Interesting Read

There"s no question that the waiting lists for weight loss surgery, or bariatric surgery as it"s called, are unacceptably long. The wait list in Canada is well over 5 years, with this number varying across provinces and cities, depending on the availability of local facilities.

In desperation, some Canadians are turning to medical tourism for the answer.

Take the case of a woman who went to Tijuana, Mexico, for bariatric surgery, as per the recent story in the Calgary Herald. Due to leak from her stomach after a sleeve gastrectomy (which reduces the stomach"s size), she returned to Canada to endure a prolonged hospital stay, at which point her stomach also had to be stretched out, as the bariatric surgeons in Mexico had made her stomach too small to sustain her.

This lady is not alone: due to the ease of accessibility and short wait times, many Canadians are turning to foreign coutries to have bariatric surgery performed. It costs $,6000 to $12,000, depending on the country (Costa Rica and India are other popular choices) and the procedure performed, which is cheaper than private pay facilities in Canada (eg BC, Ontario), where patients pay $16,000 to $18,000 for comprehensive care.

But remember - you get what you pay for. Medical tourism outfits may not take the same great care in selecting the appropriate patient for bariatric surgery, nor do they take the time to prepare patients adequately for the dramatic and permanent lifestyle change they are about to undergo. Nor do they do much, if anything, in the way of follow up, which is downright dangerous: ongoing nutritional counseling is crucial, as is monitoring for nutritional deficiency, which occur particularly with gastric bypass surgery, and can be very serious if not managed properly.

Further, one can"t help but be wary of an outfit who tries to sell their medical procedure with promises of free nights of hotel accomodation, travel planning, and sometimes with sightseeing opportunities thrown in!

As Canadians, the problem that we need to urgently address is the lack of availability of bariatric surgery within our borders. There are several centres in Canada where bariatric surgery is publicly funded and of no cost to the patient, though the wait times are long. An increase in government funding is desperately needed to improve accessibility to existing centres of excellence for bariatric care, and also to help establish new centres where there currently are none.

Dr. Sue © 2010 www.drsue.ca

I wonder which doctor she went to.  Did she discuss boughie sizes, pre/post op diet, etc?

I wonder the same thing myself.
I was wondering if it is Stoongal's sister too?
Who ever it is has my prayers.

I saw this a few weeks ago...maybe someone else posted it.  I don't think it is talking about Stoongal's sister but only because I don't remember her saying anything about her stomach being made too small.  It is horrible for whoever it is for sure!

This was posted somewhere before, I remember reading it. I don't think it is Linda either.

Things you think about on the train commutting... Why didn't they just convert her sleeve to an RNY. 

I understand the point of the article.   Surgery should not be taken lightly.  She really had no business getting surgery.  I have heard of people getting surgery at size 10/12 so they could be a size 2.  This should be very last resort.  I wish I would have made better choices when I was size12.

Why do you say that she had no business having the surgery? I guess its all interpretation as thats not what I gleaned from the article at all.
hmmmmm...

There were a number of case studied listed in the article.  Your post is a summary that contains a link to another article. I guess there was one case study that hit home for me .

Here is the quote "Janine said she headed to Mexico on a bit of a whim: She was feeling depressed before Christmas, concerned about the extra pounds that would come from holiday chocolate and treats.

A friend of hers had excellent results from a Mexico clinic. Plus, Janine was only 50 to 60 pounds overweight and wouldn't have qualified for the surgery here."

I only agreed with the author, my point is not to acuse but accept the intent and  not to make light surgery.  I for one would have been her 4 years ago.  I have not been categorized as "over weight or obese" for all my life.  Quite the contrary, only for the past two years.  My decision to have surgery was indeed hard.  I want to avoid any more self destruction I am making a change, this is only a part of the change.

 

I agree that surgery shouldnt be taken lightly. I myself have only been 50 to 60 lbs overweight. I think I have lost the same 50 lbs at least 5 times in the last 10 years. Just a rollercoaster that I wanted off for good. The sleeve has given me this. Its a sense of freedom. I think for me anyway the article rang loud and clear with a be careful of the doctor and facility where you go. It screamed research, research, research and be wary of low cost procedures.
Thats what I got out of it anyway.
Like I said its just really reader intrepretation I guess.

 Someone who is 50 to 60 pounds overweight could be morbidly obese depending on her height and build.  The point of these articles is not to judge consumers, but to educate them.