the bariatric group

I am looking into getting the lap band surgery.  I live in Seattle, Washington but because my insurance will not cover this type of surgery i will have to self pay.  I cant afford the cost of this surgery in the US and know of people who have had other types of treatments done in Mexico so decided to give it a shot.  I found the bariatric group website and was wondering if anyone on here went thru there to get their surgery done.  Or do you have anyone you really recommend?  My husband is afraid i will go down to Mexico, have the surgery and have problems and end up having to get it redone up here.  Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated.  I have roughly 200 lbs to lose.

Check out Dr. Zapata from www.ready4achange.com.   I had the VSG surgery there, not the Lapband, but there were 3 other people who were having the Lapband surgery the same day as me.  They did GREATTT!   I think after the Lapband surgery, you have to wait 6 weeks to heal before you can get a "fill".  They were going to some nationwide fill center - don't know the name of it.   Hope this helps.

Hi Christina,

Lots of Mexican surgeons do the lap band.  Just wanted to suggest the sleeve since you have 200#s to loose.  Band has pretty high maintenance and if you don't have some doc in your area that will take patients with surgery done in Mexico,  it is quite difficult to do the aftercare.

I started looking into a band months ago but live in an area with no aftercare.  I quickly turned to the sleeve because the aftercare is so much easier.  The band has more complications.

Dr. Aceves is good so is Dr. Alvarez,  do your homework and research.

Lots of people on these boards are so willing to help.  You'll find the right surgeon and the right procedure soon.

Good luck,   Darlene

Hi Chrisitna,

I had surgery with Dr. Aceves in Mexico in 2007. I had the VSG though, I just  did not want to deal with the fills and the follow up. I flew into San Diego all the way from Texas, you are much closer and it would be easier for you than it was for me but it wa worth it. I wanted the best surgeon and I got him .   He does a lot of lap bands too in case you have your heart set on this one.  The hospital is  beautiful and very clean and everyone was very nice and helpful.

My family was concerned too but after seeing all the research I had done they trusted me and supported me. Dr. Aceves has very good credentials.

I recommend him in a heartbeat!


Denise

Hi ,

Check out www.drhoracio.com  Dr Guajardo is a board certified laparoscopic bariatric surgeon and practices at hospitals that are Accredited by Joint Commission International

Good luck,

B

i cant even begin to tell you what  a wonderfull experience i had   i just got back yesterday from puerto vallarta with Dr Joya!!!  from begining to end no issues they take care of everything and anything nurses, doctors, hospital, hotel , transportation air travel ....my best experience and unfortunatelly does not compare with doctors here in the states!!! ck him out

I second the Dr. Joya comment.  It is my opinion that 200# is too much to expect to lose with the lap band.  You would more than likely have to have a revision to the sleeve or the Rny to realize that type of weight loss.

Archman

Hi Christina, I had the Sleeve Surgery done With Dr. Aceves and made actually a really nice friend that had the Lap Band Surgery , she was nervous at first, but Dr. Aceves explained to her the whole procedure , showed her the type of band that she was going to use and everything. I would recomended  Dr. Aceves, not only because of him, I fill wonderful and healthier, but also because he is very profesional and the hospital is equipt for everything and anything.

I had my surgery in January 2008 and was almost 285 and today I am 180 feeling great, best choice that I could have made!

Hello!

I highly recommend Dr. Alberto Aceves, I had my sleeve surgery with him this past January. I had also contemplated the band for about a year before I decided on the VSG, and even though my goal is to lose 70 + pounds I opted for the sleeve because I didn't want to run the risk of spending a few thousand on a band and then having a slippage or something...

I did a lot of research before committing to a dr and checked everything before deciding on Dr. Aceves, you will be hard pressed to find a surgeon with better credentials. I think the main things you want to focus on are dr credentials are: 

1)Make sure he is a FACS, member of the ASBS and also member of Mexican boards,

2)Certified by Inamed in the placing of the lapband (my doc has been since 1998!) Inamed/Allergan and J&J are the only FDA approved bands!

3) Make sure the surgery is performed in a full hospital, not aclinic, which means that it's probably just a little OR with a recovery room, but no ICU or blood bank or team of specialists on hand in case something doesn’t go according to plan

4) Ask what do they do as far as pre-op testing!! some dr's will only monitor your heart durin surgery but won't do an EKG before. A post-op barium swallow is also key.

5)How many bands has the physician done? crunch #'s don't just take their word for it, you will find some dr's claim to have done so many and have just been a surgeon for 3 or 4 years (fishy!!)

6) Make sure the dr doesn't only do LapBand because it's considered to be an "easy" surgery and is not really a testament to the dr's proficiency, if the dr has done many of the other procedures, like VSG, DS,RNY then chances are he is a good surgeon.

I think those are pretty good bases to start with, good luck on your search!!!

Ramona W.

Hi,

Check out www.drhoracio.com  He is board certified and practices at JCI acredited hopsitals

Best of luck,

B