Anyone getting surgery with Ramos Kelly in March?
Hello, I am thinking about getting sleeved with Dr Ramos Kelly in March and wondering if anyone has had or going to have the surgery in any of the 2 new locations as he will no longer be doing surgery in Mi Doctor Hospital and the price has gone up to $7400 for him to do surgery at Angeles Hospital. Is anyone going with Dr Kelly and going to have surgery at any of his 2 new location of Hospital Del Prado or Clinica San Juan?
Whichever you chose ... You are in great hands!
I was sleeved by Dr. Ramos Kelly ... 5 weeks ago today! I had a fantastic experience! I was lucky enough to have gone to Angeles before the crazy price increase but I would have been comfy wherever, as long as he was the surgeon!
Janet
Dr. Ramos Kelly .... Jan.13, 2015
they honored my quote but I had to put 10% down on 2-14-15 to lock in the lower rate otherwise the fee was going up 1000 in two days. I as dealing directly with the hospital and dr. corvala so maybe is the difference. i locked in for 6500 for june sugery and had I waited a few days the fee would have gone up to 7500. hospital angeles probably figures it can charge more than others because it is the only full scale hospital in TJ up to U.S standards.
Gail, I am in the process of scheduling with Dr Kelly for Clinica San Juan toward the end of March. I will be having RNY procedure (I have very bad acid reflux so this is my only choice pretty much). I've heard the sleeve is wonderful and I've seen the prices are definitely lower for the sleeve. I am very excited about taking this step forward!
My experience with Dr. Jamie Ramos Kelly
Heath- was always available and always answered my 100 million questions, that was really comforting, I am a pretty impulsive person and had the surgery booked one week after deciding to do this, they asked me to speak to the doctor which I did on January 30th, he assessed by phone that I was a candidate. I put in all my paper work (signed contract and questionnaire that he has on line) on February 2nd I started my liquid diet, and had booked my airline tickets and was ready to go..this is my accurate description of my experience ( while in the hospital I was recording notes, so I could be as detailed as possible)
I arrived in San Diego February 5, 2015- I was greeted by a late driver (Horhae- sorry for the miss spelling) who was about 15 minutes late, although he made up for it with his calming demeanor and sincere apology. Luckily when he arrived he introduced me to another young women who had the surgery a few days prior we briefly chatted and she had told me that it did hurt but more of the gas then anything and that her incisions were very small but still in a little bit of pain- (which brought a sense of relief to know that she made it out alive) then we were on our way, Tijuana was no more than 20 minutes away, we had to stop at the border crossing for them to do a search of the vehicle (which was fine and only took a couple minutes max)- again we were on our way.
We got to the hospital about 130 and the driver took my luggage inside and to a private waiting room, sat down a few minutes and then Perla came in- she was all business, I found her to be not all that engaging, a bit cold (as this was my very first surgery it would have been nice to have someone who understood that, and made me feel at ease) None the less she was polite and courteous, and she was seriously ALL about the money, she had me start signing paper work EVEN though I had not seen the Dr. or had a consultation, grudgingly I signed the paperwork but was thinking to myself where else in the world do you sign off on paper work without seeing the Dr first?
I went for blood work right away while I was still signing the paper work (do note that most of it is in Spanish- they do give you an English copy to read – but it felt extremely ackward with both driver and Perla staring at me, I got the impression that I should hurry up) She then took me to go and get the payment, I payed the hospital and there was no issues with that, got my receipt right away- I mentioned to her that I was starving, as at this point I had been up for 24 hours and have not had anything in my stomach for the longest time…Now this is where the problems started, she told me that she would get me something right away (a LIE) – she did not, but even better than that she told me that the doctors “interact terminal” was broken, she asked me can I pay by paypal, I told her NO! I said I have and will be paying by Credit card as it states that in the contract as an option (meanwhile, I already told her and CeCe when they asked me for the travelers cheque that I would be paying by cc, they said that was fine, come to find out the machine is broken, seemed really shady and I told her this is the only way..She told me not to worry and that we would figure out a way. Again I felt pissed off as I had not even met with the doctor and she was all about the money felt so rushed, felt unprofessional and I felt as if I flew from Canada where do you think im going? You will get your money We then went to go and do the EKG exam, which was fine. I asked Perla to call my mother and let her know that I was fine after surgery she said she would, took the number and everything, I was so grateful for this- but it did it happen –NO!
