Guillermo Alvarez Bariatric Surgeon MD

I had the Gastric sleeve procedure done October 17, 2013 by Dr. Guillermo Alvarez. I have lost 24 lbs. in one month. From the moment we met his driver that picked us up at the hotel in San Antonio, I was amazed at the friendly, courteous and organized professionalism of his entire staff. Every step along the way, we were the center of their attention. Both Dr. Alvarez and his partner came and checked on me several times a day while in the hospital. An interpreter was provided for us to make sure we got the attention and answers to any questions. They even saw to my husbands needs as he accompanied me on the trip.
I highly recommend Dr. Alvarez to anyone considering the Gastric sleeve procedure. Any apprehensions we had about having this procedure done outside the United States was completely erased shortly into our trip. I have never received that much attention during a hospital stay here in the states. And the attention still hasn't stopped since we got home. I hear from Dr. Alvarez often. Every time I need to ask him a question he responds quickly to my emails.
My only regret is that I didn't have this procedure done sooner.

Hello everyone, I am a patient of Dr. Alvarez and I just had my VSG surgery October 12, 2013. I don't have enough words to describe my wonderful journey and the experience I had in Piedra Negras, Mexico. It was great! From the first time my husband and I arrived in San Antonio, Texas and through all the journey coming back. Dr. Alvarez and his staff are professionals and they really care about their patients. They explain everything and they make your stay there unforgettable. What can I say? If you follow the book that you receive from Dr. Alvarez you will have no complications and no pain whatsoever. The liquid diet is very important and gives enough time to your body to heal. I have lost 28 pounds in 5 weeks and I am very excited. My clothes fit well and I receive a lot of compliments already. The only regret I have is that I did not do this sooner. I definitely recommend this to everyone interested in changing their life!

I had the Gastric sleeve done in June of 2013 by Dr. Guillermo Alvarez. I loved him from the start, him and his staff were amazing. I was took better care of with them then I have been in the U.S. hospitals. They are always there to make sure you are okay and everything is being took care of. I would tell anyone that is questioning to go to him to go. This is something that I would not think twice about doing again. He sends you home with everything you needs and keeps up with you after your back home. I have e-mailed him and I always get a e-mail back. Overall I would give him and his staff a 10 :)

My fiance and I went to Dr Alvarez for our VSG surgery and are very pleased with our decision. I first contacted his office via email. Susan was very prompt in responding to the email & provided answers to all of our questions. Susan was great walking us through each step required to get us to surgery date.

We flew to San Antonio a day before required & relaxed at La Quinta Inn (the post-op hotel). Our room was very nice & comfortable. The next day Rosy picked us & took us to Eagle Pass. Rosy was very friendly & professional. For those of you who are back seat drivers, sit back & relax; she's an excellent driver & drives the speed limit. She got us over the border both times without any hassles.
On Monday morning when Rosy took us to the hospital, we were greeted at the door by Dr. Alvarez. He made us feel comfortable with his kind & sincere approach. We went into his office and reviewed our health histories with him. His associate Dr Garza weighed us and took our pre-op picture. Dr. Garza then took us to our hospital room to drop off our bags and then to get our chest X-ray & pre-op blood work. After that we went back to our rooms to change into the hospital gowns and off to surgery we went.
Dr. Alvarez is very skilled and I would not hesitate to recommend him to anyone wanting to have VSG. I'm an operating room nurse, my insurance pays for this surgery, but I still chose to go to Mexico to have Dr Alvarez perform our surgeries. I'm impressed with his low complication rates and the number of bariatric surgeries he's performed. I know if we had our surgeries at that hospital I work at, we would have been on the OR table a minimum of two hours. My surgery took 25 minutes and my fiance's was around 35 minutes. Our incisions look like a plastic surgeon closed them. We have had no complications & our recovery has been very routine.
We are also impressed by the number of times Dr Alvarez and his associate physicians checked in on us. That doesn't happen in the U.S. The evening before we got discharged we were shown aftercare videos and were able to ask any questions we had. We got folders with all our surgery information in it, Rx pain meds and an acid reduction med. We got a copy of Dr. Alvarez's book.
Dr Alvarez emails us prior to the start of each diet phase change. We are able to contact him with any questions we have.

The hospital is not new & modern so if that's what is important to you, you'll be disappointed. However, it's clean, quiet, & staffed with nurses who are there for your needs and not to do required paperwork. If we needed pain medication, they came right back with it. We never had to wait.
I found it funny that as patients we didn't have any patient ID bands or anything that designated us as patients (except our hospital gowns and our slow walking in the halls). Most of the nurses don't speak English, but it really was not much of an issue. It gave us a chance to brush up on our rusty Spanish.
Dr. Alvarez has a young lady named Andrea on his staff. She came to check on us a couple of times. She speaks fluent English and is very sweet. She offered to go out to get my mom something for dinner.
Dr. Alvarez really has a great group of people on staff. It was a pleasure meeting all of them. We actually plan on going down just to visit at some point.

Good luck to everyone getting or considering surgery. You can't go wrong with choosing Dr. Alvarez as your VSG surgeon. He's fantastic.

It was unbelievable how organized they were , how quickly everything went and how wonderful everyone was from Rosie the driver to all the Nurses. Dr Alvarez was amazing as were the other drs that assisted him. They made sure I was comfortable the entire time . They don't mess around and make you wait for anything . I arrived and spoke with dr Alvarez and immediately had my blood work and X-rays done and surgery immediately after that! It was all so quick! Dr Alvarez and Susan have answered every email I have made to them so quickly and made my post surgery time so much better! They are all amazing and I would and have recommended Dr Alvarez to everyone.

