Any testimonials for Dr. Alvarez at EndoBariatric??

I am considering using Dr. Alvarez for my VSG surgery.  Can anyone give me information about your experiences with this doctor, from start to finish? How was the hospital? etc.

Hi

I just got back from my surgery with Dr. Alvarez on Monday night.  I haven't had an opportunity to update my profile yet, with all the details, but I will do so in the next couple of days.

Overall, my experience was positive.  Medically, Dr. Alvarez and his team know what they are doing and are very good at the surgery.  I found the hospital to be a bit of a surprise.  I had read from previous sleevers that the bariatric wing had been updated and was very modern.  The bariatric wing has been updated but I wouldn't call it 'modern'.  It was very clean.  The hospital was VERY quiet - not like hospitals in Canada or the U.S. where there is always something going on in a hallway.  I never felt like I was in the wrong place - it is just an expectations issue.

I have quite a number of co-morbs so having a full-fledged hospital was important to me.  If I had to decide on this doctor/hospital again, would I do it again??  Probably.  I'm a little early in the process, however.  Bottom two lines for me were that they were medically very competent, and the place was indeed clean.

Try posting on the VSG forum, you may get more responses.

thanks! will do...

Hi there, my hubby had VSG with Dr. Alvarez back in September.  He and staff were all wonderful.  They totally lived up to what others had told us. (Several fromLouisiana where my hubby is from).  They are very thorough.  The only problem he really had was at the hospital was with a couple of the nurses.  Only a few spoke English that checked during the night shift.  He had some trouble with his IV not being flushed and when she put meds in it he developed an irregular heartbeat.  That was very scary.  They immediately called Dr. Alvarez and he was checked.  If you are a lightweight I would definitely go for it.  The only time I wouldn't feel comfortable is if your a higher risk patient with an extremely high BMI.  That's just my personal thoughts.  I think I have more written on my profile blogs from the end of Sept. and October.  Good Luck,

Thanks Toni for the information.  I especially appreciate you telling me about the things that you didnt like and the concerns you had.  I am stil doing my homework.  I am hoping that my insurance will approve me, and then I can have it close to home.  However, if it doesnt then I want to be prepared for the next step.  I am looking at three different doctors in Mexico, so all the information I can get is extremely helpful!
I will check out your blog too....
Thanks again!

I also know that he only does two surgeries a per day on a five day schedule. 

I had surgey with Dr. Alvarez March 29, 2010. I have had a very good uneventful recovery. No issues with my stay, the hospital was very quiet and clean. 3 of us had surgey that day and we got to know each other a bit and have maintained contact since surgery. I did have some difficulty with my IV's but that is not uncommon for me; I had the same issues in December 2008 when in hospital in BC (hard to find a vein that doesn't collapse resulting in several attempts) Between about 7 am and 5pm there is an interpreter available that visits off and on throughout the day and generally comes in with nurses when something needs to be done e.g IV, Pre-op preparations etc. You are also provided with a "cheat sheet" of common requests and how to say the Spanish words. I didn't need it at all. Dr. Alvarez and Dr. Rosales were both in check on us several times. Not only did he make me feel comfortable when I passed on a "Hi" from someone who had had surgery in November he recognized the name right away. Sandy