Hospital room- so they take me to the room, im exhausted and starving quite frankly I was getting to the point of feeling faint BUT the room is really nice at Angelise (really nice I was surprised, clean, big and nice shower) they had a safe, and a DVD player (bring movies if you can) as expected the TV was and is mostly in Spanish so you should probably bring some DVD’s that would have been helpful to know, finally feeling like I could relax, I told the nurse that I was starving and please can I have some food, she said yes no problem..waiting, waiting, waiting and nothing ..then 30 minutes later Perla comes in telling me that I need to pay via pay pal again I told her that I don’t have that, then she said to call my cc company and tell them that I will deposit money into this specific account, to which she provided a void cheque.
I was asked to sign additional paper work (come on people I have been signing paper work for at least 30 -45 minutes, why NOT give me all the paper work to sign at one time- get it together)- 3 additional people came to the room to get me to sign more paper work- it allowed me to think that they don’t have their ****ogether! This process is daunting enough!
I called the company and they said that I would only be able to western union the money and that I could only western union 999.99 (for that current day and do an additional 999.99 the following day and so on, problem was that I had to pay 2400.00) so that was not going to work, asked about email money transfers, but Mexico does not have this service, so the only option that was left was to go to a bank, so back to San Diego we go even though I informed the driver that I can use any bank, by this time my nerves and hunger were getting the best of me, I was not impressed with the poor or better yet lack of communication, I was annoyed, tired and starving,I get the money and ask the driver to take me to a store, luckily there was a convenience store a couple feet from the bank, I bought some applesauce, some water, coconu****er – that applesauce was a life saver! We get back to the hospital and the driver drops me off so I think! Finally I devour the applesauce and finally think its time to relax. Think again! Driver comes in and asks for the payment, I told him no I will give it to the Dr, directly he said ok and left. By this time its roughly 4pm! And guess what still no food!!!
Cecilia aka Cece (this lady is a piece of work! Hands down. She comes to my room about an hour later, and lets be real here, she was totally putting on a show, well the good news is that I seen thru her act), as I have been around many of people and I am extremely good at reading people! This one folks did NOT fool me! She comes in and asks for the payment right away, no courting, no genuine concern for my well-being, just straight to the point, I have read many of reviews and all painting her with the mother Theresa paint brush, that WAS not my experience, mean while she then tried to scam me by saying and I quote “do you have the money, I said yes I do, she asked ok so its 2500.00 you have correct, UHM NO! – scammer “its 2400.00 as per the contract” at that point is when I lost full and utter respect for the women, how are you going to try and scam one of your patients, that really left a bad taste in my mouth that she would even attempt to do that, and that’s when I really knew the merit of the women I was dealing with! – clearly NOT an honest one, and what a horrible representation of a company to have this person to deal with customers, no manners and clearly no class!
She then was apologizing to me, and using the driver to translate to me, meanwhile when your asking and talking about the money your English is just fine!she was telling him that it states in the contract that you can pay by pay pal to which I told her it states that NO WHERE! And that you should pay by travelers cheque as this is the preferred method of payment, now I had to check her on that I advised that it states that NO WHERE!I felt like she was being argumentative with me, which she had no reason to as they were in the wrong here, I explained that if CC is not an option then remove that portion or if its broken then speak up so the next person wont have the same experience that I was going thry, she said they will be adding the portion about pay pall I gave her the money and she provided the receipt.
