lapbad revision, huacuz mexico

Sorry it took me so long to get back to you!

I know of at least 2 patients that have died under his care, and many many patients that have been harmed by him.

Here are a few links you should read up on, but they are by no means the only or worst cases, and none of them are about the deaths.. those generally go un-noticed because frequently the people went on their own on the cheap and of course Huacuz is great at trying to put it off as "a possibility of surgery".. my ass! These people were hurt (or died!) because of his incompetance and the fact that he doesn't want people to leave when they are obviously NOT doing okay.

http://www.bandsters.wordpress-by.org/abc-news-andres-betancourt.html

http://www.obesityhelp.com/member/adee_baby/

http://leibyclan4.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2008-12-24T13%3A27%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=7

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f11/molding-clinic-dr-huacuz-andres-betancourt-4113/

http://drhuacuz.com/

There are more but I'm not on my computer (on my cellphone) where the links are. When I get a chance, I'll update this with more links.. including to news articles and videos about the horror that's been happening. If you asked some of the surgeons in San Diego (especially at Scripps Hospital) they'd tell you what a horrific surgeon Huacuz is. They hate him there, and rightly so.

What ever happened to Marty?  Did he survive?  Last I read he was still in ICU.

I haven't heard anything about Marty in months. Honestly, I've been concerned that something bad could've happened since there's been absolutely no news for such a long time. He was in ICU for months..

If you hear anything, please let me know.

Wasn't there a DS person that knew him in real time?  She is the one that posted the thread on the DS forum telling what happened to him.  Is anyone around that knows him?

I'd agree with the other posters - its a revision surgeon you want first, then a whatever wls surgeon next. The surgeon I chose does all the surgeries and is experienced in revisions, so I felt safe with him.

I didn't realise how much effect just having a silicon band round your stomach could have on it - in most cases he says the walls of the stomach react by getting thicker, which makes them harder to stitch, and you will have scar tissue from the band stitches too.

He insisted on taking the band out and waiting 2 months for the stomach to recover, which is a pain but you have to take expert advice. Even then he said it was tricky, and it took him 11 hours in total, most of which was on the VSG part. I like it that he's thorough, although my shoulders ached more than anything after being in theatre so long!

So don't pick anyone to revise you that you haven't heard being recommended by people who have been there. For VSG alone check on the VSG board, for DS theres a few of us on the DS board who are former bandsters - my surgeon's not much help to you unless you fancy a shopping trip to London!

Hi and best of luck and wishes to you.  My husband had the DS (switch part only as he was only moderately overweight) for his diabetes in MX with Dr. Ungson and I can tell you from first hand experience and not being on pain drugs that the care and experience we had was second to NONE.  The hospital was exceptionally clean (in fact, while on the plane there, i sat across from a RN from Chicago who part of a peer review group and saw her later in the cafeteria and she told me the hospital was as clean in the places you didn't see as it was in the places you could).  It got an A+ on it's review, too.

Dr. Ungson speaks good english, his professionalism and warmth is wonderful, his staff is great and efficient and his prices are fair.

Also, I would encourage you as a revision to look into the DS because as you know, revisions are a riskier surgery (which is why I'm recommending Ungson if you're looking at MX) and you don't want to wind up needing a 3rd surgery.  Come visit us on the DS board.

There are experienced revisions surgeons in the US with a fair self pay price, too, if you're interested in going that route.

Ohhhh, be very careful.  Read the links posted.  Do your research.  Don't shop by price, shop by skill.  You aren't buying a sofa, this is your health.

Hi I'm a gastric band to RNY conversion. I had my first band installed in 1999 and a second one installed about five years later because the first (a lapband) was causing me all kinds of problems so I converted to a MIDband (available in France and other parts of Europe).  Did better with the second band but never really had the success I was looking for.

Went back again to the same surgeon (one of the best in the world by the way) who advised either VSG or RNY, I felt RNY had more chance of being successful so chose that route.

Like another poster, my surgeon would not agree to do the switch in one hit and removed the band first and tidied up any residual adhesions. I then waited about two months before the RNY was done.

I have made a fantastic recovery and have not suffered any ill-effects or any unpleasant side-effects. I can eat pretty much anything, obviously avoiding refined sugar, and am losing weight steadily.

If any surgeon offers you a revision in one hit, I would be very wary, it's a very big operation and not to be undertaken lightly.  And for me personally, I wanted something more radical so opted for RNY. My surgeon is not a fan of DS because of the complications regarding malnutrition and I respected that, therefore, RNY was the best option for me.

Good luck with your decision.

I think a lot of it depends on what surgery type you had, the problems you experienced, and what you are revising to.

The Standard of Care in the US and Mexico is to try and revise in one procedure when acceptable due to increased risk of surgical and anesthesia complications.  Some risks you just plain double with two surgeries.

Mine was easily revised from band to sleeve but I also had a surgeon that is quite skilled, that's why I went to him vs. my options in Phoenix.  My insurance would have covered it in Phoenix but I was not happy with the surgeons I had to pick from, they simply were not good enough for a revision so I went where the surgeon was the best and had a very safe surgery.

So it's not really accurate to say revisions should be done in two surgeries.  There are many factors that need to be considered.