Dilemma--Which Doctor (X-post)

 I have the option of Dr. Aceves and Dr. Cirangle for VSG. I'm self-pay and travelling for either one of them. Dr. Cirangle is nearly twice the price. Please let me know what you think? Worth it to stay in the states, in a city I know?

They're both really good surgeons. I have to say that I loved Dr Aceves' staff and hospital, but that was my only experience, so that that for what it's worth :) If price is a major concern, maybe consider Dr. Aceves. Really, though, they are both good.

Abby

 Glad to hear you had a good experience with Dr. A. Price is a concern, but not necessarily a deal-breaker. Just looking for a good outcome. 

I think you would get a good outcome with either of them. Someone on the VSG board said something about Dr. Cirangle being in a real hospital with emergency services--Dr. A has that, too. It's a full hospital with 24 hr lab services, a blood bank, cardiac unit, etc. Dr. A has never had a leak, and I think Dr C likely has not either, but that just goes to show you that both surgeons are good. You have to go with the one who makes you feel most comfortable. The nursing staff at Almater is SUPER attentive, super nice--they take great care of you.

Abby

 Thanks. Great to hear your experience at Almater. I must admit the Mexico thing scares me, only because it's the "unknown." I've asked about leaks, my big fear.

Dr. Cirangle reports 0.08% leak (that comes up to 1.44 patients out of 1800 and I'm not sure what 0.44 of a patient is) and risk factors are smoking (which I don't) and advancing diet too quickly (which I'm scared to do). I have heard that Dr. Aceves recently had his first leak (that's 1/1000, so pretty similar to Dr. Cirangle). It was a local patient and the coordinators couldn't tell me much about it except that Dr. Aceves was pretty crushed by it and took great care of the patient. So . . .all in all, pretty rare.  

Both use similar technique. Dr. Cirangle with 32F Bougie and oversew the staple line. Dr. Aceves with 34F and oversew.

Dr. Cirangle doesn't do leak tests because he believes the tests strain the staple line and that a leak may not be detected early. Dr. Aceves does 3 leak tests because he feels they do predict/identify leaks early.

All so confusing right now. I guess I just need to make a decision and stick with it. 

Well, I know I am an anonymous person on the internet, but please don't be afraid of going to Mexico. Mexicali is very safe, and trust me when I say that the pictures of Almater are accurate to what you will get. Super modern, the nursing staff is excellent, and the docs come by to check on you several times a day. The first leak test is done during surgery. The second is done via a purple juice swallow and then observing your drain, and the third is the radioopaque fluid swallow the day before you go. I felt better with the leak tests, to be honest. Dr. Aceves really does care about his patients and wants to do right by them. He repaired the hiatal hernia he found for free, and had there been complications, there would be no charge to take care of me to treat the complications. If you go back for follow-up care, there is no doctor's fees, just fees for the tests and any medications you may need. I really got the feeling from him and his staff that the patients come first. I got that from all the doctors. Dr. Campos, one of the other docs there, went out and got my husband some coffee on his own dime since I was too gorked on meds to tell him how to get some in Spanish. :) The next day, Dr. Campos brought Eric some coffee from his fancy coffee maker/coffee stash from his own house for him to try. :) I also have to tell you the nurses were much friendlier and more caring than the nurses I have experienced here in the US in hospitals. I know not all nurses in the US are jerks, but my personal experience with hospital nurses is that they are burnt out, overworked and can be really short with patients. My hospital experience in Mexico surpasses ANY hospital experience I have had or heard of from family members here in the US. Anyway, in the end, you have to go with the surgeon with whom you are the most comfortable, because it is major surgery. I just wanted to give you more details about my experience to maybe help ease some of your fears. :) 

Good luck, it's a big decision! 
Abby

 Listening to the info and support that Dr Cirangle's patients receive and the way they talk about him,  if I was making the decision, I choose Cirangle.

 Thanks for the input. It's a really hard decision. By the way, congratulations on being on the other side of surgery. Who did you go to and how was your experience.

 Thanks, surgery & recovery were really easy for me and I feel really lucky.  Fluids were difficult for a few days, but now I can drink totally normally  ... start walking now, it makes walking post surgery that much easier.  

I live in Dallas, TX and I chose Nicholson, cuz he had done alot of sleeves, I liked his attitude, all his staff and patients love/respect him and I wanted to stay home.  I'm self-pay as well and it was 12K

I find myself reading the posts of Cirangle's patients.

 I've also seen great things about Dr. Nicholson on these boards. I'm glad it went well for you. His price is only slightly higher than Dr. Aceves and slightly lower than Dr. Cirangle. Tough choices.  I'm not worried about walking. I did a half marathon 4 weeks after my laparoscopic hysterectomy, so I should be good on that front. But, as time gets closer to my scheduled date, I'm having lots of doubts and second guessing my decisions. I guess that's normal.