Now this is the 3rd person that I am telling I am starving, she said Ok I will get you some food, - I think that was the most honest thing she stated! I asked her and the driver if either of them could call my mother as I travelled alone and needed someone to call her and let her know that I was out of surgery and doing fine, BOTH took my mother’s number and …She also mentioned that Dr. Ramos would come by and see me that evening, she leaves, and then about 15 minutes later I got some broth and jello (yes the jello was expired) so I didn’t eat it ! Hooray only took 2.5 hours but at that point I was so focused on the brothI relaxed and finally was able to unwind and take a nap
Dr. Ramos Kelly came by around 5:45pm but said that he had to go and take care of something and would be back about 6:30, he came back at 7:30 and we talked briefly about complications and what I should be expecting,that I should be up and walking no less then 6 hours after surgey, so the surgery was scheduled at 12noon, and that I would be in recovery for 2 hours, and after that will be brought back to my room to start the walking to release the gas. Dr Kelly, seemed nice enough I couldn’t really gage him, as he was only there for a few minutes and then he was off again
I received more broth and jello, this time it was not expired!!! Awesome! Also the guest relations coordinator came to the room and asked if I wanted any movies !!!! Yes so they have a book that you can choose the movies that you want the selection is decent enough especially when there is only a couple of English tv stations
Dr Kelly, came in with the anesthesiologist who was super sweet and nice, she told me she would take care of me, I really felt that she was genuine, and really sweet and kind, I liked her immediately, she was the warmest person that I had met during this entire trip! Felt great, asked me a couple questions and then they were off again
I went to sleep (and it was ROUGH!) the mattress was so itty bitty and thin and quite uncomfortable, luckily I travelled alone so I took the pad off of the bench and put it under the hospital mattress! All was well there after
Surgery day- all was well, I wasn’t allowed any fluids for 12 hours before surgery, they came into my room and wheeled me down to the operating room, note to self **go to the washroom first, I had to pee, and asked if I could use the bathroom, they told me no and that I would have to use a bed pan- embarrassing! I told them I can walk to a washroom but they didn’t want me getting out of bed, anyways I did what I had to and about 20-30 minutes later they rolled me into the operating room, they also placed these white stalkings on my legs while wheeling me I heard loud music playing, I was wondering are they going to have a party while operating, I definitely hoped not, once I got in, the music stopped and I see my favorite anesthesiologist she told me not to worry and advised that they would be giving me some medicine, well! Next thing I knew I was coming in and out of consciousness, I was in recovery for about 2 hours but I was dosing off and then I was lucid back and forth, it didn’t hurt I felt fine, they eventually wheeled me upstairs to my room, I sleept for another few hours and then got up and started walking, at this point I called my mother who was emotionally shaken as NO ONE HAD CALLED HER!
I walked for about 25 minutes, slow and controlled movements, but after that little bit of walking I was exhausted and slept more! They gave you these pressurized leggings with air, (I’m sure that’s not the name) so the air would go up one panel then to the next and so on, the Doctor came in and told me that I needed to use the lung capacity adapter (I’m sure that’s not the name) You blow into it and as you do there are three balls that will be filled with air and rise to the top, so I tried to do the exercise but every time I did, I would throw up, I threw up about 3x.- It was bloody in color and was totally disgustuing- And the Dr said that I didn’t have to do it anymore (Thank heavens) I was tired of throwing up. I went to sleep but everytime you have to go to the washroom you have to take the leg things off, and then ask the nurse to help you put them back on
I woke up determined to walk around, So I would walk for 30-45 minutes and then take an hour or 2 hour break and then do it again, You have to walk this is the best method to get the gas out, whats surprising is that the gas (its not as if your actually burping or farting- anywho the gas I guess just goes and thus I started feeling a lot better) we did the dye test (blah- tasted horrible) the doctor advised that I could finally start eating, as my test was all good! But after the dye and not eating for24 hours and having surgery my stomach was squeamish, I knew that I was going to throw up that dye and that’s exactly what I did, but I felt fine a little sore but that was exected overall I felt fine, the nurse let me take a shower and I felt so much better, she changed my bandages and felt like a new women.Plus it was the first time I got to see the incisions that were super small, which I thought was great I did more walking and felt even better, the movies were great as a welcomed distraction, sun shining outside felt great to feel like I was in the clear, I did not have to wear either leggings which was awesome!
I was never in pain the entire time from the surgery, they kept asking (the nurses but I was fine) its good to know that in the event that you are, that you will have medication
Nurses- most of them speak some English some better than others but overall you could tell that they liked their jobs and that they were there to help you, felt great to have some one care about you,- please remember to tip them, I felt it was important to do so as my nurse took such great care of me
Discharge Day- I was up early and I had my shower I felt great, bags packed ready to go. Dr. Kelly came in around 10:30 ish and asked if I had any questions, and told me he would be discharging me shortly. I told him that I was very upset at the fact that no one had called my family to let them know that I was ok after surgery, he said oh well my wife doesn’t speak English and the driver is just that a driver, he said why didn’t you tell me I would have called, I said 3 people told me they were going to do something I shouldn’t have even had to ask two others, but clearly I did, and they still could not do what was requested, I explained it was my first surgery and the day of I wasn’t really thinking. That I’m sure it was my nerves or else I would have told him to call my mom..but this is something that I think should be asked prior to surgery .don’t you?
