Question:
my mom is nuts!
Oh, this is so ridiculous, but I want to be able to show my mother some intelligent answers. (oh, yes, and I am 43!) She assumes that because a surgeon operates in Mexico, that he has had problems in the U.S. Like malpractice or something, so that he needs to operate in a country with lower medical standards. Give her the answers, please! My insurance has a written exclusion, and I am appealing, but all options are on the table, and I WILL get my surgery if I have to do it myself! (just kidding) Thanks for the support! darci — darci T. (posted on July 18, 2003)
July 17, 2003
Sadly that is the attitude of a lot of people. Please go to the SOUTH OF
THE BORDER
— Delores S.
July 17, 2003
Sadly, that is the attitude of a lot of people. Please go to the
"South of the Border" forum here on the site andd let her read
all the good info listed there. That should help.
— Delores S.
July 17, 2003
Many of those Dr.'s are foreign born and US trained, it has nothing to do
with malpractice. They simply want to work in their home countries
(probably the greatest reason). Other reasons include that quite a few
foreign gov'ts send their young Dr's here for high quality training. They
pay a large portion of the medical school costs with the understanding that
the Dr has to work back home for many years to "work it off".
Some of the Dr's not only have clinics for people like us, but they run
clinics to help those less fortunate. Another reason is that the US Gov't
allows many Dr's to come here to train under VISA exchange progams. They
sometimes require certain categories of students to sign a document stating
that they will return home after training. If the graduate does not go
home, they can be treated as an illegal and lose all future ability to
travel across the border without being arrested. Also, they are smart. They
know that their living and clinic costs will be lower in places like
Mexico, they know that people with US Dollars and Euro dollars look for
that, they make more $ by staying south of the border. Best of luck...
— M B.
July 17, 2003
Your mom's not nuts, she's just worried about her baby! And isn't it
amazing how we revert to *feeling* like babies when we get around our
moms?! (I'm 55) While you're researching foreign surgeons, check out
duodenalswitch.com; Dr Marchesini in Brazil and Dr. Baltasar in Spain are
beloved by their American patients. There are others too but I don't know
anything about them; you may find discussion groups at Yahoo. Good luck!
Chris, DS 6/02, 378/230, 67/35, 38/18.
— Chris T.
July 17, 2003
Darci, please let you mother know that it's OK to be skeptical about going
out of the country but there are some good doctors that operate out of
Mexico. My Dr, Dr. Aguirre, practices out of Ensenada Mexico. He was born
and raised in San Diego to his Mexican father, american mother and
practiced at a San Diego hospital where he started performing gastric
bypass. He now has 14 years of experience and I am so glad I went to him.
I got superb care from his and all of his nurses and now am 11 weeks post
op, -71 lbs and feeling great. My surgeon here in the Washington DC area
checked me out and said that everything was PERFECT. I have healed
beautifully and have no problems with any foods and no hernia's. Please
feel free to e-mail me with any questions. Go to my page and click into my
website, my whole trip is there along with pictures! Good luck to you!
— SMG I.
July 17, 2003
You may want to do a nationwide search on www.questionabledoctors.org , in
serting the name of the surgeon in Mexico to see id he/she has been
sanctioned by any state licensing boards in the United States. Although
the database is not totally comprehensive, it is a good free way to do a
quick search, and if it comes back negative, it may help your mother to
relax a little.
— David F.
July 18, 2003
Darcy, I had my surgery fronm a WONDERFUL M.D. in Mexico. He even put my
Mom's fears at ease. His name is Dr.Rumbaut. He is in Monterey Mexico.
Everything there is first class all the way. There is no back alley
medicine there. His assistant's name is Doralisa. Look for him under the
BANDSTERS website. He is phenomenal and the price was right. By the way,
they do have medical guidelines and practices down there too. Tell Mom
that Mexico has been doing the procedure longer than U.S. surgeons and have
it down to an art. I don't know how old you are, but if you are finacially
independent, and live alone, you can listen to her words but you don't have
to follow her rules.
— Klynn D.
