Trying to pick a surgeon

I'm torn between going with Dr Rodriguez for the DS, or Dr Ungson. I know Dr Ungson is more experienced, but his cost is 3,000 more, and I'm not comfortable with the way patient recovery is handled. (Patients stay in a nearby hotel under the care of a nurse, rather than in the hospital) Also, it's farther to travel for me, and the hospital in Tijuana is older than star medica in Juarez. And I'm also concerned that Ungson does not require a pre-op endoscopy, but Rodriguez does.... Ugh. I just wish I could find someone to talk to who had had the DS with Rodriguez. Im only concerned about his experience level. I did find a post in the Mexico forum from someone who had had him do it 2009, but I'm guessing she's no longer active on OH.

What is everyone's opinion about dr Lopez? I did see a happy customer of his on the Mexico forum.

I've heard nothing but rave reviews of Dr Ungson's after care and follow up. He's been well vetted by the DS community here as you can see on www.dsfacts.com. I know nothing of the surgeons and programs you're thinking about though. Sorry.

--gina

 

Dr Unison and potentially Dr Aceves are the only two to go to in Mexico.

Dr. Ungson  has many, many fans.  I would take the lack of DS patients for Rodriguez as a sign that maybe your well-being is worth more than money.  The last person who chose a MX surgeon to save some money wound up $100,000 in debt after American docs had to fix her up after she almost died.  It wasn't Rodriguez, but the reason was the same.  If not Ungson, Dr. Stewart in TX has reasonable self pay rates.

You're probably tired of hearing from me by now...and I do understand that 3K is a substantial amount of money...but this is major surgery and your health and life we are discussing here. Do you ever watch The People's Court? Judge Milian has a Spanish expression which translates in English to something like "the cheap comes out expensive". there are some areas in life where you can safely save money. This isn't one of them.

The fact that the hospital in TJ is "older" isn't necessarily a good quality. We have heard nothing but positive comments about the hospital and quality of care at Dr. Ungson's hospital, including from patients or their relatives in the nursing profession who went there for their DS. Comments like how the hospitals in the USA aren't as clean as this one, for example. And as far as the hotel goes, they are accustomed to having DS post-ops stay there, and someone from Dr. Ungson's team visits daily.

And as to why you feel you need a pre-op endoscopy, I have no idea. Unless you are having a problem with your band (which you haven't mentioned, and I hope not!) I don't see the need for it. Any issues with scar tissue will be on the outside of the stomach, not the inside. Endoscopy won't see them.

You can keep on trying to find someone, anyone, who has had a DS with Dr. Rodriguez, but it sounds like you have make a sincere effort and are coming up empty. This would tell me he doesn't do the DS often, if at all, and esp for a revision patient, even "just" from a band, that isn't good.

Larra

Thanks everyone. It's pretty clear what the groups opinion is. I'm in contact with Dr Ungson, but still undecided. Its not just the cost of the surgery itself, but the airline tickets are double the cost, and Ungson requires his patients to stay a minimum of seven days according to his website, which would mean me taking more time off work as well. And I'm still not comfortable with the thought of staying in a hotel to recover. The endoscopy is to check for ulcers I believe, something you can't find just doing a physical, blood work, and EKG, which is all Ungson does.

And yes I have tried hard to find DS patients of Rodriguez's, and I did find one on here, I just couldn't get in touch with her. She had had it in 2009 and I'm assuming is no longer posting on here. But that's a good sign, right? She's probably out enjoying life. I will go and try to find her name, to see if any of you remember her.

Ugh.... Nevermind. I found the post, but she had the VSG with Rodriguez.

Not necessarily a good sign....she could be dead too.  

Staying local for 7 days isn't asking too much, especially for a revision.  You seem to lack the brevity of how serious of a surgery you're about to have.  He wants you local so he can address any complications that may arise.  The other doc, if he wants to send you away, plans on having you deal with complications on your own.  Can you afford to stay home at home if something goes wrong with no doc understanding what was done to you?    I was still a listless mess after 7 days and couldn't even imagine traveling that early. Even my doc here in Ohio required patients to stay local for 2 weeks if they lived more than an hour away.

Here's someone who went to a doc in TJ with questionable reputation to save a couple bucks:

http://www.obesityhelp.com/member/secretagentwoman/

Read her blog from 2010.  Unfortunately, she shared the short-version of her story on a thread that was removed this week.  She almost died and had to go on television at home to find a doc to help her.  Her 'blue plate surgery special' cost her well over $100k in debt to save her life.

 

Yes Valerie, I had heard about her, and I read her blog....scared stuff.

I asked Dr Ungson about Dr Rodriguez and he said that he knew him, and that they were friends, and that he was a very expert surgeon, but didnt know if he was doing the DS now or not.

Great Not a lot of help there.

I was hoping he would at least tell me if he had heard good thing or bad things about Rodriguez and the DS, but he just said that his own practice has been doing it the longest in Mexico.