Guillermo Alvarez Bariatric Surgeon MD

Let me begin by saying that after doing a wealth of research, I chose for my surgeon, Dr. Guillermo Alvarez in Piedras Negras, Mexico. Not only has he done more VSGs than any surgeon I researched in the United States (over 276), out of all of those surgeries, he has a zero leakage rate. rnrnAt nine days post op I am feeling 100% back to normal; I am happy and energetic, all this due to the excellent surgical skills of my new hero, Dr. Alvarez. rnrnFrom Dr. Alvarez's coordinator, Lydia, answering all of my questions post-op (and believe me, I kept that wonderful woman busy), to lovely Rosie meeting us at San Antonio airport, my pre-op experience was smooth going, without any bumps. These two women are warm and friendly and make sure you are comfortable. Lydia with her prompt answers via email and phone, and Rosie with her chatty nature making the ride to San Antonio seem like minutes.rnrnThe hotel where we stayed in San Antonio was lovely. Immaculate, with a complimentary breakfast in the a.m. (which I couldn't have, LOL), a pool to have a relaxing swim, all of the accouterments you would expect at a nice hotel.rnrnThe morning of surgery, Rosie picked us up at the hotel and drove us a few short miles over the border to Mexico. We met Dr. Alvarez in his lovely office and had our pre-op meeting with him. I was weighed, and then we walked right to the hospital which was in an adjoining building. rnrnThe hospital is not a new structure, so be prepared for that, but a cleaner establishment you would be hard pressed to find anywhere in the U.S.A. There is continual cleaning going on and the walls and floors are sparkling. rnrnDr. Alvarez got us settled in our rooms, the nurse came and took blood, and I took a nap since my surgery wasn't scheduled for a few hours. rnrnWhen it was my turn, the nurses rolled me down the hall to the surgery suite, I passed through the famous window and then was prepped. I felt not at all nervous, but if I had, Dr. A. told me I could have a little something to take the edge off. In what seemed like an instant, the nurses were waking me up in recovery, and I was wheeled back to my room.rnrnI began walking within hours of my surgery and I felt really good! The nurses were like clockwork, taking my blood pressure, and giving me meds via my IV. Dr. Alvarez came and checked on me, and all in all I felt so well taken care of! The nurses always seemed to have a smile for me, and I really didn't have any problem communicating with them with my handy \"cheat sheet\" of phrases and words that Lydia emailed me.rnrnFor the next two days, I recovered in the hospital, and the second day after surgery Rosie came and picked us up to take us to San Antonio. What another lovely hotel we had!! I felt so great, that I could hardly believe that I had had surgery two days before! I had no problem boarding the shuttle to the airport the next morning, and was quite comfortable on my flight home. rnrnOnce home, I felt as if I could resume work immediately, but I followed doctor's orders and took it easy for a couple of weeks. I have to let you know, though, I fudged, and did go back to work just one week post-op. I felt that great! rnrnI cannot say enough about the wonderful care I received from everyone, but I especially want to sing the praises of my wonderful bariatric surgeon, Dr. Alvarez. He is a true master of his craft, and I am living proof of that mastery. I was so glad I did my homework and that I found whom I now believe to be the leading bariatric surgeon in the Western Hemisphere. I have the tiniest incisions, am losing weight like crazy, and here I am at nine days post-op feeling like I could do a full gym work-out. Of course, I will follow the doctor's instructions and wait for thirty days before I do that! (LOL) rnrnrnrn rnrnrnrn

My Whole Mexico experience went beyond my expectations!rnLet me start of by saying everything is so well coordinated from Rosie picking us up at the Airport to the Hotel Stays And the operation,rnto the day we leave.rnDr Alvarez is such a Amazing surgeon and wonderful person , its incredible how he makes you feel at ease once to get to talk to him in his office. My Mom and I felt so confident in him.He comes and visits you alot ater surgery. You can be confident in what he says is exactly how it is going to be, for example, I had a bit of a sore throat after surgery and he said he was going to give me some anti inflammatory meds for that and in 48 hours it will be back to normal and sure enough that’s exactly how it went.rnHe does all the possible to make you and your guest feel comfy . I have never met a Dr Quite like him.rnYes, The hospital is a older hospital with old style ways but very clean, and the nurses take very good care of you.rnand when we where there, they were constructing 4 new suites just for his patients I am pretty sure they are going to be great!rnI am so very happy I chose Dr Alvarez to perform my V.S.G. rn

One thing stands out about Dr. Alvarez: he is passionate about what he does. That passion was evident to me as he was always encouraging and joyful. When I met him on the morning of surgery, I immediately felt at peace with my decision to go to Mexico and to put myself in Dr. Alvarez's hands. My husband who is quite picky also loved him. Although the nurses do not speak English, they are extremely professional, even wearing the caps and white uniforms which have disappeared in America.rnrnI have not had any complications even though I am older. I never had any pain and was quickly able to take walks and carry out my responsibilities. My only adjustment has been to the process of learning how to eat without upsetting my stomach. Sometimes I eat too fast or too much, but once or twice of that teaches me quickly.rnrnI highly recommend Dr. Alvarez. You'll love him!