He gave me a video (still not sure what’s on it) all my lab results, the EKG, the swallow test, and two X-rays (that was nice)- also a doctor’s note in case I needed it. CeCe came and gave me the medication that I would need for the month, and some gatoride, it was all fine, I was so ready to get out of the hospital, one step closer to living my life, so then they came and wheeled me into the lounge and I waited, and waited, the customer realtions women came and advised that there was a problem with the billing, I told her I have receipts of everything and she said that Dr. Kelly has to have this cleared up prior to leaving, again I stated I had the receipts and I was ready to leave she told me that they can not release me until the full payment has been made, I start calling Dr. Kelly and ask why I have not been released, he told me that I had and that he would follow up, as the Client Relations women advised that they could not get ahold of the Dr. and that if I wanted to leave that I could just settle the price with them, UHM NO!
I have contract and paid what I was supposed to so take that up with the Dr, about 1 hour passes and Im calling the DR and CeCe and guess what! Neither are answering..Im beyond pissed now, totally annoyed, how can there be no communication, someone tell me whats going on???? The relations women came to the room (as I asked if I could wait in the room, as all the staff) were staring at me, and told me everything has been settled, they take me to the main lobby and guess who I see, Dr. Kelly sitting there on his Ipad, he didn’t say one word to me, how unproffesional! I get into the curtosy van provided by the hotel and guess who else I see! CeCe she asks if Im ok..uhm yha I am now but thanks for yet again your lack of communication and professionalism, we waited for a couple other people and went to the
Hotel- Lucerna the Hotel was I would say 4.5-5 star, was VERY modern, room service, more English channels, clean and we got free broth and jello, even chocolates, I went to the restaurant to eat my broth at one point and they bring over this big huge bowl of broth (way to much for one sitting) actually it would probably take you 7-15 sittings LOL! The broth was warm and tasty, felt good to get something in you! Dr. Kelly came to the hotel room, and asked if I had any questions, when asked about why I was unable to get released he said that there was an outstanding bill of 240.00 $ that he was trying to dispute as the hospital said that he used some tools that he needed to pay for, he told me that he ended up paying for it anyways..well then why make me wait if your going to end up paying for it anyways?? Driver called at 9:30 advising to be in the lobby at 11am, he was there on time and we left, crossed the border took us about 40 minutes to get back to San Diego, driver dropped us off and that was it!
Overall, clearly there are some opportunities for change and growth, I am thankful I had the surgery but am writing this review in hopes that they make some much needed changes, please listen to all your patience as this is your business and you should be able to hear our truths, I hope that this review will allow other people to make informed decisions
I decided to write this review to allow people to hear my truth and my story, this is my personal opinion about an experience that I endured, and it’s as honest as they come, when I asked the Doctor about something I seen on youtube (a video that was posted) he discredited the person by saying that the guy was crazy, I AM NOT! This is my opinion, and if you have any questions please email me at [email protected]
I will and am more than willing to discuss the events with you!
I am arriving tomorrow and having surgery with Dr. Kelly on Friday at San Juan Clinica....despite the recent blow up on his facebook page. I'm 100% confident in his abilities and his successes.
Keep in mind that you are going to a foreign country, not a spa. You are going for a medical procedure, not to be waited on hand and foot. The culture, people and processes can be something you are not used to. if you are inflexible, and have a sense of entitlement, I'd suggest going to your local surgeon so that you are not disappointed. If you want a surgeon who is tops in his field with results to prove it, and defends his wife, practice and his staff, even though it's in a way we Americans may not be used to, then consider Dr. Kelly.
He has my every confidence. After all, I need a surgeon, not an entertainment/wait staff.
Best of luck in your decison,
Rory
HW 350. SW 338. CW 320.
Month 1, including pre-op: -27 pounds.
Hello LadyBugsy, good luck on your trip and your new start to a new wonderful life. I am so happy to see someone posting that they are going to San Juan Clinica and hope you keep us posted on how it was. I have been tossed between getting my surgery with Dr. Ramos Kelly or Dr. Ariel Ortiz and need to make up my mind real soon. I am waiting on my passport card to get processed and once I know when the card will be delivered I want to set my date.
