Need a Mexico contact

Alrighty my fellow FARTing losers!!! I need some reference info for surgeons in Mexico. A very close friend is wanting to get the info to investigate ca$h options and I have promised to start gathering info to guide her. Anyone who has had surgery in Mexico, plese send me info about your experiences (good & bad). Thanks, Danny

I have read about Dr Joya, Hes an option for me if I can't get insurance to cover VSG or I just get fed up adn drop the cash. 12,500 includes airfare and hotel  http://www.drjoya.com/

I should admit up front I have no idea what surgery runs in Mexico.  I remember researching foreign options a number of years ago and considering it heavily because the price (Costa RIca, Netherlands) was about $15000 below what doctors (in Boston, at that time) were quoting.  Subsequently, I moved to Alabama and found a good surgeon with an excellent record, and I was surprised to learn that his self-pay prices were much lower.  The numbers aren't in my head exactly, but I believe it was about $13,500 band and $16,500 rny (total total cost, with followups, which is a fraction of what my insurance ended up paying him).  That was low enough for me to decide that I wasn't going foreign if I had to pay myself.  The prices I remembered from my years-prior research just weren't different enough to justify the travel expense, lack of family support, potential communication problems, and potential safety/follow-up care concerns.  It's possible there are even better deals out there from good domestic doctors.  I would suggest a search concentrating on doctors in low cost-of-living urban areas of the country who use physician-owned hospitals (meaning they can cut a hospital-charge deal for you, which is the biggest cost).  That will at least allow her to decide what her jumping-off price is for foreign options, should she still consider that route.

Hey Dan..... Glad youare spreading the word.....Talk with Tracey Wilkerson...you know Gina A's boyfriend....he had his done in Mexico...and speak highly of his doc... W ned to have a guys night out Russ

Danny, I had RNY in Mexico in December 2006. I did a whole lot of research! I used Dr. Joya in Puerto Vallarta, and there are a few other very experienced, very successful and very respected surgeons and facilities in Mexico. Many of the doctors in the US performing LapBand proctored under these Mexico doctors, as they are the Inamed Protors and have been doing these procedures years ahead of the doctors in the US. I would recommend Joya 100%. It was a great experience all around. I have his cell phone number, and he answers it when you need to call him, unless he is in surgery. His experience is in the hundreds for both RNY and LapBand. He also does the vertical sleeve and a few others. He is one of the "Go To" men in North America, should you need a revision or other very complicated procedure. There are a few very good doctors in Monterrey, too. Rumbaut, comes to mind. He is arguably one of the most experienced and successful WLS doctors in the world. The hospital in Monterrey is state of the art, with full trauma center. Should our president or US official suffer serious illness or trauma South of the US border, they run them to Monterrey, not Houston which is what I figured they did. If they are planning LapBand, it is very VERY important for them to have a local doctor that will support them upon there return to the US for follow up and fills, etc. Many US Docs will do it, as many of them proctored with them. They key is to set it up in advance. The MX doctor can help find a local Doctor that will support them. RNY in MX runs anywhere from $8,500 to about $20K depending on the doctor and facility you choose. Joya and Rumbaut are on the upper end of that range, but are the most experienced and with the best support staff and facilities. I think Joya is running RNY for $12,500, all included. (Air, hotel, etc... is all included.) LapBand is a few grand less. Anyone that tells you that Mexican doctors or facilities are inferior to US doctors and facilities is simply misinformed. Especially when it comes to WLS, as they have been doing the procedures for many years longer than their US counterparts. Email me anytime, if you have any other specific questions. I did a bunch of research, and I am happy to share the information. Take care. JP