Drs. Cabrera and Valenzuela were my surgeons in Tijuana and Dr. Garcia assisted.  Everything went smoothly.  Every question I had was answered quickly and completely.  When my plane was very delayed arrangements were made for me.  I felt great post op.  I had no significant postoperative pain, nausea, vomiting or other complications.  I walked several miles the first day I was in the hotel.  I was taken to the Tijuana Marriott after being discharged from the hospital and the accomodations and service there was impeccable.  The hospital was clean and well equipped and the staff was friendly and professional and spoke very good English.  Air fare to San Diego was actually less expensive than to the Texas border towns from my location.  I never felt unsafe in Tijuana and I went by myself.  I took a cab to the Pacific Ocean and shopped on Revolution Avenue.  I walked to the Walmart about half a mile from the hotel.  I have followed up with my own primary care doctor.   I was in Mexico a total of five days.  I spent three nights in the hospital, including one pre-op because my plane arrived so late, and two nights in the hotel.  I scheduled in late December for a late February surgery date, but they had some immediate openings available.  I also needed time to renew my passport.   I went back to work about 5 days after surgery and could have gone back sooner.  However I do have a pretty sedentary "desk job".  

I know I keep writing the same response to all of these "What surgeon in Mexico should I choose" questions, but I am very grateful to all the staff (doctors, nurses, anesthesia, ancillary support personnel, coordinator, driver, and hotel staff) that made my surgery and my trip go smoothly and safely, and I want to support their program.  As in the states, I am sure there are a lot of very good surgeons in Mexico, and there is no one best choice.   If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to ask.  Best of luck.

  

 

How has the follow up care and communication been?

Since I have been doing well, I have not needed to talk to the surgeons post-op.  Feel great, no complications, loosing weight, complete and thorough post op instructions given at the time of discharge.  Before surgery the questions I had were answered in a timely manner and to my complete satisfaction.  I have followed up with my primary care provider.

I see you have narrowed it down to three surgeons. None of whom we used but thats ok. Research is important. What hospital are you considering. Thats a major component! I tried to pm you but my pm is not working. Guess I was a bad boy.

I was going to tell you a few negatives but dont want to speak out loud and get bashed. They are just my thoughts.

I will try later.

Check out Dr. Kelly. He is an excellent surgeon. I had a very positive experience with him and his entire team. they are top notch.

Good luck.

I was very pleased with my experience, as you know. I felt very comfortable being alone and Dr. Valenzuela answered my questions. The staff was very friendly. Mi Doctor Hospital was your average hospital, but the staff was amazing! I have to tell you, I had to get blood drawn the morning of and the girl who took my blood was AMAZING! I hadn't had anything since 11pm (so I was a bit dehydrated by 8am) and she got my blood in the first try with no pain!!! I have never had that happen before when I had to withhold liquids! The price was right. The group of people I was with was also very satisfied. Everyone is so friendly and helpful. In the end, you need to go with who you feel comfortable with... and my personal opinion is to ignore negatives people might say about other surgeons they have never had. I am not trying to bash, I am just trying to be honest. There are surgeons I didnt choose because I was uncomfortable by what I read from people and experiences I personally had, BUT I would never tell anyone to avoid them based on a 3rd party review. I can truly only give you an honest opinion of my experience, which was great! 

Whoever you choose, I am sure it will be great! Most of the surgeons mentioned here are great surgeons. It is just a matter of finding who you feel comfortable with. Keep us posted on who you go with!

Dr Valenzuela had a death over the weekend.  Not sure if that would worry you or not...

All surgeons wilk have a death at some point it's inevitable. These surgeons work with sone of the sickest people whether we want to admit it or not. No surgery is 100% safe and all have death as a possible complication. Lets be honest obese indaviduals are the hardest not to mention more complicated people to do a surgery on (due to all the comorbidities that we have. Surgical teams will do their utmost to ensure that we make it off the table and are healing well (I've been on the other side trying to fight to keep people alive and its not an easy thing to go through). To me this is wht its so important to follow the dr's preop directions/diet. My heart goes out to the family that lost their loved one.

Sorry for all the typo's I typed that on my stupid phone and I hate the keyboard! !