I'm home! Review of Hospital Angeles and Dr. Corvala
Well hello there everyone! My netbook was acting funny while I was away so I never had the chance to update you guys on everything. First of all, I'm doing fine. REALLY sore, but fine.Let me tell you, the 6 hour plane ride from San Diego to Boston wasn't for the faint of heart. (Turbulence + 7 laproscopic incisions = ouch).
I'll start from the beginning. I flew into San Diego on Monday and checked into the Gaslamp Plaza Suites. ANYONE who is going to be flying into San Diego and staying the night prior to surgery, I highly recommend it. It's in the middle of downtown and the other hotels around it (ie. Sheraton, Marriott, Plaza, etc.) were all double the money. I only paid $134.00 with tax and had a studio suite complete with a small kitchen, beautiful bathroom, living room with flat screen t.v., and floor to ceiling windows with a city view. It was a great find! I walked over to Horton's Plaza for some shopping and to get my hair done and then hit the Padres vs. Rockies game at Petco Park. It was awesome. Lame that I went by myself, but still awesome.
I got a phone call that night from my coordinator saying the driver would be at the hotel at 8:00 a.m. to pick me up. Hospital Angeles does not require that you meet them at the airport, they come right to you. Raphael (the driver) was right on time and couldn't be nicer. He took my bag while I checked out, and we were off. I was the only one in the van. Getting into Mexico was no problem, it's just intimidating when you see the Mexican soldiers in full out camo gear with guns at the checkpoint. However, Raphael flashed his hospital i.d. card and we were off! Tijuana was nothing like I imagined and was quite Americanized. Across from the hospital was a cineplex, a Peter's Piper Pizza, Mc'Ds, and a TGIFridays.
My first impression as we pulled up to Hospital Angeles was "Wow". The hospital is securely gated and you have to enter a checkpoint once again to announce your business there (the ER had a separate entrance, you didn't have to do that there). Raphael grabbed my bag and I walked through the front door, I was simply amazed at how immaculate this building is. The glass, the works of art, the marble and granite walls and floors, it was just beautiful. Everyone looked 100% professional. The men in admitting wore suits and ties, the women all had perfect make-up, skirts, and heels. The admitting staff all spoke English. I waited in the lobby after I checked in and the international coordinator for Hospital Angeles, Ezmerelda, came to meet me. She said I needed pre-op testing and never left my side as I did so. First, they took lots of blood (yes, they wore gloves the whole time), then to radiology for a barium swallow to see my pouch from my gastric bypass, then to x-ray for a chest x-ray. The radiologist spoke perfect English as well.
After all this, I was shown to my room. Room #305. It was beautiful! As I said, there was never a minute that went by that I didn't see someone mopping, sweeping, spraying disinfectant, etc. My room had hardwood floors, 2 huge windows, a futon in case I had a companion, a bed, tv/dvd player, and the bathroom was tiled in relaxing colors with a vanity, sink, and an all glass shower that you could step right into.
I met my nurse, Elizabeth, who spoke not ONE word of English (none of the nurses speak any English) but that was alright. Ezerelda had given me a sheet with common English to Spanish translations so we could communicate, but to tell you the truth, Elizabeth was such a great nurse, I never needed it, she always knew what I needed first. Elizabeth got me prepped for my EKG, and then wrapped my legs in the most skin tight stockings ever to prevent clots during surgery. After the EKG, I waited...and waited...and waited....
Finally, Dr. Corvala came in and apologized profusely for being late (he was speaking at a local conference earlier and got caught in traffic). He smiled and said, "No worries though, I already read your file and I know everything about you!". He asked me a few questions, patted my head and said, "Thank you for coming here and putting your trust in me, this will be your second chance and I know you'll do great this time, I trust you to do that". As sweet as he was, he didn't pull and punched either. He disclosed to me the risk of complication and the risk of having to go from a laproscopic to open approach because of my previous scar tissue. I appreciated that. He said he would see me in the OR in 20 minutes...and that's when I started getting scared.
Those of you who have already been, truly understand the BALLS in takes to do what we did. At that moment, I was feeling scared, alone (because I was), and really second guessing if I could go through it. I cried to be honest. Elizabeth came in with the chief nurse, Diana (who is AMAZING by the way, she does speak English and she's been a nurse for 23 years, don't know what I would have done without her), and they started conversing in Spanish. Elizabeth just patted my hand and said, "Relax", I guess that was the one word she knew how to say in English. LOL.
