Surgery scheduled for April 8th- Dr. Kelly in Mexico

Hi Everybody,

I'm a newbie here. 

My sister and I are scheduled for surgery with Dr. Kelly in Mexico on April 8th. I've done a ton of research and feel pretty good about our plan. I've heard his practice treats people poorly until the all the monies are received. While I think that's a horrible way to run a business, and they should be embarrassed to treat their patients like that; it doesn't make Dr. Kelly a bad surgeon. I'm trying to keep the two issues separate.

I'd like to hear of your experiences with Dr. Kelly and medical tourism (who knew, it's a real thing?). Please, only positive experiences... I'm nervous enough.

Thanks, Everyone. This forum has been very helpful and I look forward to your feedback.

I have no experience with medical tourism, but just wanted to say congrats on getting a surgery date and welcome to the site.

Hi Gidgy,

I currently live in the Dominican Republic for business reasons and had my procedure done here by an amazing doctor by the name of Edgar Leinó and would recommend him and his clinic, CECIP, eyes closed to anyone. I did a LOT of resear*****luding visits to a couple of surgeons in the states and talking to quite a few local doctor friends and their friends about the clinic before choosing to do this at home and with Dr. Leinó. I watched the video of the surgery and honestly speaking he did a better job than most of the videos I've seen on you tube. So my opinion is, it's not the place it's the staff. Make sure you're going to someone who knows what the heck they're doing, laparoscopic vsg may be simple procedure medically speaking but it's still a surgery and there are life-threatening risks involved. Not to mention the fact that initial post-op care by the nurses is the among the most crucial parts of the procedure. The nurses at CECIP treated me like I was their own grandchild, pampering and looking over me like a sick baby for the first 12 hours of my recovery.

So again, my opinion is it's not the geography it's the sociology. IF you're in the hands of an experienced, serious surgeon with a well equipped and mannered staff, you'll be fine.

At the same time I can tell you that there's a clinic not far from where I live where they're literally killing people doing this procedure, at least a dozen people die each year from medical malpractice at said clinic, and as long as they keep paying the local officials there's never gonna be an issue for them. So, and I cannot stress this enough, DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH INTO ANY CLINIC YOU'RE GOING TO.

I  had surgery at MBC in Tijuana Mexico on 10/15/15. I did have a complication but then my aunt did too and she had her surgery done here in Kansas. The company I went through was amazing., they picked us up from the airport got us checked in took us to and from the hospital, shopping after surgery and back to the airport. good luck in Mexico. its worth it... I just had to have gallbladder surgery and the dr looked at my "sleeve" and his words were "it looked amazing". so the company that is bad definitely does not mean bad dr. just keep that in mind and also keep in mind why you are having this done! you will be in my thoughts and prayers!

I had my surgery with Dr. Fernando Garcia in Tijuana but I considered Dr. Kelly.  His coordinator was extremely rude to me, so I ended up choosing someone else.  I am extremely happy with my results.  Having surgery in is scary on its own but to do it in another country is extremely nerve racking.  I know how you feel but I do not regret my surgery for a minute and only wish I had done it sooner.  I have heard good things about your surgeon.  Good luck to you.

Thank you for the positive feedback. I really appreciate it. I wasn't nervous at all until this week. I just need to keep reading good stories. Thanks, Sandra and I'm so happy to hear you're doing well. 

Well?? How did it go?? Super curious as I am thinking of booking with him too.

Hi there,

It went well and I feel great! Down 42 pounds since April 8.

Dr. Kelly and his team are all very good at their jobs. They have thought of everything so you can just focus on yourself while you're there. 

This process,regardless of who your surgeon is, is not easy. Having said that, I would do it again without hesitation. 

I recommend Dr. Kelly. He is a caring and talented surgeon. Let me know what you decide. 

I'm posting from my phone so more later when I'm at an actual keyboard. :-)

Gidgygirl

Thanks for the reply. I understand it may be difficult but I have struggled with weight since puberty ( I have PCOS). I have tried every other approach with no lasting results, so like many others I have decided that vsg is my best option. Did you have surgery at the hospital or clinic?

 Hi. Oh no, don't get me wrong, I wasn't trying to talk you out of anything. I just wanted to reiterate that the process is not as easy as some may think. I am so happy I did it! It's the best thing of ever done for myself. 

 My surgery was done at the clinic. Everything went very smoothly. My BMI was 31 so I was an appropriate candidate for the clinic. I think, you will need to double check, that 45 is the cut off for the clinic.  Not that I ever want to cut corners want to comes to my health but I was able to save a couple thousand dollars by going to the clinic. It was very clean, run professionally, and the nurses were great.  There was a little bit of a language barrier her but nothing that we couldn't figure out. 

 I  would recommend bringing cash for any money you owe to Dr. Kelly. They are a little strange when it comes to credit cards. I used cash but others used credit cards and had issues. Nothing that wasn't resolved but it took a while. 

 I hope all of this is helpful. Please feel free to ask me any questions.  I have no regrets and would go to Dr. Kelly if I had to do it all over again. Thank God I don't! :-)