Questions from New Orleans

Hello everyone...I am new to the message board. I have been doing research on having my surgery done in PV Mexico by Dr. Joya. I am having the lap bypass, has anyone here had this surgery in Mexico? Has anyone here had surgery performed by Dr. Joya? I have tried to get my insurance to pay for my surgery to no avail, I was turned down twice in 1997 and twice again in 2003 and now that the insurance companys are trying to cut out having to pay for this surgery, I have decided to do myself a favor and pay for it myself. Through research I have learned that the prices in Mexico are about half the cost in the US. But, who wouldn't be nervous about going out of the country to have surgery. I have read testamonials on Dr. Joyas site but would be more apt to believe an opinion outside of his website. At this point I am both excited and nervous at the thought of doing this. Any and all information you guys can give me would be much appreciated. Tess

Hi Tess! I had my surgery (open RNY)in Ensenada with Dr. Aguirre. It was scary going out of the country, for me, for the first time, to have surgery done. I am now 5 months out, down over 80 lbs, and can say it was the best thing I ever did for myself. Does Dr. Joya have a message board set up here? That would be the place to get more info on him, if possible. None of the nurses spoke English in the hospital, but both Dr.'s did, very well. I received the best care I have ever received in any hospital following surgery, and consider it an unqualified success. It takes alot of courage to have this surgery in the first place, but to go out of country and have it done takes a special kind of courage. Congratulations, and good luck!

Tess - I don't know about Dr. Joya but having seen Dr. Aguirre I can tell you about Mexico to a degree. We stayed at the Hotel Coral in Ensenada and it was very nice. It was a very nice resort hotel, and it was nice having a good place to stay after the surgery. Mexico was different in that there is really a sense of small community even though the city was large. And there isn't such a thing as confidentiality like there is in the US. The doctors and staff freely speak of other patients, and will do so with you as well. To me, it was a little refreshing though. I appreciate our country's confidentiality laws, but this was a little nice to know that it was almost like a family in that sense. Mexico hospitals are different than the US, but I felt very at ease at Cardiomed where Dr. Aguirre has his patients. It was noisy and there was construction going on in the room next to me, but I was so doped up I didn't care! If you have more questions about Mexico, let us know and I'm sure we can all relate our experiences in more detail. Good luck in finding the right doctor! Dina

Tess, I am from N.O. and can understand your concern with traveling out of the country for surgery. I am 5 weeks post op and had my surgery with Dr. Aguirre in Ensenada, Mexico. There are quite a few of us now who have had surgery with this Dr. and everyone loves him. After reading so many profiles on his site I felt comfortable (as comfortable as one can feel traveling to Mexico) with my decision. There is a driver that picked us up at the airport if you were flying in, many hotels to choose from, experienced hospital staff and now even an apartment to recover in after discharge with a nurse that checks on you daily. Even though I had not traveled out of Louisiana very much, I felt comfortable traveling alone to mexico. I would do it again in a heartbeat. The option to have surgery here in the U.S. was just not affordable for me. If you have questions feel free to email me.

i'm leaving next wednesday for PV to have the RNY surgery with Dr. Joya. so far i'm very impressed with the treatment i've received. Gerald who handles everything for us is great. i am on the pre opt diet before my surgery and had a question today. i got an auto response from him saying that he was in europe and it might take up to four days to respond to emails. well by the time i got home from work i had a response from him. I'm sorry i'm not going to get to meet him when i go for my surgery next week cause he's going to still be in spain. they apparently take very good care of you there. from picking you up at the airport to bringing you to the hospital or shopping or whatever you need. they book your flights and hotels. so you dont have to do anything. it's wonderful so far. email me after april 21st and i'll tell you how i did. that is when i'm flying home. good luck in what ever you decide to do. oh yea btw i'm in baton rouge neighbor. kat

Hey Tessa, I live in Baton Rouge and Dr. Aquirre was my surgeon. My Open RNY surgery was 17 days ago on March 16, 2004, I traveled to Mexico by myself and had no problems. I would do it again in a heart-beat! I was never excited to the point of being nervous. Just ready to get my journey started. You just have to set your mind on your dream and follow through. No destractions! (example=negative vibes from family/friends) This is how my mindset works: I was on a mission. (surgery) To complete that mission at the end of the journey does not mean the journey is over. No, it's only the beginning. Life is beautiful again and I know I have extended my healthy life and THAT was the purpose of the mission. Let me know of you would like more info, I'd be glad to talk to you. You can email me for my phone number if you like. Take care, Marlene