Lots of information needed!

I will find out around noon today if I will have to finance the surgery or not. If I do, I will definitely travel to Mexico for surgery. Can anyone give me information on how to go about financing the surgery? Also, I need information on how to choose a good dr. I've read a lot about Dr. Joya, but I'm concerned with the amount of complications he's had. I am considering the lap-band procedure because of the quick recovery time and lack of hair loss. I have four small children, so I can't be in bed too long!!! : ) Also, if I choose the lap-band, does anyone know of any drs in Arkansas that will do fills? Right now, I'm trying to go through Dr Baker's office in Litte Rock. If I don't get insurance coverage, I can't afford to finance the surgery through his office, so I'll go to Mexico and I am pretty sure that he said he does not do fills if he didn't do the surgery! Does anyone know if PCP's can do fills or does it have to be a bariatric surgeon? I'm willing to drive a good distance(6 hrs or so) to get fills. Please help! Thanks a lot! Karen

Several patients have been happy with Dr. Joya. However, Dr. Valencia has wonderful credentials as well, and has fewer patients so he can manage more one on one care for each individual. He can be researched at www.alighterme.com Good luck. If you want to know what I went through by going to Mexico, please feel free to browse my profile. I have many blogs and MY STORY tells it all. Jen

I am a dr joya patient and had no complications as it is with most of his patients. there have been a few on here lately that have had complications, one had a BMI of over 70, no dr in the US would have even tried to help her because of her BMI. As they would not risk adding a complication to there resume. Another one of them was someone who had a lung problem if I remember correctly and the problem would have been there no matter who performed the surgery.  You can go to www.drjoya.com and read his message forum as that is where most of his patients post. As far as financing I know most of these dr's offer financing, I just put it on my master card and got some miles

For me it was Dr. Aceves all the way. He, his staff and the hospital were great. I called a PC and she gave me all the info about financing in am email.  I picked the one that seemed the best for me and was approved in a day.

For your fills you will want someone familiar with bands and how to fill them, they use a special needle so that your port is not punctured. Look into Fill Centers USA they are begining to pop up everywhere.

The most important thing to do is your research, the numbers and stats they promote may not be true and thats the same here in the US. So you have to verify everything don't just take someones word for it.

This  link was very helpful for me.  I hope this helped.

Here's a few links of financing sites... http://www.medicredit.com/              http://www.p-f-s.com/ http://www.cogentfinancialgroup.com/    http://www.mymedicalfinancing.com http://www.surgeryloans.com http://www.citerrafinancial.com/ http://www.capitalonehealthcarefinance.com/  Best wishes in your research! ~Michelle

Thanks Michelle....That's a big help!  Do you know anything about Dr Ungson?  I am thinking about DS. Thanks Dee PS....Love your recipes!

Not personally no (I've had three surgeries in Mexico but different Dr.'s) but here is his OH page with patient reviews perhaps you could PM some of his past patients most are very willing to share thier experiences: http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/bariatric+surgeon+r eviews+Gilberto+Ungson+mbs.html Best wishes ~Michelle

The entire staff at www.obesitygoodbye.com is very friendly and caring. You feel this from the minute you walk in the door. A majority of the staff speaks english and there is not a language barrier. Dr. Verboonen himself is very well spoken and knowledgeable of his profession. Aftercare is well documented as Dr. Rios, Dr. Fryare or Betty will call and check on you. All practice good bedside manner. Julio, the driver, was very accommodating and helpful. I strongly recommend this surgeon.  They pick you up at the airport and take you to Tijuana .  The hotel is usually included in the price.  Another member on OH mentioned that during his research, he found that Dr. Verboonen was investigated by the FBI for insurance fraud.  I do not know about that but I was very satisfied with the surgery, treatment, follow-up, and the results that I received. Eugene

WOW!!! Thank you all so much for all of the great information. I still have not heard from my insurance company...say a prayer for me. I would much rather go through the cheaper route. I spoke with someone that works with Dr. Valencia today. She was very nice and explained everything to me. However, the only thing  I was concerned with was the fact that fills by American drs are so expensive when you go to them after having surgery in Mexico. One secretary told me that it was $750 for each fill!!! And that's after the initial fee of $1000!!! Who do they think we are? Rich people? If we had tons of money, wouldn't we just have stayed close to home and paid a surgeon locally? There's no way I can afford that! So, if I have to go to Mexico, I'll definitely have to get the RNY gastric bypass so that I won't have to worry about fills. I just pray that everything goes well! I've just been really nervous about my hair falling out and having the dumping syndrome all of the time. I've heard bad stories. And I've also heard that with gastric bypass, you are llikely to gain lots of weight back. I want to be educated enough on what to eat that I won't gain any back. Suggestions are always welcome. Thanks again! Karen

It costs me about the same to have fills in Mexico (200 - 250 flight + 150 for the fill)or in Tampa, Florida(350 for the fill + 30-40 gas).  The person that does the fills in Tampa is a nurse practitioner. It is hard to research for the fills.  The nurse practitioner that I speak of does not advertise that she does fills.  So my best advice is to call around and ask alot of question.  The fill proceedure seems pretty simple so there has got to be a lot of people that do them but many try to overcharge us for going out of state.  It is nothing more than a saline shot and some nasty thickened food-colored water so it cant be that expensive to do. Eugene