Guillermo Alvarez Bariatric Surgeon MD

I am extremely happy that I chose Dr. Alvarez for this procedure. I was very scared because my mother had gone through a gastric bypass not less than a year ago. She has a six inch vertical cut in the middle of her torso and she came home with a feeding tube and two very large draining tubs. She was not allowed to eat or drink anything by mouth for a month after the surgery. This was a very freighting experience for me. rnMy surgery by Dr. Alvarez was a great experience. The doctor’s and staff were very helpful and accommodating. Everything from the hotel stay, which was very enjoyable, to the pre-surgery meeting, the sugary itself, and the after care was made as comfortable as possible. My surgery consisted of five small incisions, one right under my breast bone and four across my tummy. Right after the surgery, I felt no pain just a little discomfort, which was quickly remedied by the nursing staff. The second day after my surgery, I was allowed to have jell-o and/or juice. Both the doctor’s and the staff were very vigilant for both my mother and my every need during our stay. Every question and/or worry was answered immediately during the debriefing, where the doctor explained the home care needed and the medication scheduling which are included in the take home packet. rn rn

I was highly impressed when I first met Dr. Alvarez. He was kinds and personable and very professonal. We were very impressed with the staff. They were very professional also and even the night crew who spoke a little english understood what our needs were. The doctors came in several times to check in on us and the staff was in every 2 hours after that. We did'nt get much sleep but I'd rather have care over sleep anyday. We were so impressed with the overall care from everyone that we would recomend this VSG surgery to our loved ones. As my husband wouod say\" Proofs in the Puddin\" we will be skinny in 6-12 months and will keep you informed on our blog. Hats off to Dr. A.....

Dr. Alvarez, is a kind, gentle and most importantly knowledgeable surgeon. He made me comfortable w/the surgery I had chosen (the VSG) and confident in his abilities. His staff is outstanding (the patient coordinator, the young lady who drives patients too and from the hospital and one of his nurses are OUTSTANDING) I ABSOLUTELY loved Dr. Alvarez and his staff.

I haven't talked to Dr. Alvarez yet, but I have talked to Susan, and she is wonderful! She has been his patient, so if she has been there, done that AND works for him---that says a lot in my book! Maybe I could work for him? MMM, that would mean moving, so maybe not. I HATE to move :) rnrnrnOk, I have had surgery. Dr. A is very nice, as is his associate. I loved his nurse and Rosie was great too. Susan is the bestest ever! (As tigger would say). Dr. is caring, compassionate, hard working, and all around a good guy. I have lost 5 pounds in the first week, which is less than I thought, but hey, I am glad with anything. I hope that after my body \"de-shocks\" from the surgery that I will be on the downslide hill even more.rnrnThe rooms were nice(but needed new/better mattress for the hospital bed). Facility was in an older building and had more \"old fashioned medical things\" such as nurses with white uniforms and caps--but very caring and always there to help if needed. I always saw someone cleaning and it was very quiet at night so I could sleep, which is different than my hospital stays in the US.rnrnDr. A or his associate checked on me at least 4 times a day and his nurse that many also. My dad was in the hospital for a month and you MAY see the doctor once a day, and except CVICU, you only saw a nurse when you pushed the button.rnrnThe only bad thing was my IV. The anes. doctor had a rough time getting it to go right...I think after the 4th or 5th and three different spots on my arm, he got it.rnrnDr. A is great! I hope the sleeve is the bestest thing ever! It hasn't been a hard surgery or recovery.

Dr. A and his entire team were fabulous! I had surgery last Friday, 7/27/07, and I'm back to work today. He is the most caring, compassionate, 'real' person you would ever want to meet and also and EXCELLENT medical professional and surgeon. I had my concerns about going to Mexico but the care I received was OUTSTANDING! I would not hesitate to recommend Dr. Alvarez to anyone including my family. See my personal page to read my diary about the journey. I am happily seated on the \"Loser's Bench\" as they say on OH. My own US doctor was very supportive of my decision and said, 'the US does not have a lock on good medicine--it's available in other countries too.' CathyKyrnrnPlastic Surgery 11.1.08 Dr. Francisco Sauceda in Monterrey, Mexico: LBL, inner thigh lift, BL/BA, brachioplasty. An amazing experience with Dr. S--his wife is the anesthesiologist and they are a tight team. I was in very little pain during the entire healing process--mostly positional pain from moving around in bed. Dr. S did a fabulous job and I will soon upload photos. I have no regrets of having it all done at once--I'm almost six weeks post-op and glad it is behind me now!

