Fernando Garcia Bariatric Surgeon M.D.

Dr. Garcia was wonderful. He greeted us all with a handshake and a hug, We were immediately put at ease. Initially, we were told by many to stay away from Tijuana ~~ WHY?? We had a WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE!! Dr. Garcia was very helpful, knowledgable, and worked wonderfully with our 16 year old daughter. He came in right after the surgery and took us to see her resting very comfortably. He made sure that his orders for her were complete, and that our daughter knew everything that was happening.

He told us what to expect, and he was right - yes she had nausea - a bit - and they controlled it quickly, and her pain was never an issue.

He showed us the stomach portion that he removed with the Vertical Sleeve Gasrectomy --- as a nurse and to see how "Clean" every thing looked on the removed portion, left no question to how "Clean" her nes stomach was.

Every one at the hospital was wonderful ... and Ricardo, our transport and care manager was wonderful!! My "sister" accompanied my daughter and I, and we were never fearful, had the BEST care I could ask for ~~ As a RN for nearly 25 years - I was impressed! The compassion, cleanliness of the hospital, the ability to understand, without a language barrier, and the care and competence of ALL the employees were over the top!

Our Daughter also had axillary Botox to stop her perspiration in her armpits -- What a GREAT and positive result she has had with that as well.

We are 6 weeks post-op and our daughter has lost 45 pounds, and hasn't sweat a drop!

Would I reccomend Dr. Garcia?? ABSOLUTELY.... Worth every penny of the money that we spent for a successful surgery.

We liked the Plastic Surgeon as well, He was marvelous, and in fact I wll be going back to Tijauna next summer for some personal plastic surgery myself ... What a GREAT PLACE to go that is so very affordable, and treatment is so good!

I had a VSG (Vertical Sleeve) with Dr. Garcia on 11/30/12 through Ready4AChange. I was very satisfied with my experience and although I'm only 10 days post-op, so I can't speak to long-term results, I do feel that the procedure was done safely and my side effects have been very minimal.

My flight experienced some disruptions and I reached out to Alma who had Samuel, the very friendly driver, immediately change his plans to pick me up in the morning instead. They were so accommodating with the changes.

At the hospital, I received first rate service from the nurses, especially pre-op. I was nervous and they noticed, so they gave me some "happy drops" which helped calm me down quite quickly. I met with two lovely doctors who did physicals and ran an EKG. Then, I waited for surgery. I remember being wheeled into the OR and talking with the techs in there, but I do not remember being put under anesthesia. The next thing I knew, I was in the recovery room. I wanted to get up and walk but I was too nauseous, so they made me wait.

I made it back to my room and for the next two days was given quite good care by the nursing staff with periodic visits by Dr. Garcia and Dr. Luna. I was then discharged to two days at the hotel, which I found very relaxing.

Dr. Garcia has excellent bedside manner and is a very competent surgeon. I was concerned about GERD and fluid intake capabilities during tennis matches, so we went to a 36 fr bougie when the standard is 32 fr. Dr. Luna, the inpatient doctor, is fantastic and very attentive. I was inpatient in a US hospital about 7 years ago and my care level was crap compared to what I received in Tijuana.

MI Doctor hospital is small but clean. The wi-fi is blazing fast so bring your enabled devices. The Marriott is a wonderful hotel and the chicken broth is surprisingly delicious.

I had a great experience with Dr. Garcia, I hope you do too. Don't hesitate to PM me with any questions.

