Hi all, I mostly read, but not post. I find everyone's input helpful as I gather information for my potential journey.

I have come to the realization that despite the fact I can appeal my insurance's wls exclusion clause, it probably won't be successful. I have also realized tht given my medical issues, I really need to find a way to have the DS surgery as self pay. After looking at the vetted dsfacts list and calling around, my original choice is way outside what i can afford going into debt.  My second choice, Dr stewart in TX, has more reasonable self pay rates. However, going to either the vetted docs in Brazil or Mexico seems like   an option I should at least investigate.  I am foing to have to travel regardless, since the closest vetted doc is three hours away.

For those that choose to go overseas, would you do it again?  If you had complications, how did they get resolved? I guess I need to find out how far out past surgery can the surgical complications occur (leaks, infections, etc that would require surgical corrections). Are there any other issues that I haven't thought about.  I would rather make the right overalldecision rather than the cheapest financial decision. My life is worth it. I would loveto hear all input, good or bad. Now is the time to assess everything.

Hi,

I traveled to Brazil because at the time I had surgery the self-pay price for revision surgeons that I considered was around $50,000. I narrowed down my out-of-the-US surgeons to 2 and chose Dr. Marchesini in Brazil.  My total including airfare, food and hotel in 2005 was $13,000.

Ok, fast forward to 2011.  The US dollar is weak and I believe that lap surgery with Dr. M is somewhere around $16,000 and then you need to add your airfare, food and hotel.  I love Dr. M., hell I would marry the man (but he is already married) and had the very best care of my entire life in Brazil but I think that you would be about the same price going to Dr. Stewart in Texas. Do the math and see.

I had zero complications.  Complications can occur at any time but are most frequent in the first 2 weeks.  Dr. M will not do your surgery if you don't agree to stay 2 weeks minimum. Also, at the time of my surgery up to 2 weeks of hospital stay was included in the price, I don't know if that is still the case.

Dr Ungson in Mexico is an excellent DS surgeon and his patients have had great results and seems like very little complications.  I didn't choose him as I was a revision and at the time, he had only done 6 revisions.  He was very honest with me as I was with him.  Hopefully, some of his patients will chime in with current prices.

Email them both and also Dr. Baltasar in Spain and see what the current prices are for a virgin DS.

I was lucky in that although my insurance only covered RNY, they did cover any complications or aftercare connected.  The only thing I needed was lab work.  I don't know what your insurance will cover.

Good luck,
Michele

 Thank you so much for your response. I have a bunch to think about and consider before making any decisions. I didn't consider Spain because I figured anything in Europe would suffer from the crappy US dollar.

Well, the Euro is really crappy at the moment, too, so you might be surprised.

 Excellent point. I am probably a year away from surgery. I have some things that needing to be resolved and get sorted out prior to comitting to that big of a change.

I also traveled to Brazil to have Dr. Marchesini do my DS.  I had never been out of the country and initially was a little apprehensive about going so far from home but I am so glad I chose him as my surgeon!  He is an outstanding surgeon and a warm and kind man who went out of his way to make my husband and  I comfortable.  He was available to us 24 hours a day.   I had no problems whatsoever.  I cannot say enough good things about him!
  
If you want more details PM me and I will be glad to share more of the specifics or contact him directly via email @ jbmarchesini@gmail.com  He is excellent about getting back to you quickly and will give you loads of information including cost and what to expect.  (Last year the entire cost of my surgery including air fare for two, hotel, food, hospital, doctor, and meds was $19,000.)
Good luck! 
Lisa

Six years ago I went to Dr. Marchesini in Curitiba, Brazil, and would do it again in a heartbeat! The experience was so wonderful that I chose to go to Brazil for my plastics, too. The level of care down there far surpassed what I had ever received here in the states, and I've had my fair share of surgeries! Dr. Marchesini is an amazing surgeon; my open DS (including gall bladder removal) was done in 56 minutes, and I had no complications. You are required to stay in Curitiba for 2 weeks after surgery, because if there are any complications, they almost always make themselves known in the first 10 days. I had a leak test before he let me leave the hospital. 

You are very right to research! I also was unable to get insurance to pay, so actually researched Dr. Marchesini and comparable surgeons for over a year before going ... I felt 100% comfortable with my decision. After all was said and done, I knew it to be a blessing in disguise that insurance wouldn't pay, because I ended up with a much more brilliant, skilled, CARING surgeon than I would have gotten here. You should join his yahoo group at http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/DrMarchesini-DS/ . You can read the files, read past posts, and ask questions. 

Best of luck to you, whomever you choose!

 Amanda,

Thanks for your insight and the info.  Iam glad that the doctors want you to stick around for a period of time after surgery. I makes me less nervous to hear this.  This is a big decision and I want to get as much info as possible

I am a self pay pre op and I decided to go with Dr gagner, I am a revision so I wanted a very experienced surgeon that was reasonable priced. He is based in Canada and may be worth checking out, his details are on the surgeons list on DSfacts.com

Good luck in your search

 I did a google search on him and the first page had a couple of entries asking where he was. This was in another forum in the early 2000s, so he may have been in the process of moving his practice.

I never thought of possible going to Canada, thanks for that Idea.

Dr Gagner bounces around a LOT.  He has left quite a few people high and dry by moving while they were trying to plan their surgeries.  There's a reason why he's not on dsfacts.com.  I hate to say it, but based on his track record he won't be in Canada anymore by the time you are ready.