I got to the OR and it was meticulous. I had me nephew Eli's small stuffed bunny in my hand, and of course, I cried again. The anesthesiologist (who I had met earlier in the room to go over my EKG) came over to me and said he was going to give me valium to calmme down. As he was injecting me I was like, "woohoooo!". I had never felt better. LOL. I remember being wheeled into the OR and thats it. I woke up in recovery with the worst case of dry mouth ever and minimal pain, but it felt like someone was sitting on me. The OR tech came over and said the surgery was done and it went well. The she gave me a shot in each of my shoulders to get rid of any gas pains I may have had. I was wheeled back up to my room, got off the gurney myself, and walked over to my bed to pass out.
The next morning, I saw my pillow covered in blue dye, so wasn't half of my face!. Apparently when they put the dye in to check for any leaks in the band, they git it in there, and then I puked it all up. Talented aren't I? I got most of it off and headed for X-Ray to see the placement of the band. It looked great. Dr. Corvala came to see me and told me all about the surgery. It lasted almost 3 hours because of all the scar tissue from my open RNY. He had to do 7 incisions instead of 5 because if not, he would have had to cut me open and ddidn't want that for me. He said it was a difficult surgery, but I tolerated it very well. Dr. Rivas came in afterwards and told me the very same thing (he was the assistant in surgery.)
I took a shower afterwards, then Elizabeth changed my bandages, and Ezmerelda came by to take me to my dentist appointment in the hospital, where I met Dr. Rachel and Dr. Miriam, both spoke English incredibly well. The office was clean and sanitary and I can now say that my teeth are whiter and more beautiful then ever! LOL It was totally worth it. When I headed back to my room, psychologist for the bariatric program was there to meet with me and we had a long talk about how I needed to find better ways to deal with stress and emotion than eating and all that other fun stuff. After that, Dr. Cleysa (another doc on Corvala's team), swung by to give me the copies of my chest x-ray, x-ray of my band placement, operation notes from my procedure, aftercare instructions, and a prescription for my pain meds. Another thing I got that was cool is an ID card sayinf I have a band with the serial number, etc on it, but also, it had a small x-ray pic of what my band looked like. It was pretty awesome.
That night I slept good (no thanks to the pain meds...I think we can all agree Mexican pain meds are NOT as strong as the ones we have here). Ezmerleda said to be ready by 10 and I was. Dr. Corvala said good-bye to me and said he wanted pictures in a year and assured me that if I needed anything at all, just to call him an it would be taken care of. Raphael met me in the lobby and we were off. He took me to the pharmacy down the street from the hospital because he said the hospital pharmacy was way to expensive. When we got to the pharmacy, he looked at the precription and said, "Kel, you don't need this, it's the same thing as neosporin, you have that at home right?" I said I did and that was that, I just needed the prescription pain meds (which I still haven't touched) and it cost me a whopping $6.00. After that, we headed to the border and again, that handy dandy hospital pass came in handy because we bypassed all the traffic and headed right for the checkpoint. Only took about 25 minutes to get over the border. I was promptly dropped off at the airport and I was on my way home....
I'm sorry this post was so long, I just wanted anyone and everyone who is looking for info and researching, to have the most details possible to help aid their decision. Would I recommend this doctor and this hospital? I most certainly would. It's a complete bariatric program where they discuss nutrition, getting your mind right, and they are thorough, thorough, thorough. Dr. Corvala is a talented surgeon and I am blessed to have been able to work with he and his whole team.
I'm just so glad I'm on the losers bench with you guys!
~Kells
I'll start from the beginning. I flew into San Diego on Monday and checked into the Gaslamp Plaza Suites. ANYONE who is going to be flying into San Diego and staying the night prior to surgery, I highly recommend it. It's in the middle of downtown and the other hotels around it (ie. Sheraton, Marriott, Plaza, etc.) were all double the money. I only paid $134.00 with tax and had a studio suite complete with a small kitchen, beautiful bathroom, living room with flat screen t.v., and floor to ceiling windows with a city view. It was a great find! I walked over to Horton's Plaza for some shopping and to get my hair done and then hit the Padres vs. Rockies game at Petco Park. It was awesome. Lame that I went by myself, but still awesome.