Update on 7/22/2013: I am down from 292# on the day of surgery to 179# (I'm almost 6' tall) and in just 235 days, my life has changed so much for the better. I had my annual physical and my health has dramatically improved. I continue to recommend Dr. Garcia highly.

i had surgery with dr. garcia on nov 1, 2011. initially, i was a bit apprehensive because there was not a whole lot of info available on this surgeon but all my pre-op questions were answered to my satisfaction and so i decided to go with him. from i landed in san diego the entire trip went smoothly - ricardo the driver/patient care coordinator (he's hilarious) was there promptly to take us across the border. my bf and i spent the first night in hotel ticuan and the room was very nice. he had dinner while i had a salad and the food looked and smelt delicious!

early the next morning ricardo drove us to mi doctor, a hospital (not a clinic) where i was processed very quickly and efficiently. some of the nurses speak very limited english but i was able to communicate fine and before long, i was meeting with dr. garcia and his surgical team and very soon thereafter i was sleeved! although my acid reflux flared up a bit from the pain meds i had no pain from my actual sleeve and had to convince the nurses that i really really didn't need any more pain meds lol. i will admit that the feeling from gas used to expand the stomach during the surgery was horrible those first few hours(even though expected) but i immediately started to feel better once i was up and walking. dr. garcia's team of doctors and nurses checked on me periodically during the course of my 2 night stay and were very attentive. in between resting, i watched satellite and used the internet from my room. my bf felt safe enough to explore the area and so he did a bit of shopping and even tried his luck at the hotel casino down the street.

dr. garcia updated my bf immediately after the surgery and even emailed my mom back in the bahamas to say that it had went well and i was resting comfortably.

after being discharged, i was given a care package and my bf and i went back to hotel ticuan and were out and about buying souvenirs that very same day. there is a pharmacy on the corner (its in a small department store) and i was able to get everything i needed there (extra gatorade and even little gifts). i was also visited at the hotel by the follow up care doctor (dr. ramos i think) who came to check that everything was alright and reminded me that he was accessible by phone or email if ever i had any questions. i have not had any complications and am down 31 lbs.

all in all a great experience and i would not hesitate to recommend dr. garcia to anyone considering vsg surgery in mexico.

additional reviews on dr. garcia are available on verticalsleevetalk.com

I underwent a lap band surgery on August 2006 (not with Dr. Garcia) and for one reason or another it didn't work for me. After some years it started to bother me and decided to look for a doctor to remove the band and maybe try another weight-loss procedure.
I can't explain how comfortable I was when I met him, he sounded and looked confident and explained all of my questions. We decided I would go for the lap band removal and a gastric bypass R & Y. He always kept it honest by telling me that if my stomach was too sored or he thought it would put me at a higher risk, we'd have to wait a few moths before the gastric bypass.
The lap-band left me with lots of adherences, so he had a hard time removing them and the band. Going for the bypass at that moment would have been too much surgery and risk for me, he decided not to do it. His facility and staff were the best, I have no complains, they treat you as if you were family.
I waited around 5 months and went for the bypass on December 9th,2011 just 12 days ago and I can't find words to describe how happy I am as of today. I have not taken any pain medication, i don't have pain, i'm not hungry, I haven't had any minor o mayor complication and I feel great, and as the spoiled person sometimes I am, I love that Dr. Garcia will take my calls anytime I have a question for him. I'm so glad he crossed into my path, give him, but most of all give YOU a chance to know him and learn how great he is and how he can help you change your life. I would trust my life into his hands over and over again.

I can go on and on raving greatthings about Ready for a Change, Dr. Garcia my surgeon, Alma over the phone coordinator, Melissa and Rosie Tijuana up close and in person coordinators, Samuel (our wonderful driver) all of the nurses and physicians onsite a MiDoctor facilities where I had my surgery on down to the Marriott where I rested. You all exceeded my family and I every expectation. All of you were nice, warm, sincere, positive, loving to us complete strangers. The best money I have ever spent for a gift to myself or anyone. If I could give you all trophies for the customer service, loving hearts and beautiful sweet spirits you all posess I would place a million bucks, and a million people inside the trophies so that they could all have the experience and life changing journey I have had thus far with you all! Thank you!

I have fought the fat fight pretty much my entire life and I have lost the battle in the past, but now I am winning. I am seven months post-op gastric sleeve and I feel great. This surgery was the best health decision I have ever made. Dr. Garcia is wonderful and a great surgeon. No more breathlessness, exhaustion, sleep apnea and joint pain. I can play with my 8 year old twins now!!!