July 18, 2003
I know hundreds of people who have gone to Mexico for their initial surgery
or plastics and are VERY pleased. The hospitals treated them as a guest,
rather than the inconvenince as they do here. The one I have met
personally is native Mexican, but did his studies in Ohio!
— vitalady
July 18, 2003
I also went to Dr. Aguirre in Ensenada, MX. The care that I received was
excellent and I would go back in a heartbeat and I would send anyone I
cared about to this doctor. I have had ZERO complications. I have seen
several doctors/nurses since my return and they are all amazed at how good
my incision looks. I'm really happy that I went to Mexico for my open RNY
and I will probably go back for plastic surgery, if insurance won't pay for
that either. I did a very thorough background search on Dr. Aguirre. I
contacted the San Diego Medical Society, the American Medical Association
(AMA) who told me how to research backgrounds on doctors in Mexico, I also
contacted the Mexican Medical Board and contacted the hospital that he
worked at in San Diego and the doctor that he worked with there. I never
got one bad report on him. I know another woman who did her own thorough
background check on him. Many Americans tend to be "snobs" in
thinking that America has the best medical care and is the only nation that
can provide decent care in a medical setting. This simply isn't true. In
fact, the doctors that I was considering locally (if insurance had paid)
both have an approximate 20% complication rate for open RNY. Dr. Aguirre's
complication rate is less than 1%. Those are odds I'm confident in going
with. I hope insurance pays for your surgery but if it doesn't, please
research Dr. Alejandro Aguirre. You will love him!
— [Deactivated Member]
July 18, 2003
Oh Darci, you and I could have the same mother. You are 43, you are an
adult, make a decision and forget your mother. She is controlling and
non-informed. She has her own issues, don't make them yours. It's time to
grow up. (no meanness meant to you.) I only say this because my mother
was/is an abuser like yours sounds. If I may make a suggestion? If you are
43 and you still let your mother influence your decisions, get counseling
to deal with her. You know what's best for you. I'm sure she has your best
wishes at heart, but remember, in the 40-50's, women were very complaint
and not open to new things. You go girl! It'll be the best thing you've
ever done in your life. (And not being morbidly obese will allow you to
outlive your mother. )
— sandieguy
July 18, 2003
Darci, I'm turning 31 in a couple weeks but my family is a huge part of my
life and so I value their opinions and feelings. So I understand listening
and worrying about your mothers concerns and feelings. I went to Mexico
last year to a surgeon who is a wonderful plastic surgeon. I had my big
tummy removed with a very extensive tummy tuck. It was a huge operation
but I'd done a lot of research on my doctor and spent a lot of time
communicating with another US patient of his who had many surgeries through
him. My parents reaction was one of shock when I told them I needed to go
to Mexico for surgery. But they understood why. Knew I needed to. And
when they knew I'd done my research and such they supported me. My advise
would be to sit and talk with you mom. Make sure she knows why you need
the surgery, explain the cost differences, share your research with her on
the surgery and the surgeon you're using. Also let her know that you've
been in contact with other Americans. Basically let is shine through that
you've educated yourself and will be in excellent hands there. They still
may be nervous about it, who isn't nervous at surgery anyhow!, but
hopefully your mom has enough faith and confidence in you to realize you've
made the right decision for yourself and support you in it. Also it may
help to bring up facts about how long Mexico was ahead of the US in the WLS
field, how they did lap bands years before and were very much involved in
the NIH studies. Obviously an institution like the NIH isn't seeking
information from "flunkies" but from qualified, experienced
surgeons.
— Shelly S.
July 19, 2003
The questions I have for your mother is this. So your mother thinks that
America is the only place that intelligent people work, please! Some of
the doctors here in the States have a lot to be desired. There are good
doctors here as well as other parts of the world. Perhaps if your mother
is so simple and narrow in her thoughts and she is so concerned that Mexico
is unsafe she ehould pay for the surgery. I went to Mexico and I also
happen to be a practicing RN. Take Care and always stay focused, that is
what I had to do and I am happy that I did.
— train
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