Please don't go to anyone other than Dr Ungson if you're considering a surgeon in Mexico.  There are horror stories on this forum concerning the other guys.

Interesting to know that he may be unreliable. In terms of doctors in Mexico, I worked my way through a profile today that was in response to a similiar topic on the main board.Please be assured that if the MD is not on dsfacts,I won't consider. I would rather wait couple of years to save up the funds rather than roling the dice. Those horror stories are bad.

edited to fix spelling errors.

Dr Gagner is on DSFacts.com. I have not found him to be unreliable, but as I said in another post, I am relatively new to this forum so I can't base this on long-term experience. I had surgery with him 6 months ago and everything was great.

The best way to reach him is by email: gagner.michel@gmail.com

He charges $18,500 Canadian dollars for laparoscopic virgin DS. With travel expenses, it might be comparable or even cheaper to use Dr Stewart (not sure where you live)

You can PM me is you have any questions about Dr G

Karen

 I will send youa PM.  

I know that in 2001, there were posts asking where he was on another board. At the time, he may have been unreliable.  However, that was ten years ago. I know that I have had periods of my ife when some could accuse me of the same. Anyone can turn it arround and change that perspecive through taking accountability and changing how they interact.I willadd him ro myresearch list and see if he has been in one place for an extended time. I get nervous when doctors move around a lot.

Dr Gagner actually is on DSFacts.com

I can't comment on his moving around because that was before my time here on OH, but I was very happy with my surgery in Montreal 6 months ago, and he has been very accessible to me by email whenever I need it, both preop and postop.

Karen

ETA: are you confusing him with Dr H, who WAS removed from DSFacts.com?

Hey Hon,

I went to Spain but honestly I can;t remember the final cost. Dr Baltasar is a complete sweetheart, super professional and actually taught some of the Brazil & Mixico surgeons how to perform the DS.
However, you are right about the crappy $ to Euro conversion, although it has improved over the last few months.

As for complications, I had some problems early out but then went home after 3 weeks. Got back to Florida and from February to august was fine, then had a huge temp spike, abdominal pain and had a huge abcess in my abdomen that had been caused by a slow leak since my original surgery. I had to have this fixed at huge expense here in the US and ended up going back to the Uk to finish treatment. I'm fine now but it was scary at the time.

btw - as a US citizen, if you were in Spain and had to be admitted to the general hospital as I did, it would cost you. For me, as I'm a Bitish citizen I was covered under european health care.

Wishing you all the best on your journey

Yorkie xx

I would do it every year if I had to! I went to Brazil- Dr. Marchesini and had a great time and a wonderful experience. (Except for that 1st day out of the hospital when everyone says "what have I done"? I just needed some sleep and rest!)

I had no complications but one of the people that I met there did. She had a leak and had it taken care of in Tennessee and would do it again with the same doctor. However, some may not have been so lucky. I had the best medical care, the best nurses and a very clean environment. I also had a good vacation because Dr. M requires you to stay 2 weeks after your surgery.

I priced self pay in Georgia but could not get the hospital to give me a rate or price. I had limited funds. My surgery (travel, hotel, gifts and all) was about $12,500. Less than the price of a used car. I am worth it! Good luck to you in your decision making process.

Dianne from FL

I went to Mexico less than 3 mos. ago for my DS. Other than a tempermental stomach that feels three sizes too small on some days (who doesn't have that after this surgery?)...  I recovered very quickly, have had no complications and would DEFINITELY do it again.

I have a vetted local DS surgeon all lined up for my post-op care and bloodwork. However, I am seriously considering an early spring break jaunt back down to Mexico in a few months to follow up with my surgeon since I liked him and his staff so much.

Re: Complications
My surgeon kept me in the hospital 5 days (6 if you count the fact I slept there the night before surgery). Some of his VSG patients got to spend a few days in a nice hotel post-op... but not me. Because of the DS he wanted me in the hospital the whole time I was there so any complications could be caught early and treated quickly. But, there were none. Everything went perfectly. I was SO ready to bust out of there when I was finally released from the hospital!

The guy I went to wasn't the cheapest nor the most expensive in Mexico. In fact, I actually had two surgeons who worked together as a team for my DS. One is listed on my profile (on the left). The other was Dr. Ungson. :-) Plan to spend between $13,000 and $17,000 for a virgin DS done lap. Getting it done open is a few grand cheaper, but I preferred the lap route. These are current prices within the past 90 days or so.

I also got some much needed dental work done while I was in Mexico by a terrific dental practice. I had a bad tooth and had several other teeth that needed some serious work. I didn't want any bacteria AT ALL in my system when I had my surgery, so the dental work was a major priority for me. I saved a small fortune getting my dental done in Mexico. Also a win.

My total budget for my surgery, pre-surgery dental, travel expenses, medications, food, supplements, etc. was right around $20 grand. I was gone from home for three weeks and lived high on the hog the whole time. I even came home with excess funds. All in all, I had a great experience in Mexico.

Hope this info is helpful.

Just to add my 2 cents worth for Dr. Gagner.

For the past year, Dr. Gagner has been also working in Qatar. He is 1 month here and 1 month in Canada. I just can't imagine how he does it but I am so greatful that he has managed it.

I was very blessed to have him as my surgeon and.... hold on to your seats... the cost of my revision from band to DS here in Qatar was only 5300 Qatari Riyals (approx $1500 US)

Wishing you all the best on your journey

Lynn

 wow, that is a long way to travel to perform surgery. I am glad that you had access to him.