I was very skeptical when I was doing research on people going to Mexico for surgery. I booked with another doctor but after I learned of some very very negative things on him I did more research and was told to look into having surgery with Dr. Garcia. I then was set at ease once I spoke to two coordinators who helped me with everything. My fiancée and I arrived the night before my surgery and I started to feel more at ease. The hospital was very clean and everyone was very friendly. I then met Dr. Garcia the morning of my surgery (January 11, 2012) and he told me that because I am having a revision from band to sleeve I may not be able to have the sleeve surgery if there are any complications or problems with my band. I told him ok but also told him to please save my band, do not throw it away, I want it lol. I woke up hours later and all was fine. He came to see me the evening of my surgery and asked how I was feeling, explained that all went well, no complications and said guess what I have a surprise for you and pulled out my band and gave it to me. I was given all my paperwork, all kinds of medication, a dvd of my swallow test, lab work and all kinds of instruction from day 1 post op until months down the line. I felt much better days later and we left Mexico 4-5 days later.
My highest weight was 344lbs. My surgery weight was 284.6lbs and I am now 262.0lbs in 5 weeks. Yes, that is 22.6lbs lost in 5 weeks. I am very thankful for being able to find Dr. Garcia and having this revision surgery. The only thing I can say that I didn't like about the experience was I wish I would have been able to see Dr. Garcia a day or so after surgery to be more alert and awake to ask any questions I had because after surgery that day I was not thinking of asking questions because I was trying so hard to stay awake and get rid of the gas pain. I also think that if there will be a lot of American patients who come to Mexico to have surgery the nurses(which gave me great care, very attentive & gentle) I think they should have a little bit more training on how to speak English. Although my fiancée and I both knew very little Spanish that helped us, someone else who does not know much Spanish would have a little bit of a hard time explaining to the nurses what may be going on. Other than that my experience was very good. I document my whole journey on youtube.com/MsMook1979. I have pics and vids of my Mexico experience and also how I am doing today.
Thank you Dr. Garcia.

I've been overweight all my life, and thanks to Dr. Fernando Garcia I've lost 90 pounds having undergone my gastric sleeve surgery on August 15, 2011. When I arrived at the hospital (Hospital Mi Doctor) in Tijuana, I was amazed at how clean and professional the staff was.

My personal experience in Tijuana exceeded my greatest expectations. From the time I arrived in San Diego I was treated with respect and dignity. Everything was taken care of for me. There was very little for me to worry about, which left me able to focus on my surgery.

I have a 70 more pounds to reach my goal, and now for the first time I believe I can. Thank You.

My highest weight was 344lbs. I had lapband surgery & had a few minor complications. I decided on having revision surgery & came across a few doctors. I researched but didn't like any of them until I came across Dr. Garcia. I was treated with respect & care when I made my appointment to have my revision surgery & once I arrived I was treated with respect, love & care. I arrived at 284lbs the day before surgery & now 1yr later 1/11/13 I am down 75lbs.
I am so pleased I decided to go with Dr. Garcia. He did a great job with my revision from lapband to sleeve. I documented my entire journey on youtube while in Mexico & this last year as well. Youtube.com/msmook1979. Having my revision surgery saved my life & was the best decision I ever made! Now its my 1yr surgiversary I am 209lbs. Boom!!!

MsMook1979
See my previous review I posted 2/17/12

My husband Mike had gastric bypass surgery with Dr. Garcia on Sept 7, 2012. Everything went great, good, simple hospital, nice nurses, excellent care and doctors. Spent some time afterwards in san diego, can only recommend that. Only minus was that the accompanying person had to sleep on a stretcher or a chair, the rooms are too small for 2 good beds. Otherwise everything is perfect. Mike lost 60 lbs since then, no complications at all.
Christine Sauer( see my profile, I had RNY too) and Mike Rafuse, Halifax, NS