Sleeve for Me but Who and Where?

By the numbers, Dr. Ryan Heider at Lake Norman Bariatric Center in North Carolina ... this is just North of Charlotte ... 

http://www.lnrmcsurgicalweightloss.com/content/patient-resou rces

1) Over 4000 gastric sleeves and he was trained at University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill which is one of the top medical schools in the country.

2) His practice is a considered a "Center of Excellence" which is a designation meaning he meets some strict criteria.  His offices are attached to a hospital.  You get a private room.

3) They have a concierge package where they pick you up at the airport.  Drive you to the hotel the day or two before surgery ... the hotel is about 2 miles away from the hospital and it is a Hilton Garden.   The hotel will provide you with all the bottled water, crystal light, sugar free popsicles for free in the package deal.  They put you in a huge room that could fit easily 6 queen size beds.  The beds are adjustible firmness.  By the way this is 7 nights at this hotel so you can do 1 or 2 nights ahead of surgery and the rest after to recover.  The package also has a 12 week supply of post op protein supplements (vitamins and calcium).  They also can arrange car rental (not that you would be driving yourself), entertainment, and dining (again this is more for someone that is with you.

I did this package and adjusted it down from 7 nights and was picked up at an Amtrak station instead of the airport and they worked the price down a little for those accomodations.

 

So it is a little more than going to Mexico priced at $11.,900 and the Concierge package adds $1,500 ... but this is the total package including a 90 insurance package just in case.

 

Self-Pay

Our self-pay package includes:

• Surgeon fee, including initial consultation, personalized seminar and one year follow up
• Hospital fee, including preoperative labs, EKG, Upper GI Series and postoperative Upper GI Series
• Anesthesia fee
• Psychological evaluation
• Nutrition evaluation
• BLIS insurance, minimal complication insurance
• Preoperative liquid diet

 

The doctor has an email that he responds to very quickly and three of his staff nurses had him do their VSG surgery so you can talk with them from their personal experience.  

 

My timeline was May 9th initial weigh in.  Spoke with the surgeon, the nutritionist, the psychologist, and went to a seminar on WLS in general.  On May 10th I had an upper GI and received a two week supply of the pre op liquid diet (some people need three but this is part of the package price).  Lastly on May 10th I scheduled a surgery date.  

 

I got to pick something that could be as soon as 2 weeks out from that date but choose 3 weeks and had surgery on May 31st.  From May 9th the initial weigh in to yesterday I have lost 84 pounds and to be honest haven't done nearly what I should be with exercise.  This weight loss has been almost all due to the diet and surgery.  

 

Also on a side note, I have read about people and their different experiences with pain but I had almost no pain at all.  As a matter of fact the only pain I had was due to gas.  The day I was released from the hospital I had pain meds for gas in the hospital and only one at the hotel after release that night.  The next day only 2 pain pills for the day.  The day after I took my last one.  I don't know if this is because Dr. Ryan is so skilled that he does things to cause minimal pain or if it has something to do with my particular tolerance for pain or perhaps a little of each.  

 

This place meets all you criteria and is very reasonably priced.  It's rare in the US to get an all inclusive package like this for much cheaper.  I think there were a couple places in Texas that were similarly priced but since I live in North Carolina and only about 3 hours away from where I had surgery it seemed like a no-brainer for me.  

 

If you want to read more on this surgeon here is the link ... http://www.lnrmcsurgicalweightloss.com/content/patient-resou rces

 

I was going to type something else but I forgot likely because it is 3 am and I am partially asleep but I think I have given you enough information to look into.  I will of course be happy to answer anything I might have forgotten to mention.  Hope that this helps.

I used Dr. Walton in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  It was the best!  I paid $10,000.  Call them........

