MAJOR COMPLICATIONS @ EMMANUEL MEDICAL CENTER DR ALMANZA

I don't consider checking to see how she might be doing "resurrecting" this post. If I had wanted to resurrect the pot I would have posted a link to it on another forum.

It was for my own desire to find out the end of the story. You must admit it is unusual for people to post accounts such as this with no follow up posts to say how are they doing.

I have thought a lot about this situation and realized there were questions I had not thought to ask in the beginning. Like the leak tests...is that not a valid question? How was it possible she was cleared of a  leak before she left,after taking 3 leak tests, Then she develops one  and it took 13 days to find it in the states? It doesn;t make sense to me.

If she is a real patient,she should be able to  answer questions like that.

I don't like unfinished business and this is unfinished business for me. I would just like to know,for my own self.

thanks for your reply.
H

I dont know a thing about this doctor or patient but I can tell you that I passed my leak test but I did have a leak. They found it by opening me up .....

Thanks for your reply. that sheds some light on the question for me.
Holly

As a rule, I avoid drama posts.  I don't even know the OP, but the tone of your questions and statements to her seriously made my jaw drop.  It struck me as very hateful.

Fluid in the lungs can be caused by a lot of different things.  Do a Google search on Pulmonary Edema.  You made an assumption that she has pneumonia and also implied that if she did have pneumonia that she caused it.  IMO, that's quite a leap. 

You say that "Everyone else" received their x-rays?  How would you know this?  All you can speak on is your own personal experience or maybe what someone told you.

Regarding your incredulity over the delay in diagnosing her leaks, you are blessed to have been sheltered.  I had a chronic pain problem that was misdiagnosed after numerous diagnostic tests for over 20 years.  13 days is nothing! 

I can understand  the OP not writing a follow up.  If I'd received the toxic feedback that she did previously, I would have been hesitant to post here again too.  She has apparently kept in touch with people who she feels are truly empathetic with her plight. 

I didn't intend for my questions to siynd "hateful". they were just some things I wondered about after giving the whole situation some thought. 

I did not assume she had pneumonia nor that fluid in the lungs is only pneumonia. Please reread the post I sail fluid in the lungs CAN be pneumonia. It is not unusual for post operative patients to get pneumonia since it hurts to move around ,cough and deep breathe. I was trying to figure out what was what in my mind.

I suppose I have been medically sheltered and feel blessed for that. The info I had researched on leaks did not include leakd say or weeks out of surgery. they were genuine questions.

I know that EVERYone Else who was at the clinic and went to the radiologist at the same time I did came out with their x-rays.  We were looking at them and comparing noted while one of the girls had an ultrasound since she was having a lot of pain and was discovered to have huge gallstones. she got two. While I certainly can't speak for EVERYONE in the world who has had aVSG, it was used in the understood  figure of speech,such as "you" often is.

She did in fact post a reply,two in fact. I appreciate her willingness to answer my questions and am getting ready to tell her so in reply.
Thanks for your reply,
hOLLY

Think dollar signs and attempting to discredit a very real patient.  I have her name, phone number, and email address.  Just spoke with her yesterday.

She had a leak, MRSA, and recently discovered the pancreatic damage from surgery is forever.  Never to get better.

No,I certainly include myself in those who are concerned and want to know.

I didn't say she was a liar. I said that Dr. almanza's office has no record of a patient by this name. I don't know whether this is a fake or not and neither does anyone else.

If she is a real patient,I definatey want to offer my support. I am just not convinced she is a real patient. I won't just go along with everyone else unless I am convinced.

I am interested in the outcome because I don't like unfinised business. Untill we know the end of the story it is unfinished.
H

I find it laughable that a surgery center having been run any length of time would have NEVER had a patient named "Marie S".... 

MARIE is the #44 most common female first name

I really didn't want to get in this debate but that just hit me as "funny" and very hard to beleive.

PS I don't know anything about these Drs other than what I read.... once I started leaning toward the one I chose I didn't see any reason to investigate any other, so I am not making any kind of statement about the Dr. in question.  Just wanted to make that clear ;)

Marie....

One of Betancourt's coordinators finally speaks out!

www.obesityhelp.com/forums/VSG/4144569/Really-freaked-out-Th oughts-re-Dr-Amanza/#33866779

Just wait, the paid posters should be going into attack mode at any moment.

Here is what she writes:


PeanutFreeMom
Canada
Mario Alberto Almanza-Reyes VSG (04/07/09) Member Since: 03/27/09
[Latest Posts]Post Date: 3/25/10 12:32 pm
Hello Emerald,
You may not know me.  I used to post on OH frequently, but since I had my TT and BA in January, I really haven't been posting very much.  To be completely honest, I've been avoiding the boards, because I'm embarrassed by my naiveté.

I don't want to be publically trashing the clinic, this is not at all my intention.  I still believe Dr. Almanza is an excellent surgeon.

