Dr. Salvador Valencia ( be aware)

I had a very bad experience with Dr. Valencia I believe he may be a con artist be careful he over charged me for surgey I was surpose to have a Gastric BYpass surgery and a lapband removal he charged me 13,900.00 but he said my lapband was in my stomach so he removed the band and I never got the bypass surgery.  Because he said it was dangerous however he wouldn't return any money to me and then he said I could come back to have the bypass and he would only charge $10,000. I paid $13,900.00 dollars for a lapband revision and no bypass surgery The Dr. then told me I can have the surgery again and he will give me a discount and only charge me for the hospital fees and the cost would be $10,000.00 for the bypass surgery. So my total cost for a lapband removal and bypass surgery would end up costing me $23,900.00 if I decide to go back and have the bypass surgery.  Beware he over charges the hospital was horrible I don't want to sound so mad but I feel ripped off and I don't want other people like me feeling depressed about her weight while Dr's like this take advantage.
Now I can't afford to have the bypass surgery becuase the Dr. is a rip off. :(
Has anyone had the same experience with this Dr?.

Sorry to hear about what happened. You should post this on every forum that way people will know to get something in writing ahead of time when they go in for a revision to what will happen if it can not be done.
I really can't see your doctor being the one to blame here. He saved your life by not doing it.

That just breaks my heart to hear, those of us that have to go to Mexico for surgery do it for our health and the fact our INS will not help us. Then to be screwed over by a Dr. who you paid to help you. If you charged it on a card you can get the money back from your bank. I would spend every minute of every hour posting on websites and blogs letting people know what he did to you. It's funny how some bad PR on websites can get your money back.
I was very lucky to have found Dr Joya and it has been 8 months today since my surgery and I am a new woman no longer sick and on so many pills I lost count and so much insulin I looked like a pin cushion. Now I am diabettes free and run circles around my friends and family.

You need to let people know what this guy did and stop it from happening to tohers. With people who are lead by money , they don;t like having  people telling the truth.

That may be your opinon of the hosiptal but I didn't have the same great experience as you did 
no one spoke english I hardly saw Dr. Valencia  I had to have the nurse call Dr. Valencia more than once to find out when he would be droping by. I never stay at the hotel I was in the hospital for 2 nights.  Then when I came home Dr. never called to check on me a week later I called Sandy the lady that booked the surgery she was no longer booking sugeries for him she would say why Sandy then contact the Dr. to cal me.

Sandy was the only blessing in this whole ordeal she help me so much I cryed lot I was so upset an very dipressed about this experience.  


Also for the cost I paid 13,900.00 I for Bypass and a Lapband revision I payed extra for the lapband removal of 2,000.00 then after that the Dr. told me he would work with by charging me only $10,000.00 saying that would only be the hospital charge only. Then I asked in if he could reburse me $2000.00 I paid for the lapband removal he said no he charge whatever he wants to.


I would never recommend him to any of my friends or even my enemy. I had surgery in Mexico before with another Dr. And I rec'd excellent care.

 
 

I am so sorry you had such a poor experience. All the doctors checked on me several times/day and even in my hotel they checked daily and came to see me the night before I flew home.

I still remain in contact with Dr. Valencia and I have attended lap band bashes (parties) in Seattle with him and I know why he is not longer using Sandy for his representative. It was a "no fault" thing and they remain friends.

In many Mexican hospitals, the nursing staff doesn't speak english or very little. I took it upon myself to learn some phrases before going down there, such as "Call my doctor", or "I have pain" Or "I would like some ice, please". I speak broken Spanish anyway and I would like to learn more.

Did Dr. Valencia explain to you why he could not complete the surgery? What was going on inside your stomache that he felt was too much of a risk to continue at that time? I knew before hand that if my liver wasn't firm (because I failed to follow his pre-op diet) that he might not be able to get to the stomach easy enough and safely enough to perform a safe surgery that he might just close me up and tell me to go home and I would lose my money. I would have to follow his diet plan, and come back and pay the money again.

I think with revisions, there is a risk that they can't complete them as expected. Not just Dr. Valencia, but other doctors too. If you were self pay in the USA, and had to have a revision, and the doctor couldn't finish... would the doctor here in the USA offer your money back? Would they perform the next surgery for free? I think these are valid questions.

Once again, I am sorry you had a bad experience in Mexico, but I don't think you should place all the blame on Dr. Valencia.

Dr. Valencia is my doctor. I had no complications and I didn't feel overcharged. My experience in the hospital in Ensenada was great. It was clean and I recieved red carpet treatment. I paid 12,500 for my surgery. The hospital took 7000 of that and the rest he shares with his team. To offer you the surgery for 10K sounds kind of like he'll still be paying another 7000 for the hospital fee and the other 3000 will go to his two team members, dr,. Curiel Marchena and Dr. Hugo Valencia.(Anesthesiologist)

Dr. Valencia is a very skilled physician and I'm sorry if your band had slipped into your stomach. If you were to get ahold of other patients who know Dr. Valencia personally, as I do, you will find he has a great reputation with Band patients and often speaks at seminars. Read my blog for February of 2008.

Jen

I have not previously heard any of these things about Dr. Valencia. I know Dr. Aguirre told me that if he had to perform any additional surgery on me that he would not charge a fee for himself. He did state very clearly that I would have to pay the hospital a fee. It doesn't sound too much like he ripped you off but that maybe there was a miscommunication about what would happen if he was not able to perform the RNY. I'm very sorry you were not able to have your surgery! I hope it works out for you in the future. I had a great experience at the hospital in Ensenada.

Amanda

You neglected to tell the whole story. You apparently had another Mexican doctor do your original surgery which caused the complications. Didn't you research that doctor prior to choosing him ? And why aren't you bad mouthing him? Didn't you research Dr. Valencia prior to choosing him? If you did, I'm sure you read many good things about him and his practice. I do believe he did what he felt was the safest procedure. You did not say anywhere that your surgery with Dr. Valencia took a few hours. Isn't your health important or is money more important to you? How much would this surgery have cost you in the US? You are not alone in having the band removed to hopefully recover and have the band or bypass completed once you recuperate. I personally would rather have a doctor that is most concerned about my health over my weight or money. I am a patient that self paid in the US and had to have a 2nd surgery due to slippage. I am not at goal (30 lbs away) but I am in my late 50's and off all meds. Now that is success and I know I am much healthier. I am thankful that I have gotten to know Dr. Valencia and if I was to have surgery in Mexico I would not hesitate at all to recommend him to anyone.

i am very  sorry that happen to you but your experience will help other people to beware of  scam  artist
sincerly  kim

Thank you very much for telling your story. It will be very helpful for people in deciding which doctor to use. While I am sure others have had good experiences with this doctor, I personally would not want to chance it when other doctors are available.