Starting to worry!

I have been on this msg board daily since august and planning on having the sleeve with dr. almanza.  I dont have the funds at this moment to have surgery so me and my hubby have been slowly saving and plan to pay the deposit in janurary and schedule my surgery in march.  I am started to get worried cause lately I have been reading about alot of people coming home with infections and im getting a little scared.  This is like a dream come true for me to have this surgery.  I dont post a whole lot on the msg boards but i read daily on them the people who have gone thru and how its changed their lives and i have been excited and focused but now im thinking if this is the price im going to pay forget it.  I have read lots of people who have been to dr.almanza and been very happy.  Does anyone know if theres a reason this has been going on lately and is the dr and his staff taking precautions to make sure it dosent continue?  I really want this and dont have the funds to pay alot more so this was perfect for me but not if i come home to lots of extra drs bills cause of complications.  If anyone has any info on this I would appreciate hearing about it.  Thanks                         Jenn

Jenn,
They did have a spell of incisional infections,due,they think,to a compromised batch of sutures. They are using all new sutures,have gone over their infection control procedures with all the staff and have upped their infection control protocols.
They will now be using two antibiotics post op instead of one,as well.
They have not had an infection in December of which they are aware. They have been and are very concerned about the infections that have happened.
I am still going because I believe it has been contained.I know from the other posts that Dr. Almanza's expertise is not in question. There are things each of us can do to help insure our safety. Always ask every caregiver to please wash their hands and use gloves before touching your dressings  and taking out your drain. I have asked for Dr. Almanza to personally remove my drain,otherwise I will bring it home with me and have my PCP remove it.
In addition,I am going to decline any dressing changes,because,generally speaking,dressings do not need to be changed over a sutured area unless there is drainage.
You will ultimately have to make your own decision,of course. This is just my opinion of the situation. I,like you,don't have a lot of extra money to switch doctors,change airfare,etc. I also don't Ned a lot of medical bill on my return,but I am banking on the fact that it won't be necessary.
Have you shared your concerns with your coordinator? My,coordinator has been very forthcoming and honest about the situation and no doubt you coordinator would be also.
Good luck and God bless,
Holly

Wow, how do you know all of that?  Did they tell you?

Yes, I have been in close contact with my coordinator ever since the first  infection happened. I think they are taking it very seriously as they well should.
Dr. almanza is a good surgeon from all I have heard from people who went prior to the time of the compromised sutures,and even people who,unfortunately got an infection have said their actual surgeries have been done competently.
Holly

Ok thanks that is good to know.  When i heard that i figured they would make extra precautions to ensure it dosent continue.  I really like what i have heard about this dr, i know not everyone does and thats ok cause everyones entitled to their own opinion and i have chosen this dr for alot of reason, yes the price is great but if i heard only negative things i wouldnt go so thats not the only reason i have chosen him.  Thanks for these tips, i will do the same.  I dont have a cordinator just yet cause we are saving up right now and I want to make sure I have most of it before setting a date.  My plan has been to pay the deposit in janurary and surgery march 11th because i will have a weeks vacation then.  Im just now getting brave enough to tell my pcp.lol  Anyways just wanted some info about this.  I just read that now it has been changed to 2 nights in the hospital and only one in the recovery house which makes me happy since i am going alone and will just want to go home asap in a safe amount of time after surgery.  

I hear ya about saving up! We paid my deposit in September and scheduled out far enough so we would have time to save the balance,plus the airfare and passports.
Good luck and I will keep you in the loop for what I know about the situation.
Holly

Oh and yeah i havent heard anyone say that dr.almanza isnt a good surgeon.  the ones this happenend to still say he did a great job.  I think it was just the aftercare that came into question but sounds like its being addressed so im happy for that. 

I agree with EVERYTHING Holly has said...!!

I'm going and I will be watching everything that goes on...No ONE will be touching my incisions except me and my surgeon...!!!

Yup same here! I feel completely comfortable with him as a surgeon and I believe it will be no problem to make myself heard when it comes to my aftercare of the incisions. 

Good Morning Ladies!  This is only my advice and Opinion but it helped me TREMENDOUSLY!
I would advise taking some Bactine spray for your incisions and Bacitracin ointment to put on them as well.  Most surgeons recommend using these after surgery and it helps prevent infection.  Dr Bentancort gives you some spray and says he doesn't want you to use anything else but when I got it home my physician along with one of my sleeve sister's physician recommended  to start using the ones I mentioned.  Good Luck! 

P.S.  I would not have traded this experience for anything else in the WORLD,  nor do I regret it!!!!