Dr. Aceves Patients?

Anyone out there used him?  My husband and I got to talking about it last night, and when I told him that I was looking into other doctors besides the one he had, he said he had at one point been thinking about using this guy.  On one hand, at first I was a little uneasy about going to Mexico for surgery.  but then again, it's about half the price of what the doctor he used will charge, with twice the amount of recovery time in the hospital (which I may not need, but what if I did, and got into a bind because I would have to pay more to stay longer?)

Any thoughts?

I could not be happier about my experience with Dr. Aceves.  He's a complete professional in his demeanor, yet very friendly, has great credentials and a great history of outcomes with few complications. 

As you mentioned, two of the really important factors for me were length of stay in the hospital (three nights vs. only one if I had used the surgeon my insurance allowed) and that fact that recovery does take place in a hospital.  In many situations in Mexico, recovery is in a hotel.  I wanted a HOSPITAL, with round-the-clock professional nursing staff.  Plus Aceves and his internist, Dr. Campos, visited at least twice a day.  When does that happen in the U.S.?

You won't be sorry if you use Dr. Aceves.  I do recommend that you line up your PCP and get him/her on board beforehand.  You might want to get a relationship going with a G-E beforehand also (i.e., get an endoscopy, and perhaps an h.pylori test?), something I didn't do but would have if I'd thought of it, so that if you do have issues you have the home-based medical support in place.

I have to admit, I was very pleasantly surprised at just how friendly Nina was when she answered the phone... apparently in this case, first impressions may be accurate. 

I plan to see my PCP in the next month or so, and I am doubtful that she will object to my decision to have the surgery.  She was happy to support my husband when he had his VSG, so apparently she is okay with them.  I don't weigh as much as he did, but I'm still well into the "morbidly obese" category, so I will be surprised if she discourages me.  I will also go ahead and see if she has any recommendations for other doctors to visit before and after the surgery.  Thanks for the tip! :)

I went to Dr Aceves in September. I was very nervous, but knew from my research what to expect and it was better than my expectations. My husband was really against going to Mexico, but he even says what great treatment I had! Really, my only way to compare is with having a baby here in Canada, my hospital experience was so much better there! I had terrible pain having my babies, but very little from the sleeve surgery. I was impressed; as was my husband. I am so glad I went to Mexico instead of here - even though here the surgery would have been 'free'. If you'd like more details, please ask. Good luck!

Thanks :)  I spoke with Nina this morning for a while, and she and I were laughing about the fact that I will probably need some kind of medication to calm my nerves the night before the surgery lol... I know I'll be nervous.  Like I told her, I'm the kind of person who needs a xanax to avoid a panic attack before getting a cavity filled haha.  I have to admit that I was very impressed with how friendly and thorough she was.   I may add you as a friend so I can ask you more questions as I think of them, if you don't mind. 

They do give you a sleeping pill the night before, which I've never before taken; it worked great, lol. My husband heard a loud train, but I had no idea we were near a train! My husband probably could have used a pill too, since he really didn't get much sleep (too much going on in the brain - he slept the whole time I was in surgery and recovery. I guess he wasn't too concerned after meeting the team). The doctors are all so great! I really liked the surgical nurse, Sergio. He really made me feel bettter and held my hand while I got the iv. I was out before too long, so I really only felt them put an iv in & I was asleep.

That's neat.  The more I hear of your experience, the more convinced I am that this would be a good decision for me as well.  I think the only way I will be able to make myself this is with a group that understands how scary this can be for a patient, and it sounds like they are just that group.  Such a change from what I have seen in other hospital experiences!

I'm over two years post-op and I was very happy with my experience with Dr. Aceves & Dr. Campos.  My surgery was uneventful and provided with amazing care in the hospital.  My husband who was dead set against my going to Mexico initially, still RAVES about the experience in Mexico.

While I had no complications or issues, they did repair a hiatal hernia during the procedure and I was glad to have had the recovery time in the hospital.

The two top VSG surgeons in Mexico are Dr. Alvarez and Dr. Aceves.  If you are going to Mx, do your research and don't go with the lowest priced surgeons.  Your health is worth paying for a quality surgeon in a real hospital!  Do make sure you have a good provider for your follow-up.

Thanks! :)

Actually, the after care is one thing I was wondering about... can my regular doctor do the follow up appointments, or should it be a particular type of doctor?

Your regular doctor should be able to handle your after care, such as it is.  It will consist of wound care and getting regular bloodwork to make sure you're supplementing with the things your particular body needs.  Most of us need a multi, sublingual B12, iron and calcium at a minimum.  Other things as the bloodwork indicates. 

Aceves staff is also available via email, they check with Aceves on your question get back to you right away.  It isn't Nina, she's pre-op coordination, but it's one of her daughters, Gina I think?  I didn't use that resource much because I didn't need it.  No issues....

BTW, Nina gave us a sleeping pill for the nite before surgery.  (We were in a hotel for that one night.)  I didn't take it because I was afraid I would oversleep the next morning and not make the pickup, which was at 7.