Straight to Mexico?
Revision on 08/27/15
I'm not quite ready to have sleeve surgery yet, but I think that once I have the money saved, I'm just going to go straight to Mexico (Dr. Aceves in Mexicali) to have it done. I had lapband surgery in 2007, and I remember the approval process taking 9 months to complete. I already know that while insurance may cover the removal of the band, it won't cover the sleeve for me, since my BMI is currently under 35. But I know that if I have the lapband removed and don't get the sleeve surgery, I will regain.
I know Dr. Aceves does revisions, and I've heard great things about him. Back when I was having lapband done, I had several friends that went to him for either banding or sleeving. One went for both banding and then sleeving after she found that she was one of the few people who couldn't tolerate the band at all. I found a surgeon here in Washington that does sleeves, but he's only been doing them for a couple of years. I could spend more money to go to the less experienced U.S.-based surgeon, or I could spend less money and go the the much, much more experienced surgeon in Mexico. I won't have to fight with insurance to pay for the band removal, pay the remainder of what the insurance won't pay for the band removal, and pay for the sleeve.
I know Dr. Aceves does revisions, and I've heard great things about him. Back when I was having lapband done, I had several friends that went to him for either banding or sleeving. One went for both banding and then sleeving after she found that she was one of the few people who couldn't tolerate the band at all. I found a surgeon here in Washington that does sleeves, but he's only been doing them for a couple of years. I could spend more money to go to the less experienced U.S.-based surgeon, or I could spend less money and go the the much, much more experienced surgeon in Mexico. I won't have to fight with insurance to pay for the band removal, pay the remainder of what the insurance won't pay for the band removal, and pay for the sleeve.
Well, I'm not a revision, but I didn't have ins that would cover any sort of WLS.. so, I went to Aceves after a lot of research. I don't think there's one person on these boards that has had a bad experience with him and his team. He has great stats, more experience with making a good sleeve than any surgeon in my area, and is very thorough. Good luck when the time comes..
be prepared that you could have issues once that band is removed that would prevent the sleeve from being performed at that time. I've read that some have had to wait a few months or so and go back for the sleeve to be done.
Do you have a doctor here in the U.S that will take on any after care you may need?
Do you have a doctor here in the U.S that will take on any after care you may need?
Revision on 08/27/15
Not yet. I've only recently started looking into the sleeve. I'm hopefully going to be moving soon, but I don't know if I'm going to be staying in the state I currently live in or moving out of state, so I haven't looking into finding a follow-up care doctor yet. I've got a good bit of saving to do before I do anything, though.
Have you checked out Lopez Corvala in Tijuana? He just did my sleeve three weeks ago and it's gone very smoothly. I think he's done close to a thousand sleeves at this point, but I'm not entirely sure. Either way, Hospital Angeles was a top notch facility. I would recommend getting your sleeve in Mexico, simply because I've seen the tales of woe here for the people who get all the insurance runaround. Then again, it is nice to have the safety net of an American insurance company. My insurance won't touch my sleeve or any complictations thereof, so if I develop a leak--G-d forbid--I'm very screwed.