I felt comfortable with Dr. Alvarez immediately. His office is nice, his staff is friendly and helpful. I do not believe there was anything I did not like about Dr. Alvarez! I would recommend him to anyone, including my closest family members. Dr. Alvarez visited me in my room several hours after my surgery and again 4 times the day following my surgery, I was really impressed by him taking this amount of time. He met with me before discharge and explained ALL aftercare proceedures to my satisfaction and explained all the medication he was sending home with me. I would rate Dr. Alvarez a 9 out of 10 (the only reason I do not give hime a 10 is because I have never been to any other surgeon before! I loved the overall care I received from Dr. Alvarez, as well as Dr. Rodreguez who assisted him. The only thing I would change about my WLS experience would be regarding the hospital care after surgery. The very small and very uncomfortable couches provided for guests are completely unacceptable. My husband had to nap in my hospital bed when I was not in it, and he came home with a horrible backache! Also, I would take my own thermometer for taking post op temps, as the nurses still use the outdated armpit method, which I feel may not be accurate. I also feel there should be one english speaking nurse on each shift just in case there are language barriers! Again, I want to say how pleased I was with Dr. Alvarez!!

After doing quite a bit of reasearch I decided that Dr. Alvarez would be the best surgeon for me. I knew the monment that I met Dr. Alvarez that I had made the right decision for myself. He made me feel at ease from the first moment that I met him. He answered every question that I asked him. He is such a warm, caring, and friendly person. He took us over to the hospital and did blood work and then it was time for surgery. He is an excellant surgeon. I was hardly sore after surgery and I had very little bruising, which is unusual for me. He came to room to check on me 5-6 times a day. When walking in the hallway Dr. Alvarez would smile and say what he was glad to see me up and walking. When it was time to leave Dr. A came in and explained about the medication he was giving me and answered all questions. He gave me a little box for the medicine and he also included a magnet to stick on your frig. This included phone numbers and an email address to contact him with questions or in case of emergency. He aways assured me that there would be no complications or emergencies during or after my surgery, and if there was he would take care of me. I didnt have any problems, but I know he would have kept his word!rnrnI feel very blessed to have found Dr. Avarez. He is an awesome Doctor and person. Even though you only see him for a short time, you fill as though you have made a friend for life. I have no regrets in my choice of surgeon and if I had it to do again I know with out a doubt I would choose Dr. Alvarez all over again. Dr. Alvarez you are the best!!!

I was very impressed with Dr. A and the hospital and surgery room. Everyone was more than helpful. I don't speak spanish, but Dr. A and his staff provided a list of common phrases that we used and showed to nurses. Dr. a has excellent bedside manners and put my wife and I to ease and answered all of our questions. My sister in law had surgery in another Mexico city and my wife accompanied her and she definitely was more impressed with Dr. A and the hospital in Piedras Negras.

Well, My first impression of Dr. Alvarez was just what everyone said it would be. Immediate comfort and trust. He was very kind and attentive. I enjoyed the process. The first night was a little hard, as expected, and after that, things went very smoothly. Hew as a great surgeon, and I recovered very quickly. He was an overall 10! Both his surgical competence and bedside manner were wonderful. rnrnThe only thing I would have wished for was that the nurses could speak some english. Other than that, the stay was just fine. Very competent and wonderful Dr. and Staff.

My first impression of Dr A was that I was in very good hands. He had a way of immediately making me feel comfortable. I somehow knew I was in good hands. He visited at least 3 or 4 times a day after surgery. Always asking if we needed anything. His staff was always extremely helpful. He has a fairly strict aftercare plan. He tells you exactly what he expects of you. He says we have to our part to keep it working like it's supposed to. I think overall I would rate Dr A a 12 out of 10! He was just awesome. I couldn't have asked for a better experience. His surgical competence and bedside manner were equally great. He is an awesome doctor. He genuinely cares about his patients.

Dr. Alvarez is a very kind and caring.rnSuper down to earth. I was never afraid of my procedure or his competence. Dealing with him and his staff was great---someone always there for you. When I called he answered the phone himself and scheduled my surgery. rnIt was important for me to have a surgeon I felt comfortable with. He treats everyone the way we all wish we were treated not just patients but nurses, hospital staff. Just a generally NICE guy. Very dynamic personality---he could give Tony Robbins a run for his money!rn

\"Doc A\" is great. I can go on and on and repeat practically verbatim what everyone else has said, but I won't. I can say without doubt that you will be safe and secure with Dr. Alvarez. He kind of exudes his confidence in a way that makes you feel at ease. Very unlike the American docs that exude confidence in a way that makes you think they are pompus, over confident knuckleheads. rn My hospital experience was slightly less than most others. Slightly. I wish I had brought some sort of small spanish dictionary to communicate better with the nurses. rn I had a small issue one night with the air conditioning being on and making my room cold, it was hard to communicate \"Please turn it off\" Again Dr. A helped me out. rn Also, I wanted more morphine. I was in a lot of pain and wanted more of the \"Good Drugs\" (the ones that made the pain go away and helped me sleep). But, Dr. A kindly explained to me that he did not want to give me any more than one dose of Morphine because it causes your intestines to sort of freeze up. From what I understand, and I may be wrong, this is bad because it inhibits healing and may prolong your gas from exiting the body (Which you want to happen SOON as Possible) and prolongs your first Bowel Movement, something else you want to happen soon. So, even this was for my own good. Thanks Dr. A!rn By the time we checked out Doc was like and old friend, laughing a joking and making you comfortable all the way through. This is no small thing, it means alot when you feel so vulnerable and out of sorts. rn Would I use Dr. Alvarez again? Resoundingly, YES. Next time, I will ask him about the other hospital that he (I am told by others on the board) does surgeries out of as well. My husband is considering going back down to him in September of this year. I love my tiny tummy, I don't regret this a bit. Thanks Doctor Alvarez for making it as pleasant and affordable as you can for us who cannot get insurance to cover it.rn