I had my surgery with Dr. Almanza last April and I had an absolutely wonderful experience.  So much so, that this fall I started my own company and began to refer people to his clinic.  Up until January, I had a very high opinion of the clinic.  My brother, a doctor, even flew down with me and his best friend had the surgery, which he was able to watch.  Everything was good, very clean, very professional - but the surgery took place at the Hospital Vida, not at the new Jerusalem Hospital.

Of the people I sent there, almost half wound up with incision infections - mostly minor.  At first, I believed the clinic that they were doing everything they could to find out why and to stop the infections.  But, it actually got worse.  Three people I know and met in person in January (one was one of my referrals, one was a woman who attends our support groups's sister, and one was a man I met when I was there in Jan) are all still on feeding tubes from the leaks they had after surgery.  One of them almost died and was on life-support for over a month.  Thankfully she is recovering, although she is still in the hospital and cannot walk on her own.  I spoke to her sister yesterday and she is doing well and is in good spirits, but her sister said that she still does not know that she was the 6th sleeve surgery that day. 

One of my referrals (a nurse) got an infection so bad, that she needed to go to the hospital every day and get her wound packed for two months.  I actually went with her every morning to be with her as it was very painful and I felt responsible.  I eventually learned how to clean and pack her wound, and started doing it for her at her home.  We jokingly referred to it as our little "dates".  I had lunch with her yesterday, and she is doing great now, btw.

Another referral (also a nurse) had a severe infection that took two months to fully heal.  He did post on OH, as did another woman who had her surgery also posted about her infection at the same time (she was accussed of being a paid poster, and she was not, btw).  Most of the infections wound up being minor.  A higher infection rate among obese patients is normal.  But that rate should still be under 3-5%. I got really scared when they continued, and I even called several of my clients before they went and told them about the infections and told them that I thought the clinic had fixed the problem (which I had believed), but if they wanted to cancel they could.

Another patient in December had a leak, which they fixed and she suffered no ill-effects (other than an incision infection) you can read her posts on her blog on OH (ezimmer).  She was the first leak, and at first I thought she was the 1% who will get one.  But as you know, it is higher than 1%.  If I personally know 4 people with leaks in just 2 months, then something is really, really wrong.  To be fair, one of the leaks wasn't Dr. Almanza's fault as that patient was a revision and the leak was from the scar tissue. 

I stopped sending people there after I was there in January because they were doing too many surgeries. One of my referrals came home and told me that she overheard Dr. B say, "Stack em & rack 'em - get 'em in!".  My last patient who ever went there, told me after that she had no blood work done before her surgery, no cardiogram and was just rushed into the OR late in the day.  She was fine, thank god (small infection in the main incision, but it cleared up right away) but she was the 7th surgery that day.  7?!!!  They had promised me no more than 3 sleeves and 2 lapbands in a day. 

How can you clean and prep an OR in that short of a time?  How is there time to clean the equipement between surgeries?  People were sleeping on the floor.  Staff were goining without sleep.  It's just dangerous.  This was not what things were like when I had my surgery.  I had excellent care.  And I wanted excellent care for my people.

I run a small company.  We refer people for weight loss surgery.  We have a support group, we have a clothing exchange, we work with 2 psychologists, and we stay in constant touch with all our people.  I started doing this because I care about people and I just wanted to help others.  In fact, I took a large pay cut to do this and gave up an upper-level management position.  Because I had such a good experience there last year - the last thing I ever expected was this.

Also, on a personal note -  I had my plastics there, and I was (and am) very, very happy with the work Dr. Lara did.  But he was told, and then told me that my stiches were all dissolving stitches.  Well, some of them didn't dissolve.  I emailed him directly (and sent him pictures) to ask him if I should keep waiting, or if I should see my doctor.  He emailed back right away, and told me to get in to see my doctor asap and have them taken out.  Turns out that the stitches were put in the way you would for dissolving, so you couldn't just snip them off, they were tied in internally.  I actually had to have a second surgery at home to get them out and now I have extra scars. Not that's the end of the world that it happened to me... I'm still happy with the outcome. But I couldn't imagine letting anyone I knew go through that.  There are safer places to go.

Sooo, basically, that's why I no longer recommend that clinic.  I think they are nice people, and I think - like me - lots of us have had a wonderful experience there.  But I think they are now doing so many surgeries it's become dangerous.

I have heard of others experiences - people who have posted on OH,but I haven't spoken to them personally, so I just want to stick with what I personally experienced.

I miss being on the boards and I miss all you guys!  I don't want to be a part of the 'surgeon wars' but I don't want to see anyone get hurt either :)

I know some people will be upset that I have posted this, some won't believe me, and some will be upset that I haven't posted my opinion earlier.  And I agree, I should have posted something ealier.  But come what may, I need to - at the very least - be honest about my experience.

Hope that answers your question. 

xo
Mel