This is WAY over the top!

I had my surgery with Dr. Almanza and had no problems whatsoever! It was a wonderful experience and I will be going back there for plastics and my mom is going to be going there for plastics as well. Dr. Betancourt is an absolutely amazing man if you get to know him. He has a special demeanor with his patients and truly cares about each and every person there. When I got home and had my stitches taken out my doctor stated that the surgeon had done a pristine job and that it looked wonderful. Every doctor is going to have some cases of infection and some complaints...I can't tell you how many times I've had negative experiences in U.S. hospitals...and they can't wait to get rid of you. I never felt that way when I was in Mexico. I wish you all the luck in the world in choosing a doctor.

Well the first post freaked me out as I plan on having surgery there soon and the second post disgusted me.

When you cancelled your surgery, were you able to get your deposit back?

No,actually it is not possible for you to request only certain info. this is a public forum and anyone can post what ever they want on it.

I see that several people who have had good experiences have made that known. I am still waiting for the ones who have had bad experiences to post.

Oh,and about Claudia,the 16 year old nurse? She is in high school in the morning and nurses school the afternoon.She will graduate from both this year. she is apparently a prodigy and has skipped some grades.

Just because it is Mexico doesn't mean they don't have prodigies. And the driver turned OR tech? Maybe he finished his nursing school and got his nursing degree also.

The fact of the matter is, you really don't know what you are talking about. IMHO you have spent way too much time talking to Midwesterngrl. You are spouting the same "facts" that she spouts,also without any back up to prove what you say.

Have any of those posters with feeding tubes and leaks and perforations posted yet?

"spouting" was a figure of speech no offense intended.
 I don't need a bridge,thanks,but looks like you have already bought one!

I,personally,have never seen but one horror story posting on this forum. there may be more. I have see no post on perforated bowel, feeding tubes, or leaks .I have seen several posts from patients of US surgeons who have been on feeding tubes for months,however.

It is certainly the common goal that everyone should have a wonderful weight loss experience.I just can't see where you can honestly and educatedly say that EVERY patient who goes to dr. almanza and Bettancourt will have problems.

I know you have done all this research and spoken with all these people who have had all these terrible complications. I have asked you,already,  on this thread to please point out to me where on this forum you have become aware of these incidences. I am not asking for names,just the same threads you have seen. Not only did you not address my request,but you havent posted any threads either.

See,it seems to me that you are way too excited to post about some problems at this clinic. You are almost ESTATIC that there were problems. it seems to me you have some other vested interest in trying to turn patients off from using them. I don't think you really care about the ones who have gone before and had problems or those who are coming after,who nobody even knows will or won't have a problem.

So, My time is my own and I will continue this thread till you answer my questions. I posted my PROOF that there were 24(23 if you take out PFM,who i have not spoken to yet) posters who have had excellent experiences. So far,I have counted 3(please correct me if I am wrong) posters on this thread who were not pleased. None of those three have had any major problems. Majority usually rules.

I am still waiting for the other posters you have so graciously invited to post.

~~Spouting??? midwestern girl??? I have not been spouting..I am offended by that statement! I have never spoke to a midwestern girl...should I?~~

MWG here, nice to spout at you. ;o)

Some people.... you know?  They'll believe anything if it will suit their desires.

Dr. Almanza is a fine and experienced (although quite young) VSG surgeon.

The clinic, the recovery house and overall experience is iffy at best.

I was surgery #6 on my day of surgery  - plus there was some kind of emergency revision that came in and delayed the whole day. I didn't even go into the OR until almost 7pm. With each passing hour I became more and more nervous that doctor fatigue would in some way harm me - or worse.

I had my surgery there October 22, 2009. On March 9th, 2010 my PCP advised that my surgical wounds are (FINALLY) healed. 4 1/2 months for my surgical incisions to heal!! My incisions were badly infected -- presumably by the sutures that were used by Emmanual that day (my PCPs assumption).

