Dr. Aguirre

Michelle- Thanks for posting the article. I am extremely saddened for that young lady and her family but the article WAS completely one-sided. I do have a concern though. You know I've been considering him for months now and am planning on having the procedure done in December. My concern stems from the article regarding his credentials. What do you make of that? Is it possible to investigate that, as well as any other surgeons credentials for that matter? Please share. -CollieMac

No problem. Well in the states it's pretty easy to find out about licenses, malpractice suits, ASBS membership, etc. not so much in other countries. To be honest with you I was more concerned with talking to his other patients and hearing what their experiences and outcomes had been. Hope this helps, ~Michelle

Are you still planning on going? I have my sugery 8/4 and I'm a little freaked out now...

Hi Jennifer, I am scheduled for 8/14 and I am still going. The article that was written didn't really line up with my experience with the Dr. so far. He was very emphatic about telling me we would be doing lab work and an ekg before surgery and that he would not allow me to leave unless everything was ok. The surgery is a high risk surgery no matter where you do it. He has performed this on three relatives of mine who have done fantastic and did not have ANY complications at all. In addition to all the wonderful things I have heard about him from everyone on this site. I feel like he is a qualified surgeon. I think you should feel comfortable before you go though! Why not pm some of the other people who have gone before us and talk with them about their experience with Dr. A. Have a great day. Keep in touch. I will be wondering how you are and if you had the surgery or not.

If this is the same person where someone posted a profile about her death, I think the family is on a vendetta and out to do whatever they can to seek revenge. It makes me rather angry that Dr. Aguirre's reputation is being questioned when he has very few complications and fewer deaths. One of the pioneers of the surgery here in Oregon caused a lot of complications and deaths, but he was never ripped like you will find done here. If you look at what has been done for hundreds of his patients who wrote about their experiences here, you will see a completely different story. Dr. Aguirre is a wonderful surgeon. Because she left early and had complications he is to blame? We all share that risk when we have any surgery. I came close to dying when I had my son by c-section here in the good old USA with a well respected perinatologist at the helm. It still didn't mean they didn't do anything wrong and it still resulted in some near disastrous results. The media is looking for something sensational to report on. They don't care about the happy patients....they only want to hear the horror stories. As for me - I'm over 3 years out and doing wonderfully...no complications and very happy with my ATTENTIVE Dr. Aguirre.

I 150% agree. ~Michelle

I'll be honest, reading the article brought on some concern. I have not been dissuaded though. I, however, reconsidered other options here in the states. I had began to "put all my eggs" into Dr. A's basket believing that it was my only option. I know that hearing this story won't put my family at ease, considering they're "not-so-much-approval" of going SOTB. What Michelle said is true: Talking to his former patients and learning about their experiences should be priority. I'm gonna continue to research and keep you all posted. Thanks. -CollieMac

Hi all, I'm still going. I leave in a day and a half.... Although it's scary to hear of a fatality from the DR your going to, the DR here in WI spoke openly about his fatality rate and made sure every one at the seminars knew that death is a possibility. I think where ever you have it, there's that chance. And if it was a blood clot, you could have that anywhere, not just Mexico. I'm traveling with my mom and my sister who both have medical knowledge so I feel pretty confident. Luckliy, my sister has had the surgery and will know some of the warning signs if something bad is happening. Life is a journery!!

Best of luck Jennifer. I'll be sending some prayers for you. I hope you have as smooth a journey as mine has been. ~Michelle