Recent Posts
on 3/20/15 1:35 pm
Surgery was with Dr. Garcia from Tijuana Bariatrics. He is amazing and comes HIGHLY recommended.
My surgery was amazing and my trip and experience was worth every penny! (Pictures posted of Mexico and the hospital on my facebook, Jennifer Ihrer Whitlow, feel free to add me)
Dr. Garcia and ALL of the doctors and nurses were beyond amazing. I went for the DS but ended up with the sleeve and a partial refund check. My blood pressure was very high and it was not safe to do the switch. I will go back in a year (if needed) for the switch. Due to my size, i will probably still get that just to insure my weight will stay off.
The trip to San Diego was perfect, flew Southwest, bought an extra seat and sat in the first row (I asked to preboard due to my size). Southwest is great and VERY accommodating.
Ricardo picked me and my husband up within 5 minutes of landing. San Diego airport is awesome and simple to navigate. Gate > baggage > outside. Nothing like Dulles airport in Va (yikes! lol) Going from the airport to San Diego was about a 15 minute drive and he just drove right now, no issue.
We went to the hotel first, the Marriott is freaking AMAZING!! Be prepared to tip! I think most of our extra money went to tipping. I didn't plan on that. Tipping the drivers, staff at the hotel, for food etc. We stayed at the hotel for day one and went to the hospital the next morning. Best part of the trip, everything is planned and drivers are set up. I just did as I was told. lol
The surgery was perfect. Second day was surgery day. Went to the hospital early, they did the EKG, put in the IV and I left the hospital briefly to get an xray of my heart (hubby came with me, the drive JR. is too much. Great guy. Then they took me for surgery about an hour after getting back. The only pain I had was gas pain. Not horrible, just hard to get comfortable. I was in no other pain and actually told them to stop the pain meds. For me, less is better with medication of any kind. My choice. I was walking around within 30 minutes after surgery and because of my high BP I was told to RELAX. lol I am just over a week Post Op, lost a total of 35 lbs and I feel amazing. I felt amazing the following day too. I had surgery on a Wed, xray to check for leaks on Thursday, drain out on Friday, IV out on Saturday and went to the hotel. My stay was longer due to the planning of getting the DS. No biggie, my husband and I used the Marriotts taxi service and went exploring Tijuana on Sunday. So much fun!
This was the best decision I could have ever made and I look forward to seeing Dr. Garcia and his staff again! The best care I ever had at any hospital by far! :)
If you have questions or want to stay in touch, feel free to add me on Facebook. Having new friends who have had the surgery or will be is key to success. We can keep each other strong and motivated to do right!
on 3/20/15 1:23 pm
Yes, great hands! Thank goodness i had my passport card, it would not have been any easy trip back home. lol
on 3/20/15 1:21 pm
Surgery was amazing and my trip and experience was worth every penny! (Pictures posted of Mexico and the hospital on my facebook, Jennifer Ihrer Whitlow, feel free to add me)
Dr. Garcia and ALL of the doctors and nurses were beyond amazing. I went for the DS but ended up with the sleeve and a partial refund check. My blood pressure was very high and it was not safe to do the switch. I will go back in a year (if needed).
The trip to San Diego was perfect, flew Southwest, bought an extra seat and sat in the first row (I asked to preboard due to my size). Southwest is great.
Ricardo picked me and my husband up within 5 minutes of landing. San Diego airport is awesome and simple to navigate. Gate > baggage > outside. Nothing like Dulles airport in Va (yikes! lol)
I went to the hotel, the Marriott is freaking AMAZING!! Be prepared to tip! I think most of our extra money went to tipping. I didn't plan on that. Tipping the drivers, staff at the hotel, for food etc.
The surgery was perfect. Second day was surgery day. Went to the hospital early, they did the EKG, put in the IV and you left to get an xray of your heart. Then they took you for surgery. The only pain I had was gas pain. Not horrible, just hard to get comfortable. I was in no other pain and actually told them to stop the pain meds. For me, less is better with medication of any kind. My choice. I was walking around within 30 minutes after surgery and because of my high BP I was told to RELAX. lol I am just over a week Post Op, lost a total of 35 lbs and I feel amazing. I felt amazing the following day too. I had surgery on a Wed, xray to check for leaks on Thursday, drain out on Friday, IV out on Saturday and went to the hotel. My stay was longer due to the planning of getting the DS. No biggie, my husband and I used the Marriotts taxi service and went exploring Tijuana on Sunday. So much fun!
This was the best decision I could have ever made and I look forward to seeing Dr. Garcia and his staff again! The best care I ever had at any hospital by far! :)
I had surgery with Dr. Garcia in October. I have since found out that he is using a newer and better hospital, so my describing the hospital that I had surgery at would be of no use to you. You are in good hands as he and his staff are excellent. Let me know if you have any questions about the surgery. Good luck to you!
I will be having surgery with Dr. Illan April 17th. I feel very comfortable about the decision.
on 3/19/15 7:32 am
I would recommend Dr Leopoldo H. Chabert from San Javier Hospital ,Guadalajara MX as he is a top Surgeon in this field and has a tremendous track record
There are many qualified Dr.s to choose from in Tijuana :) I chose Dr. Lopez and had my surgery at Vida hospital, great surgical experience. I went alone and felt safe and cared for at all times.
I would say, narrow it down to 2 or 3 based on reading reviews of others' experiences and researching the Drs experience and qualifications. Also, take into consideration the price, whats included, the hotel, and the hospital where the surgery is being performed. I'm sure I would have had a fine experience at Mi Doctor (hospital), but for me having it at Vida (more upscale) made me more comfortable and had more amenities (for example an on site recovery boutique downstairs).
Happy planning! :)
I can't speak to who is the best doctor but only to my doctor. I had the sleeve done in October with Dr. Fernando Garcia of Tijuana Bariatrics. From what I understand from other forum users, he is now in a different hospital than the one that I had my surgery in, so it is probably no use in my describing the hospital. I have to say that it appears that he has done a good job and I am 68lbs lighter. I have had no complications other than nausea and some constipation, which I discovered came from not getting enough water in. The nausea was mainly the first month after surgery. I felt completely safe at the hospital, but my husband is Mexican and I have been to Mexico probably around 15 times, so I have always felt comfortable there. All of the doctors and nurses spoke english, although in my case I speak some spanish, so I really didn't need it. Good luck to you in your choice. It is an important one. Make sure you do lots of research as the first doctor I chose I found out had his medical license suspended in Canada before moving his practice to Mexico.
so I have been having a terribly hard time deciding on which Dr in Mexico to choose for my Vertical sleeve. All of the drs listed with this site seem to have good reviews, I just can't deiced. I almost feel like I should just put their names in a hat in pick one. Does Tijuana seem like the best city to go to? Any thoughts about any of this would be very helpful!!
Dr. Lopez, $4600 for the sleeve but I paid an additional $1500 to have single incision.