My experience with Dr. Alvarez and the staff in Mexico was absolutely wonderful. From the moment I met Rosy and shared the fears of going to Mexico, with her experience and knowledge she gently and calmly put those fears to rest. I would encourage anyone considering having WLS to definitely consider this very competent surgeon. Not only are he and his staff highly qualified, but you can feel and see the incredible passion they have to help the Obese achieve a higher quality of life. I had surgery on Dec. 2, 2008 and I feel great and have had absolutely no complications whatsoever. The care afterwards was better than I could even imagine. Susan called me at the hotel once I was back in San Antonio to see how I was doing and Dr. Alvarez has emailed me since I have been home to make sure I was doing good and if I had any questions concerning the surgery. I don't know of any surgeon in the US that does that! I would recommend anyone to Dr. Alvarez…. He is awesome!!! Between Dr. Alvarez (the most awesome surgeon), Susan (the sweetest, nicest, patient coordinator), Rosy (the beautiful, fun driver) and all of the rest of the staff, I had the most wonderful surgical experience in Mexico. I look forward to seeing Dr. Alvarez and the rest of the team in Las Vegas for the reunion in March.rnrn

I have researched Dr. Alvarez and can not find anything negative. My PCP approved of him and going to Mexico and I am set. I have spoke with Susan who has set everything up for me. She is super nice, understanding and VERY helpful. So the next step is liquids for 14 days before surgery Nov. 28, yeah.rnrnWow. My mom and I traveled to Eagle Pass.rnWe arrived on Thanksgiving and the Holiday Inn was very nice. We were picked up by Rosie at 645AM. Got in the van and off over the border which was no big deal at all. Rosie gave my mom all kinds of information about the town and where she might want to go. We go into the Doctors office and wait for a few minutes and he arrives. He calls me in and as soon as he talked my mom felt better. She was so worried about the whole thing. She asked questions and he answered everything for her and she felt the stress just go away. Then his nurse came and got us and she was very sweet and kind. They were cleaning the suites up so but me in room #7 for pre-op they started my IV. I was very nervous at this time so they gave me something to relax. Well all I remember is waking up in my suite #29 I think. I was hurting ( I do not handle pain well) but Dr. Alvarez was standing right there and said hold on give me 5 minutes and you will feel better, lol it was more like 5 seconds. I slept for 5 hours and when I woke up I felt much better. My mom was MIA and I got up and made it to bathroom and before I knew it people were checking on me. My mom would go downstairs to smoke and I would go with her and walk the 1st floor hallway. Then we went back up to room and relax. My mouth was very dry very very dry but it is just part of the anethesia is what Dr. Alvarez told me. That was the hard part for me the first night. My mom went and had empanadas across the street with a patient next doors mom. My mom said the food was great and the company was better. The next day Christina and Dr. Alvarez were checking on me. I walked the halls some more and then I was able to get the IV out and the surgery wraps off my legs and go to his office and do a leak test. All was well so then Dr. Alvarez said I could have some water. He was so nice and helpful and took me back to room. My mom needed change and he got her change. My mom needed a chair, he got her a chair. He helped to make her comfortable and that meant alot to me. The other patient and left early that morning and we had a new patient. So off my mom was making friends. I was able to shower and that felt great. The bathroom was really nice. I was sleeping on and off. Well before I knew it my mom was having dinner with this patient husband and coming back and we went out to go smoke, not me but my mom. We walked in and there was Dr. Alvarez. He was coming up to check on us, Wow. No US doctor that I know of would do that. He was right on top of things and really cared about his patients. He gave me something to help me sleep and it did. My mom said a trauma came in that night and it was a little loud, I never heard a thing. The next morning Dr. A was there he gave me all my discharge instructions and medicine I would need to take and told me to email him when we got home so he knew we would be home safe. He then helped my mom get all the luggage and walked us to van. The whole experience was amazing. From the first day I arrived I knew I was in safe hands. The hospital was a little old but very clean. The rooms are very nice and the night nurses are very nice. They wear the white nurse dresses with the little white nurse caps, at night they were very gentle with taking blood pressure or changing IV bag. If you needed something there is a button on your bed to push and they were right there to try and help you. Honestly if I had to have surgery again I would rather be there then at home where you get pushed through like a number. No people coming in grapping a chart at the end of your bed, not a million faces coming in and out of your room and surely not a surgeon who checks on you 5 times a day. At the very beginning of this decision I was not sure about Mexico. Then reading stories on here made me feel better and then when my doctor at home ok'd it I felt good. Well I can tell you it was great. Dr. Alvarez is very caring and knows your name and is concerned for your health, comfort and overall being. If you plan on having gastric sleeve surgery I can tell you Dr. Alvarez is the way to go, any questions feel free to email me. The great news my surgery was Nov. 28 I was 259.6 today December 9 I am 245 pounds. 14.6 pounds 12 days post-op. Also I found about 5 or 6 channels in English and had the computer to send emails back home. There is a phone outside of the room and alot of people called to check on me.I can tell you that my experience was great, I would highly recommend Dr. Alvarez, his staff and his hospital to anyone.