I got a phone call that night from my coordinator saying the driver would be at the hotel at 8:00 a.m. to pick me up. Hospital Angeles does not require that you meet them at the airport, they come right to you. Raphael (the driver) was right on time and couldn't be nicer. He took my bag while I checked out, and we were off. I was the only one in the van. Getting into Mexico was no problem, it's just intimidating when you see the Mexican soldiers in full out camo gear with guns at the checkpoint. However, Raphael flashed his hospital i.d. card and we were off! Tijuana was nothing like I imagined and was quite Americanized. Across from the hospital was a cineplex, a Peter's Piper Pizza, Mc'Ds, and a TGIFridays.
My first impression as we pulled up to Hospital Angeles was "Wow". The hospital is securely gated and you have to enter a checkpoint once again to announce your business there (the ER had a separate entrance, you didn't have to do that there). Raphael grabbed my bag and I walked through the front door, I was simply amazed at how immaculate this building is. The glass, the works of art, the marble and granite walls and floors, it was just beautiful. Everyone looked 100% professional. The men in admitting wore suits and ties, the women all had perfect make-up, skirts, and heels. The admitting staff all spoke English. I waited in the lobby after I checked in and the international coordinator for Hospital Angeles, Ezmerelda, came to meet me. She said I needed pre-op testing and never left my side as I did so. First, they took lots of blood (yes, they wore gloves the whole time), then to radiology for a barium swallow to see my pouch from my gastric bypass, then to x-ray for a chest x-ray. The radiologist spoke perfect English as well.
After all this, I was shown to my room. Room #305. It was beautiful! As I said, there was never a minute that went by that I didn't see someone mopping, sweeping, spraying disinfectant, etc. My room had hardwood floors, 2 huge windows, a futon in case I had a companion, a bed, tv/dvd player, and the bathroom was tiled in relaxing colors with a vanity, sink, and an all glass shower that you could step right into.
I met my nurse, Elizabeth, who spoke not ONE word of English (none of the nurses speak any English) but that was alright. Ezerelda had given me a sheet with common English to Spanish translations so we could communicate, but to tell you the truth, Elizabeth was such a great nurse, I never needed it, she always knew what I needed first. Elizabeth got me prepped for my EKG, and then wrapped my legs in the most skin tight stockings ever to prevent clots during surgery. After the EKG, I waited...and waited...and waited....
Finally, Dr. Corvala came in and apologized profusely for being late (he was speaking at a local conference earlier and got caught in traffic). He smiled and said, "No worries though, I already read your file and I know everything about you!". He asked me a few questions, patted my head and said, "Thank you for coming here and putting your trust in me, this will be your second chance and I know you'll do great this time, I trust you to do that". As sweet as he was, he didn't pull and punched either. He disclosed to me the risk of complication and the risk of having to go from a laproscopic to open approach because of my previous scar tissue. I appreciated that. He said he would see me in the OR in 20 minutes...and that's when I started getting scared.
Those of you who have already been, truly understand the BALLS in takes to do what we did. At that moment, I was feeling scared, alone (because I was), and really second guessing if I could go through it. I cried to be honest. Elizabeth came in with the chief nurse, Diana (who is AMAZING by the way, she does speak English and she's been a nurse for 23 years, don't know what I would have done without her), and they started conversing in Spanish. Elizabeth just patted my hand and said, "Relax", I guess that was the one word she knew how to say in English. LOL.
I got to the OR and it was meticulous. I had me nephew Eli's small stuffed bunny in my hand, and of course, I cried again. The anesthesiologist (who I had met earlier in the room to go over my EKG) came over to me and said he was going to give me valium to calmme down. As he was injecting me I was like, "woohoooo!". I had never felt better. LOL. I remember being wheeled into the OR and thats it. I woke up in recovery with the worst case of dry mouth ever and minimal pain, but it felt like someone was sitting on me. The OR tech came over and said the surgery was done and it went well. The she gave me a shot in each of my shoulders to get rid of any gas pains I may have had. I was wheeled back up to my room, got off the gurney myself, and walked over to my bed to pass out.
