My family says going to Dr Aceves in Mexico is crazy!!

You asked about Dr Kelley; I had my sleeve with him  in March, and LOVE, love, love him and his team. He isn't near as expensive - little more than half- as the two 'big names' but I could not have asked for better care. My sister is a nurse as well and said she did not see one thing wrong with anything that happened there. From all the information I've seen the two docs that charge the most in MX are no better qulified than Dr Kelley, but do work out of much fancier hospitals. The hospital I went to was just fine and had a full bed for my sis. In any case, just don't worry about having your surgery in MX. People who get in an uproar about it generally have no idea what they are scared of, it's just some idea that there is no way it's as good as surgery here. I actually think it's probably better-- most the surgeons down there do fFAR more surgeries than the us ones in the US,who have to go thru the 6 month diets, red tape, insurance battles etc.
The state department warning IMO is only a worry for those who might be going down there to party, etc or who insist on going into areas where tourists gemerally steer clear. Again, I saw nothing in Tijuana near as scary as what I see all the time in my nearest big city at home!

Lol, your comment about your home town is funny. Yeah, I don't have a partying planned while I am down there.  Wish I could. Ha Ha.

Thanks for the reassurance about going though. I am 90% sure it will be fine, it's just when everyone here says I am nuts, it makes me question my decision some.

I also appreciate your comments about the price difference between Dr. Kelly and the other two big names. I agree with you. If I could not afford Dr. Acceves, I would go to Dr. Kelly in a heart beat. I have only heard good things about him and his price is very good. I can barely squeak out the price of Dr. A, but I have heard so many good things about him, I figure if I can make it work, it's the way I want to go. But I always said if I couldn't get quiet enough money for Dr. A, I would go with Kelly to get it done. I wish more people would consider him. I worry about the other people going to other doctors that are just as cheap, but have a terrible rep. I won't name names, but I think you know who is on this forum with a questionable rep.

Anyway, thanks again for your comments. I am planning my surgery for early next month. I will post how it is going for anyone who cares.

we all care! Keep us posted especially when you panic 2 days before surgery like most of us did!

Lol! I am sure I will be panic then!

I went to Dr. Aceves and I had a great experience like all others. See my videos and blog. I recently got back from Mexico again. Went with my daughter who had hers done with Dr. Ramos Kelly. Trust me, technique matters. Although their facilities and staff were comparable, Her sleeve is bigger than mine and all of her incisions were over 2 inches long and you could see all 5 of them. Dr. Kelly had said they would be about 1/2 to 1 inch. Very disappointed in this. She is ok with it. My longest incision was 1/4 inch and one is hidden in my belly button. I can't imagine any reason you would need incisions that long for a lap procedure.

Wow! That sure is interesting! That's so cool that you pretty much got to experience both of them. I hate to spend the extra money but I figure if I can swing it, it's worth going to who I consider to be the best for me. I am scheduled with him on July 1st. I am just so worried about all the changes and having problems after the surgery. I know it's what I need to do, but I am not really looking forward to the next month. I hope I am not hungry all the time.

Thanks for the info about the difference between doctors. I definitely feel blessed to be able to go him.

I just got back from having my vsg with Dr. Aceves on June 14th. I echo everyone else's opinion of him and the hospital. I couldn't ask for a better experience! I, like you, traveled from across the country too (South Carolina), but I was more than willing because of his experience. It was worth it! I could go on and on about our great experience, so feel free to message me with any questions. Best of luck to you!

I wonder what happened with your daughter?  Did you ask?  My scars are tiny, and almost invisible already. 
Well, except for one--but I aggravated it by insisting on walking around San Francisco including the big hills 3 days after surgery.  It's amazing to me that they can leave such little incisions--after all, they are pulling the majority of your stomach out thru one of them! 
Either way, we all have to remember that patients are different and have to be done differently in some cases, and that the degree of elasticity in your skin can leave a bigger scar if it's stretched during organ removal. My hysterectomy scar should have been tiny, tiny, but ended up being almost 5 inches...my skin stretched too much when they were removing a huge fibroid, and they had to cut a 'little' extra...and so the scar is big.
. Also the size of your stomach that's left can be different even using the same size guide (Dr Aceves expl;ains this in a video on Youtube) due to differences in the shape of the original stomach.  None are identical.
 

I was really lucky, my parents were totally supportive, they knew I had researched, my husband was not very supportive but I showed him stats and research and he trusted my decision. My inlaws thought I was nuts but at least only talked about me behind my back. lol.

Most people who think we are going to a back of a tile shop in Tijuana haven't traveled. There are some nightmares, but hopefully you have researched and going to a respected surgeon and hospital.

Yeah, I think your tile shop image is correct. I think that people are not sure why they are afraid, they just think anything outside the US must be a back-alley surgery.

I have researched my doctor and really do feel pretty good about my choice. It's only when others warn me and act like I am going to maim myself for life, that I begin to question my choice. In my mind, I am totally doing the right thing, it's only others reactions that make me 2nd guess my decision.

Thanks so much for your posting!