When i first met Dr Alvarez and his team I knew i was in good hands by their professionalism. From the minute Rosie picked me up in San Antonio I felt at ease. I then met Dr Alvarez and Dr. Rosales and private nurse Christina. We went over all the surgery questions that i had and they described everything in detail. Very easy to talk to and all my questions were answered. Of course all the risks were talked about, also after surgery Dr. Rosales went over in detail what i need to do afterwards for aftercare. I know it sounds phoney, but there was nothing abouut my trip that made me want to change my mind. I would send any of my family to these surgeons in a minute if they needed this surgery. If i had to rate my overall experience it would be 10 out of 10! If you are wanting more info please contact me and i will give you more about my experience! The only problem i had was that I had to travel an extra day because i had to come from so far. It was a long trip home!

In my book on a scale from 1-10 Dr. Alvarez and his staff are a 20! From the moment I spoke with Susan I felt I was going to the right Dr. When I met Rosie at the hotel, her kindness, cheery disposition and information just reinforced this. Then my husband and I met Dr. A. He was exactly as I had heard. The best bedside manner you could ever hope for. Kind, caring, concerned, willing to listen, knowledgeable. My husband is not easily impressed and he was very impressed. Christine, his nurse is so sweet. She was always there, usually before you needed her! I didn't have any problem whatsoever with any nurses not speaking English. Hand signals worked easily plus they seem very accustomed to the few English words you may need to use. I really didn't need to ask for anything as my needs were all taken care of before I knew I had them. Dr. Alvarez's surgery skills are amazing. I just had my gallbladder out 1 month prior and couldn't think that this surgery would be easier but it was! Amazing! I could have left the next day without any issues, but the fact Dr. A keeps you there for two days just shows his concern to watch over you. He was always there too. I've never had a doctor check in on me so many times each day. I have not told anyone at home (except my husband) that I had surgery, including my kids. Not one person has the least bit of a clue, that's how good Dr. A is! Dr. A's office is very contemporary and nice. When you go across to the hospital it is older but do not let that sway your decision. When you get into his area, the suites are redone and very nice. The bathroom/shower area is beautiful. There is a computer in every room and a phone you can make calls home with are all available to you. The entire hospital is so clean. Even the sidewalk area outside looked like it had been mopped. The only time I was even in the older part of the hospital was when I was walking and it was as spotless as the rest. So this is really not a concern at all. This experience was amazing all the way around. My husband and I were able to be tourists two days after my surgery walking around The Alamo and down at the Riverwalk in San Antonio. That night at our hotel, we received a call from Susan checking on us we had been out of there care for six hours. Dr. A and his staff have got it down to a science with personality! Do not be afraid to cross the border, you are never alone and it is completely safe. If my children needed surgery I would not hesitate to take them there. My whole experience was wonderful, if you are trying to decide where to go and contemplating Dr. A, just give them a call or email and you will understand first hand what I'm speaking of. Thank you so much Dr. Alvarez!!!!!

Dr. Alvarez is FANTASTIC!!! A+++++. I loved him and would highly recommend him to anyone!! The experience was great from the moment I met Dr. A till the day I left. I had my surgery on 10/8/08 and I am a size 10 now!!! Wow!! Haven't been this weight in 10 years!!! I can't be happier! THANK YOU DR. ALVAREZ!!!