Later, with the high # of infection incidents being reported, Dr. Betancourt did, in fact, advise (via Shirley) that it was all caused by a bad batch of sutures. Why some who went there during that time period had very serious infections and others (like me!) were lucky to just have local site infections, I'll never know. But I do know that I had to be given two more rounds of strong antibiotic and was packing wounds up until about two weeks ago.

My complaints:
1) Too many surgeries in 1 day - unsafe by any standards.
3) Nurses didn't use gloves.
4) Recovery house had very low beds, hard to get in an out of post-op.
5) Recovery house had visiting dogs that urinated and pooped everywhere. They were cute and I love dogs. I just didn't think it was appropriate considering all the new, raw post-ops residing there.

Overall the people are very nice. And the price was right. And VSG is a relatively easy procedure for an experienced surgeon, which Dr. Almanza is. HOWEVER I would ask myself a few important questions before booking with this outfit:

1) Why are there not similar posts about Joya, Aceveses, Pompa, Alvarez, etc....? Or not to the extent. It seems that most all the controversy revolves around one particular clinic.
2)  Is any complication worth the extra $1-2K it would cost to go to a clinic/hospital where there doesn't seem to be the level of controversy?

I hope this helps. Oh...and don't EVEN THINK about getting collagen via this clinic. I have been living with a big disaster since 10/22! 

I am the poster that commented on Dr. Betancourt's sexual orientation. In no way did I bash him, he runs a business, and does a fine job of it.  Also, I am not in any way judging him. My personal beliefs are just that, nothing more. I was simply relating my POSITIVE experience. And I also mentioned that I am glad I was unaware, and I am glad that I went there. 
I am not really sure exactly what the problem is with Betancourt. I can say that I was warned about him before I had surgery. A legitimate, very intelligent poster here on OH warned me against going there, out of concern for my well being.  This had nothing to do with Dr. Almanza, just a warning about Betancourt. And while I was there, I did have one odd experience. It may have been nothing, but to be completely honest, I will relate it. Right about the time I was being wheeled into the OR, Dr. Betancourt breezed through, smiling and talking. Every single person in the OR stopped talking, stopped smiling, got real still  and looked stressed. It was just weird and kind of creepy.   But is this about Betancourt or Almanza?
This thread addresses the care and conditions at Jerusalem Clinic, the statement- " the generalization everyone does to say the clinic is OK??? "   What do you mean by that?  The clinic WAS ok. It was spotlessly clean, as was the recovery house. I was cared for very well the whole time I was there. My husband was well cared for also.
In the states I have never been treated so kindly, as I was in Mexico.  The nurses were not 16, and they all wore gloves. Maybe this is a new practice, but that is how it was when I was there. Every single person there was wonderful.
I don't doubt at all that some people have gotten sick, and some very sick. If you chose to have surgery in the US, you would have recourse. By going to Mexico, you give up that right. On their behalf, they seem to do everything possible to help the people that come to them, in any way they can. They cannot help someone after they are back in the US. There was a poster a few weeks ago that had a lapband go bad the day after it was put in, and Dr. Almanza redid his surgery and gave him a sleeve instead. No surgeon in America is going to do a second surgery for free. Was it Dr. Almanzas fault the lap band went bad? I do not know, but he did take care of the situation.
Surgeries go wrong and there are bad outcomes here in America as well.
I just don't think it would be right to give a whole post of one sided information and scare people away from going where they can afford to go, to have surgery that can save their life. That would be terrible. This surgery has changed my life. I am so very glad I had it done. I could not have afforded to have it done by those other docs in mexico. They charge a lot more. If I could pay 10 thousand dollars, I would have had the surgery here in the states. There are several doctors in the US that charge around that (Dr. Borland and others).
I try to be fair in my posts, giving the positive and negative, to help others make an informed choice of their own. But scare tactics really have no place here.