Mexico or no Mexico

A big differance in price going to Mexico for lap band surgery. Can anyone weigh in on the other differances? I am in the begining of this process. I am self Pay so it makes a differance to me. Input needed thanks

I was a self pay too. I thought about going to Mexico myself, however, DH was to afraid. So I went to South Valley Surgical in Sandy and had the band done by Dr. Hansen. I paid just under $13,000. It also included a full year of office visits and adjustments as needed plus support group. One thing you need to do BEFORE you decide to go to Mexico is make sure you have a local dr in place and ready to take over on your after care - fills, weigh ins, etc. There is the Fill Center in Salt Lake City. They charge $275 for your initial visit and $175 for each visit thereafter. My surgeon's office charges $200 a YEAR starting the second year out for unlimited office visits and adjustments. It's $250 a year if you want to add support group meetings to it also. I know that RMAP also does the lap band. But I'm not sure what their program is. I think there is a dr in Payson who does fills but I don't know much more then that. Good luck! Tammy

Who is the doctor in Sandy I am self pay and i am trying to decide where to go and how to do the surgery? I live in Sanpete County but i will go where ever i need to go. Please E-mail me back with what ever info you have on the doctor and Financing. [email protected] Cara

I am glad that you asked this question also. I am in the midst of trying to decide too. I am leaning more toward staying in the U.S. I just got a referral for a surgeon in Orem who is supposed to be great. I called him last week. We'll see what happens. I am actually in Southern Utah, so it's still a traveling distance for me.

I too thought about going to Mexico to have my surgery, but the worry about not being near to my doctor should anything go wrong was too big of a concern for me. I too went with South Valley Surgical www.svsurgical.com. They have a GREAT program. Preliminary workshops, monthly support groups, 1 year of aftercare. Their program director and several of the staff are fellow lap-band patients, so they totally "get" the whole process! (does it sound like I am biased? ha ha ha! I am totally biased) I have some friends who did go to Mexico, and the biggest problem with that is follow-up care. Because, if you do not have the follow-up care (fills and unfills when you need them) you might as well not get the surgery because it will not work. The hospital where the doctor in Payson does the fills just raised their price, I think it is now almost $500 for a fill there. I had my surgery over 3 years ago, and had about 6 fills the first year, and maybe 3 adjustments the 2nd year. If you add that up at even $350 per fill, that is over $3000. Which is about what you would save by having the surgery in MX. Just something to think about. There is a group of Utah Bandsters who gets together for dinner once a month, and you would be more than welcome to join us anytime! We have people who have not had the surgery yet and people who are contemplating the surgery. It is a great opportunity to talk to people and find out about their experiences. There are several people who participate in the dinners who had their surgery in MX too, and some of them take the day off and fly to San Diego and go down to Tiajuana to get their fills and spend about the same as driving to Payson. Lots of options. Anyways, the next dinner (it is usually on the 3rd Monday of the month) is this coming Monday, February 19th at 6:00 p.m. Ruby Tuesday's 3318 SOUTH DECKER LAKE DRIVE WEST VALLEY CITY, UT 84119 Phone: 801-972-1897 (Just east of I-215 on 35th South, by the E-Center) Please let me know by 3:00 p.m. On the 19th if you are planning on joining us. See you there! Feel free to email me if you have any questions! [email protected] Allison

Same situation.  I weighed my options and went. With surgery, options are weighed ... risks and benefits.  Death can occur so that is the big factor.  But weighed with living a life obese, with comorbidites?  Death has looked good from time to time.  Nah, but coming close... the chronic joint pain is what did it for me.... SURGERY.

Now, Mexico or not.  $7,000 vs $13-20,000?   That's a no brainer for a single mother of three.  I did the research, checked on former patients... and I went to Mexico. Was better than I expected as I've lived in third world countries before for my work.  I've delt with substandard health care and MDs who had education in Fiji and Phillipines, to name a few. Mexico was GREAT!   What matters to me is cleanliness and education and for the MD, experience.  (Oh, and is he behind on his mortgage?... you can figure that one out) If I ever need surgery again in the future... I will not hesitate to consider Mexico again.