Great Experience with no complications. The office and medical staff did a great job and Dr. Alvarez goes above and beyond with his care. My wife was with me and the staff escorted her to local restaurants. The area is safe and the people are very pleasant. I would highly recommend Dr. Alvarez!

I felt very comfortable and safe the entire time I left San Antonio with Rosie until I was released 2 days later to drive home. Dr Alvarez and his staff were very kind and professional- the rooms were clean and comfortable. I'm a nurse, so I checked it all out! I have nothing negative to say. Susan has answered every email (and they are many!) in a timely manner and has been so kind and helpful as she is a VSG patient herself. I would recommend Dr. Alvarez to my loved ones, I have that much confidence in him. I have had minimal pain - I awoke from surgery and had none! My tiny incisions have healed beautifully and I'm feeling great! If you have any doubts or fears, I can say from experience that going to Piedras Negras, Mexico to have Dr. Guillermo Alvarez perform Bariatric surgery is very safe and a great experience!!! Can't say enough about how great it was!!!

I can understand the hesitation of going out of country for VSG surgery because of preconceived or unfounded notions. My experience with Dr. Guillermo Alvarez has been astonishing and so unlike my experiences with physicians and surgeons stateside.

First, the personal contact with Dr. Alvarez's staff from my initial inquiry has been amazing, consistent, personable and highly informative. The incredible patient education via You-Tube made all the difference for me and elevated my comfort level. His personal Q&A as well as the testimony of his patients put all my fears at ease. His attentive care for you is reflected in every detail of your encounter from the moment you are picked up at the hotel to the moment you are returned following surgery and recovery.

The morning of surgery was very tranquil with meeting and conferring with Dr. Alvarez as soon as we arrived at the medical center, his staff assistants were very friendly, respectful and informative with any questions or concerns. Lab work and ex-ray were done with great skill and promptness, no waiting. The rooms are immaculate and comfortable.

Having both Dr. Alavarez and Dr. Rosales visit several times following surgery and the following day was a bonus as I experienced their sincere concern and availability to me as their patient. The nursing staff is optimal and compassionately attentive, making sure that I was comfortable and in no pain.

The discharge patient education was excellent and a real confidence-builder as I felt better equipped to continue my journey to good health and well-being with my new tool: a gastric sleeve. Dr. Alvarez's post-op follow-up has been very good and always encouraging.

Today is the fourth week since my surgery, I have lost 35 lbs. since surgery for a total of 108 lbs. since the pre-op diet. I can't argue with success! So, I wholeheartedly recommend and encourage anyone who has been struggling with obesity, particularly morbid obesity (as myself) to seek out and trust Dr. Guillermo Alvarez. You shall not regret it and be grateful to yourself for finally taking that step to your own wellness and optimal health with the aid of the skill and talent of Dr. Alvarez and his entire staff. Thank you, Dr. Alvarez!

DR Alvarez is the best and I sincerely mean that. He and his staff of doctors are incredible and are some of the most professional doctors I have ever witnessed. I would also say that his staff and the hospital staff are wonderful. I was well cared for the whole time I was there. From the moment I walked through the door and met Dr Alvarez, I felt confident that I was going to be okay. You see, I was there alone. Most patients have a family member or friend with them for support, I didn't. Fortunately, another patient's family decided to take on that role and made sure I was okay throughout my stay. The surgery went without a hitch as far as I felt. Dr. Alvarez works with 3 other doctors and it seemed as though one of the doctors including Dr Alvarez, was in the hospital checking on patients 2 or 3 times a day. Not to mention his staff being at the hospital at all times making sure we were all cared for. I was comfortable throughout my stay, which was all of Friday, all of Saturday, and discharged on Sunday. When you get ready to leave, Dr Alvarez makes sure you are ready and in doing so he provides you with needed medications and detailed instructions. Dr. Alvarez is a gift from God. The work he does for the obese population so we can improve our lives and experience much improved health is his calling. I got my life back and the money I spent to accomplish this by having the VSG surgery I consider an investment in the bank. It will allow me to continue my work and enjoy more that life has to offer. I 60 years old, and am 4 weeks post surgery. I started the pre-surgery diet 7 weeks ago and so far I have lost 54 lbs with a goal of at least 100, I am over half way there and I feel great. To anyone considering this surgical option, I can only say that Dr. Alvarez is the best. I also cannot go without mention of Rosie. Rosie is the driver who takes you from San Antonio to Eagle Pass and then into Piedras Negras (sp) and then back after discharge. I will just say that she is also a great member of the Dr's staff and a vital link in this whole process. Be safe.

Our first impression of Dr. Alvarez was great! He was very nice, and informative. We were nervous about going to Mexico! The media doesn't help. Rosey was awesome! She put us at ease from the start! When we arrived and met with Dr. A and some of his staff, he went over everything and let me ask all the questions I had. After surgery the Drs and nurses were very helpful and concerned. The morning nurse Andrea was soooo great to me and my wife. My wife was scared to leave me and was scared to go out. Andrea went and got her something to eat and her bedside manner was the best! Our afternoon nurse was great too! He knew his stuff and was very helpful and sweet! They understood that we had no clue period! Lol. Jessica was great too, but she worked the night shift so we didn't see her as much as the others. Dr. A and his surgeon assistants were great about checking on us and answering all the questions we had. After we got back home we really liked to be able to email the Dr directly. He has been great to get right back with us. The surgery has helped me a lot. I have lost about 45lbs already. It is strange not eating a huge plate full, but I am getting use to it. We have to say something about Susan! She is who you will be in contact with before surgery and honestly, not sure it would have happened without her knowledge and support! Overall it has been great, it is definitely a life style change but totally worth it!