Surgery in MX vs USA
I've heard so many friends complain about their lengthy process here in the states! I'm so glad we chose to go to MX with Dr Jaime Ricardo Ramos-Kelly. I have a friend who had her sleeve done here but only lost a little weight then it just stopped. Come to find out, her so called "renowned" surgeon didn't do it right! There were so many complaints about this Dr. from Houston that he retired soon after her surgery & left her & all his other patients high & dry! So, she went for a re-do with Dr Jaime Ricardo Ramos-Kelly & that time her Mom went too! They have both done great since!!!
I am almost two weeks post op. I was self pay and had my surgery in the states. (To the tune of nearly 17k.) Given how I'm feeling now, and the level of follow-up support I need and am receiving, I am very glad I had my procedure at a local hospital and with a local surgeon. So far no complications, thank god, but I feel better knowing my team is within a twenty mile radius. I wouldn't have wanted to travel post-op given how I was feeling, anyway.
I know many go to Mexico and are very happy, but I made the right choice for me.
That is great to hear. Sadly I have had friends and family that have had varied results using supposedly the best surgeons around in the states. Some of them have either lost little weight or way too much & now they have seizures, anemia, vitamin deficiencies and more. A couple have had decent results too. I had this to get healthy, not just thinner... And of course like you said moat paid way too much money. We had insurance that would've paid and we still chose to go to MX because the surgeon we chose gera awesome results. We've since had many friends & family use him eith awesome results! We just wanted to go with proven results & a board certified surgeon that gets them. We each have our own reasons for choosing the surgeon that we do. I just think ppl need to know they have other safe professional choices that don't cost a small fortune. Only $4700 for health & happiness & longer life is awesome!!! And the best part is after the 2nd day we had no pain & never had drains. We went to the zoo in San Diego after the 4th day & back to work after a week!!! Just couldn't lift over 25 lbs. & we lost all our weight in 7 months. My son is only 5 & 1/2 weeks out & is already town 53 pounds. It's awesome!!! & we all have energy thru the roof! Me & my hubby are a little over 3 years out. Best of luck with your surgery. Also we follow up for labs with our PCP... Not problems there! 😊
This entire process is very personal. I chose to have surgery at a bariatric center of excellence just 20 minutes from home, and I have been very pleased with the level of care and respect I have received through every step of this proces. Having insurance coverage, lifetime followup care and support groups are all huge pros for me, but that doesn't mean medical tourism is a bad choice for others.
Mexico is cheaper but cheaper comes with some problems , there standards are not as high as in the Usa , you may have trouble getting medical care in the USA or life and health insurance if you have surgery in Mexico( my surgeon will not see you if you had surgery thee
there is little after care and support from the surgeons in Mexico,I know one answers any question with e mails
if you go there use one of the well known surgeons go to the Mexico surgery forum and ask them where to go
there are some inexpensive surgeons in the USA , in Texas , las vaegus , New Jersey
To clarify I was a self pay in the USA. (Glad I did as I ended up with pnemonia and back in hospital. Would that have happened in Mexico or a different USA hospital, who knows..)
Substandard care outside of the USA is a fallacy - just the same way that always above standard care is a fallacy in the USA. There is excellent care, good care and bad care all around the world. Since the USA is behind on allowing many new surgeries (and also slow to outlaw bad products) many intl surgeons are teaching USA ones as they are quite experienced in the procedure at that point.
The risk Of complication when not in my home country was not good for me. I also have one of the best surgeons in the country 10mins down the road... Was kind of a no brainer. Had I been in a different place and different time, Mexico would def have been an option.
I respect everyone's choice especially when it comes to WLS but in my opinion and mine alone, there is no way I would go abroad for this, be it Mexico, Europe, etc. I'm lucky to have a center of excellence 15 minutes from my house but even if I didn't and had to pay the $20k for it as self pay I still would. The follow up care is what's really important to me.
Well it definitely depends on who you use in Mexico. I only used a surgeon who is board-certified in the United States as well as Mexico. And I made sure that I could follow up with my PCP before I went. And I have wonderful life insurance and medical insurance. I was right around the corner from a state of the art medical facility & renowned surgeon but chose not to use them. Like I said I put this on here so that people would know they do have other extremely good, professional as well as a less expensive choice. Always do your research and make sure that you have good follow-up care afterwards. And yes my surgeon is the one in Mexico that does keep up with you on a daily basis if needed. I correspond with him almost every day on Facebook too. Not that it is necessary but that's just the kind of person he is. Now that is definitely not something you would get in the states and we all know it. As a medical professional working for many surgeons and physicians over 30 years I know that to be a fact. And I did work for some awesome physicians.