The next morning, I saw my pillow covered in blue dye, so wasn't half of my face!. Apparently when they put the dye in to check for any leaks in the band, they git it in there, and then I puked it all up. Talented aren't I? I got most of it off and headed for X-Ray to see the placement of the band. It looked great. Dr. Corvala came to see me and told me all about the surgery. It lasted almost 3 hours because of all the scar tissue from my open RNY. He had to do 7 incisions instead of 5 because if not, he would have had to cut me open and ddidn't want that for me. He said it was a difficult surgery, but I tolerated it very well. Dr. Rivas came in afterwards and told me the very same thing (he was the assistant in surgery.)
I took a shower afterwards, then Elizabeth changed my bandages, and Ezmerelda came by to take me to my dentist appointment in the hospital, where I met Dr. Rachel and Dr. Miriam, both spoke English incredibly well. The office was clean and sanitary and I can now say that my teeth are whiter and more beautiful then ever! LOL It was totally worth it. When I headed back to my room, psychologist for the bariatric program was there to meet with me and we had a long talk about how I needed to find better ways to deal with stress and emotion than eating and all that other fun stuff. After that, Dr. Cleysa (another doc on Corvala's team), swung by to give me the copies of my chest x-ray, x-ray of my band placement, operation notes from my procedure, aftercare instructions, and a prescription for my pain meds. Another thing I got that was cool is an ID card sayinf I have a band with the serial number, etc on it, but also, it had a small x-ray pic of what my band looked like. It was pretty awesome.
That night I slept good (no thanks to the pain meds...I think we can all agree Mexican pain meds are NOT as strong as the ones we have here). Ezmerleda said to be ready by 10 and I was. Dr. Corvala said good-bye to me and said he wanted pictures in a year and assured me that if I needed anything at all, just to call him an it would be taken care of. Raphael met me in the lobby and we were off. He took me to the pharmacy down the street from the hospital because he said the hospital pharmacy was way to expensive. When we got to the pharmacy, he looked at the precription and said, "Kel, you don't need this, it's the same thing as neosporin, you have that at home right?" I said I did and that was that, I just needed the prescription pain meds (which I still haven't touched) and it cost me a whopping $6.00. After that, we headed to the border and again, that handy dandy hospital pass came in handy because we bypassed all the traffic and headed right for the checkpoint. Only took about 25 minutes to get over the border. I was promptly dropped off at the airport and I was on my way home....
I'm sorry this post was so long, I just wanted anyone and everyone who is looking for info and researching, to have the most details possible to help aid their decision. Would I recommend this doctor and this hospital? I most certainly would. It's a complete bariatric program where they discuss nutrition, getting your mind right, and they are thorough, thorough, thorough. Dr. Corvala is a talented surgeon and I am blessed to have been able to work with he and his whole team.
I'm just so glad I'm on the losers bench with you guys!
~Kells
Kelliegh,
Thank you for posting this about Hospital Angeles!!!!
I am looking into plastics in October and this is one of the hospitals that has come up a couple of times.
It is so good to hear good feedback about your experience. Dr. Corvala sounds wonderful.
Good luck to you. You are going to do great!
Thank you for posting this about Hospital Angeles!!!!
I am looking into plastics in October and this is one of the hospitals that has come up a couple of times.
It is so good to hear good feedback about your experience. Dr. Corvala sounds wonderful.
Good luck to you. You are going to do great!
Pre Op-Surgery-Current-Goal232 - 213 - 153 - 150
5'4" tall
Stage 1 Plastics 10/20/10 with Dr. Adrian Menjarrez-Mexicali
Breast Lift and Tummy Tuck
Hey girl! Great to hear that everything went well. Hospital Angeles is really beautiful, huh? I'm so glad you wrote a really descriptive post because people should know that there are great doctors and facilities in MX. Welcome to the losers bench!
I finally quit cheating on my husband with Ben and Jerry!
sw/250 cw/140 gw/150 
I'm feeling so much better than I expected. Each day I get stronger and I have no real complaints. It's so nice not to be hungry all the time. I don't even have the desire for food at all. I think my mental obsession with food was worse than my actual overeating. WooHoo, it's great to feel free!
I finally quit cheating on my husband with Ben and Jerry!
sw/250 cw/140 gw/150
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