Overwhelmed

I am trying to find a doctor in Mexico that is cheap and trustworthy! I really have wanted this surgery for years, and am FINALLY able to pay for it, and I do not want to make too rash of a decision. I started to research, but just got overwhelmed with how much information is out there! Any advice or experience any one could share is greatly appreciated!!!! 

I am happy to share my experience. I had surgery 2 years ago with Dr. Sergio Quinones. I paid $4,000 for my surgery, and that was the best 4k I have ever spent. I spent over a year researching my own surgery. I consulted with both US and Mexico surgeons, and at the end of the day. Dr. Quinones was the best.

I posted this to someone else's question, so for the sake of not having to rewrite the info I am going to copy and paste it here for you. I also have a few things that I have written to help people new to the process with their research and some questions they may want to consider when choosing a surgeon. Just click on the links to read them.

http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/MEXICO/5275979/General-Adv ice-for-Those-Considering-Weight-Loss-Surgery/

http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/MEXICO/5276165/Advice-for- Newbies-Questions-to-Ask/

I had surgery with Dr. Quinones in 2012, I absolutely loved him, his staff and my entire experience. You can see some videos of him, and patient testimonials on his youtube channel here https://www.youtube.com/channel/UComqxb329kgraDs3NWElnYw

Some things have changed since I had my surgery 2 years ago, Dr. Q is always trying to find ways to improve patient care and experience. What I liked most about him is that he speaks perfect English, as well as his staff. He is really down to earth, very knowledgeable and personally dedicated to helping people with obesity issues. He is proctor certified, meaning that he actually teaches other doctors how to perform these surgeries, and when he is not doing bariatric procedures in his own practice he contributes his time to a program that helps people in his community get weight loss surgery at no cost. He also sites on the Mexican arbitration board, and have attended as well as been a guest speaker at a number of bariatric conferences around the world.

My surgery was a breeze with him, no complications, no nausea, no pain except for some residual gas pain in my upper left should, as it wasn't bad, I have had tooth extractions that hurt more.

When I went for surgery, I was concerned with some previous GI issues I have had my whole life, and questioned him to death on how surgery might effect those issues. He sat with me one on one and answered all of my questions in detail, and very honestly...he is wonderful at making people feel at ease before surgery.

Another think that I like about him, is that many of the people who work for him have actually been former weight loss patients themselves, so you have people helping you through this process that know first hand what you are going through, and know tons of information that greatly helps you post op. he also has supporting staff, specifically there to follow up with you post op, and help you with the transition to your new life.

I would highly recommend him to anyone he, his staff and my surgery were all excellent. If you have any specific questions feel free to PM me. I am an open book about my surgery. Best wishes!

It's super easy to become overwhelmed in all this.  There are a lot of options when you're self-pay and you want to make sure you're making the right decision!  I made a list of all the things that were important to me, and then qualified surgeons and hospitals against that list. 

My list included things like:

Established hospital and surgeon.  No newbies-- had to be doing this for a while and catering to American patients.

fully functioning hospital (no clinics-surgery centers) If something went wrong during surgery-- I wanted the hospital to have all the equipment to save my life and not have to transport me elsewhere.

My surgeon only did 3 surgeries per day.  I'm not comfortable with surgeons who do 10-15/day.

I wanted my aftercare to take place in a hospital not a recovery house or center.

I wanted my surgeon to have fantastic reviews from his patients.  I understood it's impossible to please everyone but the reviews must be overwhelmingly positive.

I didn't want to go through an independent third-party coordinator.   I wanted to deal with the surgeons staff only and get information first hand. 

I wanted a whole program that would walk me through the process from start to finish.  A coordinator who would answer all my questions without making it feel like a sales pitch, one that followed through with my questions answering them in a timely manner. 

I wanted the actual trip to run smoothly.  A good program will take care of all the transportation and appointment scheduling for you.  You should just have to get off the plane, meet your driver and they'll walk you through the rest. 

I needed aftercare.  I wanted a surgeon who cared what happened to me after I left the country.  One that would keep tabs on me and answer my questions after I came home.  Also a surgeon that would coordinate with my primary should there be any issues.

Your list may or may not mirror mine.  I found when I took these core things and compared them to the surgeons available-- the list got much, much smaller!

Good luck!

I had surgery with Dr Illian. He has a support group on Facebook its called teamillian. He was amazing. I was sleeved by him on 12-8-14. Please take some time to look into him and his team. Best decision i ever made. I paid $4600, Please contact me directly. here's his teams contact information

[email protected]

Take care Chery