Two Questions on Mexico 1) Dr and 2) Safety

1) I notice when I click on the physician beneath a members name, it comes up with an obestityhelp.com review/info.  Is there any way to pull up a list of doctors Ordered from Most reviews to least reviews?  (Or any other rankings)  I'm trying to find the TOP Mexico surgeons for VSG ?  

2) How safe is Mexico?  My family is FREAKING out when I told them I'm considering Mexico.  They claim there's people getting murdered, kidnapped, they claim that now is the worst time on the planet to go to mexico and there's all kinds of adviseries against traveling into Mexico?  One of the Dr's I'm highly considering who looks good is Dr. Alvarez, I know his hospital is only 1 mile or so into mexico, but its still mexico?

If this has already been covered, I'm sorry, please point me to the links. 
Thanks in advance,
-K

Hi,
I had my procedure done by Dr. Ponce de Leon in Tijuana Mexico, it went great, they are very well organized, they picked me up at san Diego, the hospital was very clean and fully equipped, the staff was great, doctors were wonderful (I paid a bit over $7,000) Safetywise it was not bad at all, the hospital is in a nice location about 3-5 minutes from the border at the most.
I wish you luck in this journey you are about to begin.
Paty

 Dr. Aceves is one of the TOP surgeons in Mexico, I went to him over 1 year ago and he was the most experienced then  so 1 year later he has done even more sleeves.  He is the chief surgeon always, so his surgery stats are not combined with other surgeons which happens  in other places.

Almater hospital is 1 block south of the border in Mexicali, I could actually see the "fence" at the hospital LOL  It is a real hospital, I am pretty sure Dr. Alvarez is in a clinic, I would check other posts to confirm.

I choose Dr. Aceves because he is the only surgeon in Mexico  I found that was actually FACS, my nurse friends tell me this is very important. This means he is a fellow of the american college of surgeons. they research doctors for you.  I did not find any other sleeve doctor who was FACS.

At the time I planned my surgery he had never had a leak , none, zero, so that really tilted  the balance in his favor. all the other doctors had had at least one.  This was a real concern for me , I was sure i would have a leak so I wanted the odds in my favor.

I spoke with several of his patients in person and heard great things about him. Now I join them, I absolutely adore him and the life I know have.

I have lost over 100 lbs to date , am at my goal weight and feel better than I did in years.

Safety: Mexicali is a very  normal safe city, there are some cities that are very dangerous right now in mexico. Research the location just like you would the doctor. I recently went back to mexicali for my 1 year follow up and  city has not changed at all, well except for a  wonderful bridge/tunnel I ran into , everything looked the same to me.  Your family is right, you should be concerned   if you are going to one of the cities that has problems but not all cities are the same. I cannot speak for every place but I can for mexicali, I have been there twice and it was safe.

D.

Thanks for the replies.   Those details are VERY helpful.

Only reason I was considering Alvarez over Aceves was because I'm located in Texas.  
So trip to Alvarez could be driven pretty easily for me.

Thanks, again, very helpful, thank you.
-K

Did you end up going to Dr. Alvarez? I am in San Antonio and it would be so convenient for me, but am not sure if it is safe.

Any help would  be appreciated.
M

There seems to be a lot of surgeons in Mexico who are pretty decent. What procedure are you planning to get? There are some better and more experienced in certain procedures than others.

From what I have read, Dr. Joya seems pretty popular, as well as Dr. Aceves and Dr. Alvarez. I have also heard good things about Dr. Zapata, Dr. Aguirre, and Dr. Ungson.

I would do a google search on these doctors coupled with the procedure you are interested in - see if anything comes up that way. Also, contact the offices and find out how many of the specific procedure they have completed and how many complications and deaths they have had. Be careful, their numbers they give may be skewed however - there is no real way to tell if they are 100% honest. Also, talk with folks on here, but be careful here, too - many doctors have people create fake profiles to advertise their services under the guise that they are patients when in fact they are not. Look at their posting history - do all they ever do is talk about one doctor and praise him? Do they have a profile discussing their journey? 

As far as the safety of MX, there are certainly some places that are safer than others. Look at updated US travel advisaries and see if there are any cities specifically warned against. I have read that tourist destinations are becoming increasingly dangerous in MX - apparently, it isn't just high crime cities anymore that are dangerous. Do your research is the only other advise I can give.

I would strongly encourage you to do research both on and off the OG boards. Rememeber that the surgeons that advertise heavily on OH tend to get used more than those that do not. This leads to more reviews on these surgeons/programs which leads to them being used more and so on. I am NOT saying they are not great surgeons who get great results. I am saying it pays to research other places, not just OH.
I agree there is a lot of unrest and drug cartel related violence in many border towns which is leading to increased violence overall. I am not saying that some areas are not higher risk than other areas, I agree there are higher risk areas.
I am saying lets keep things in perspective and think about the big picture.
For all of these programs/surgeons/cities you are picked up at the airport and taken directly to the hotel/hospital and then taken back to the airport the same way. There is very little exposure to risks. It is not like you are walking the streets, shopping, drinking, partying etc.
There are advisory notices out there for sure, there is danger out there for sure but please try not get caught up in the sensationalism and drama.

I live in the Baltimore area and flew to Mexico on Jan 29th to have surgery the next day.  My surgeon was Dr. Zapata.  If you'd like to read about him and his hospital the website is www.ready4achange.com.   My family and friends were horrified that I was going to Mexico but I got there with no problems, had my surgery with no problems and came home with no problems.   This is located in Monterrey, Mexico which, I think, is about 2-3 hours from San Antonio or Houston or somewhere along there.   And on top of that, I am planning a vacation to Cancun in May.  In spite of the news, if you don't venture outside of where you are going, you should be okay. 

Thanks all, great replies/advice.   I never even considered fake profiles, but wow, I guess thats a possibility.  And as far as the numbers, who knows if they're true or not?  This could be true with US surgeons as well... it's hard to research/ know for sure.

To answer one of the questions above, I've researched the different procedures, and I'm definately getting the VSG... this seems to be the best choice for me.  

Thanks again,
-K

Here' US official warning on Mexico:
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_3028.html

I cant find anything negative about Piedras Negras, the area across from Eagle pass where the hospitals/facility is located for Dr. Alvarez.   It says most of problems are in north mexico (mexico and california border).  Also Juarez, which is near El Paso.

When I go here, I only see 2 incidents of DEATH in Piedras Negras, both car accidents (no murders):
http://travel.state.gov/law/family_issues/death/death_594.html

Thanks to poster above, I also looked into Dr Zapata.  He also looks very qualified and good surgeon for VSG for me.  Compared to Alvarez, the both have same prices for cash VSG.  I could equally get to either of those.   The hospital of Dr. Zapata seems to be larger and more state of the art, its also associated w/Baylor of Dallas (which Dallas is where I live).

I looked up Monterrey Mexico at same site, there was alot more deaths, but Monterrey is a MUCH larger city, most deaths where car accidents, although ONE Execution was listed.

Hmm... decisions decisions.  

Any more thoughts on Zapata vs. Alvarez?  I'm not trying to start and "doctor" wars or anything, I feel both docs are probably very good and equally qualified.  I'm just trying to make the best choice....  I do have a FEAR of leaking once I return back to Dallas and (with NO insurance) being UP A  CREEK.

-K