Hey Johnny! I had surgery with Dr. Ortiz in Tijuana. You can research him to death he is AWESOME! My dad actually found him for me when he was on Oprah a few years back. He was also named one of Newsweek's top bariatric surgeons. I was self pay also. The cost included transportation to and from the San Diego airport, my room for as many nights as I needed at the Tijuana Marriott, transportation to and from the hospital, ALL of my pre-op, post op, surgery,  oh and soup, water and popsicles at the Marriott. So basically I paid my airfare and that was IT! I had lap band with Dr. Ortiz back in 2008 so I went I went back Feb of this year and had my band removed (i learned how to cheat it and sabotaged myself) and sleeve done my cost was a little more than just walking in a getting the sleeve, so I can't give you an actual price BUT if you log on to Obesity Control Center you can email one of his surgery consultants, Carolyn or.... I can't remember the other lady's name but they will email you back pretty promptly with a price. He also has a blog for OCC on the website and you can see what others say about him and the staff and also their progress. I fell in love with them, the first surgery I had back in 2008, my mother went with me, they made me feel so comfortable that when I went back this year I traveled alone and for a girl in the deep south (GA), that says a lot. I work in the medical field and can tell ya, he operates in a cleaner environment than most I have seen and worked in here in GA. Good luck on your search and future surgery!!

Dr Aceves all the way! He did my sleeve in June and it was the best hospital/surgery experience I've ever had! He's done over 1500 VSGs. The hospital is unbelievably clean, the nursing care excellent and both Dr Aceves and his assistant, Dr Campos popped in to check on each of us twice a day. There was a leather sofa and bedding in my room for my husband, which was really nice. The cost was $8750, plus air fair, Barry's meals, our supper at the hotel the night before surgery and a tip for the driver, who was very helpful and willing to answer questions.

Dr Aceves, Dr Campos, our driver, Blanca and Yolande (coordinators) all spoke excellent English, but the nursing staff didn't. They sent us "cheat sheets" of common things we or they might need to say, with translations. Between our cheat sheets and Google Translate we were perfectly fine. There's wifi in both the hotel (night before surgery) and the hospital.

I really appreciated Dr Aceves' candor during the pre-op talk he gave my sis, another woman and me. He told us that he would do his job the next day, but it was only 1/2 the job - that if we don't do our share we will only lose 1/2 of the weight we want to.

I don't know how Nina is doing, but my sis has lost 42# and is starting to slowly increase calories at she gets close to her goal. I've lost 45# and am still chugging along with great restriction and no problems at all. (And off my BP, cholesterol and pain Meds)

if you go to Mexico many doctors in the us will not take you on as a patient for follow ups or problems check that you will be able to get support  at home when you need help

support groups are needed by most people  and it is hard to go back to Mexico if you have a problem

I would use a u s doctor  even if it cost a little more

Thanks so much for the replies, they are invaluable.  I'm doing all my research on them today.

I'm scheduled with Aceves in January.  MickeyMantly is right about the difficulty with follow up care. I was denied follow up care by a group of surgeons. Luckily my PCP agreed to provide my care but, if I have a complication he said he would have to beg a surgeon to see me. You'll also have to find a nutritionist to help with after care too. Also, be sure to check if your insurance will cover aftercare costs if you have an international surgery.  Good luck!

It's true that no surgeon willingly takes on routine aftercare for another surgeon, whether in or out of country, but your family doctor can deal with most aftercare and refer you to a dietitian if you need one.

I talked to my family doctor before I booked my surgery. He said he'd be happy to do my aftercare and has been really great. For serious stuff (which I haven't had - Dr Aceves has a great reputation for a reason) he said to walk into emerg and a specialist WILL be there to take care of me.

I was reading some of the post for others and I forgot to put in my original answer that Dr. Ortiz provided me with a list of Dr's in the Atlanta area that would be glad to take on my after care of an international surgery. I'm sure he has contacts around the country, he actually proctored a lot of the physicians in the US that perform bariatric surgery, not all but a lot of them. The one thing that I didn't have back in Ga was a nutritionist, I simply called the office in Mexico anytime I had a question and they helped me right through it. The physician that I see here at home offered me a visit with their's but I didn't feel I needed it. This forum has pretty much answered and supported my progress along the way. Good luck to you again! Its a heck of a ride!!