Unless something drastic changes...Dr Alvarez is the guy..

like this office suddenly decides to do their job, I am going with Dr Alvarez in Mexico. Susan is really prompt with my questions and makes me feel safe in this decision...

so again, who here has went to Dr Alvarez or has surgery scheduled with him? Susan says the soonest they can get me in is August, and the 14th we are celebrating my hubby, sons, and my bday in Orlando at an indoor water park.....so I am assuming I will go the third or last week end August.

HI!  YES  Dr A is the guy!!  Ask to be put on the cxlation list.  I was lucky and there was an opening w/in two weeks.  Say HI to susan from Katie the Facial Lady :)   She lives down the street from me!

I went with him and have had no problems. Although my BMI was ony 37 when I had surgery, after surgery he said I had the liver of a 500 pound woman which was hard to wrestle with during surgery. He and his team got the job done!

Despite this unexpected surprise, I feel he did a wonderful job - I had no complications. Best decision EVER!

Ps -- Dr. Alvarez also smells good and is eye candy, IMO, which doesn't hurt ;-)

I went to Alvarez almost two months ago. Too bad the wait is so long now. I had a 2.5 week wait. I honestly don't know how things could have gone any better for me. No nausea (ymmv) and the only incision that ever hurt was the one they pulled my stomach from. The hospital is old but clean. Jessica, the nurse who will hang around 'his' rooms, is super nice and helpful. She took my husband to eat and shop. She walked with me and was just a sweet presence. The futon killed my husband's back...not sure that situation could be improved, though. Have you watched his you tube videos? Those were helpful. I liked the one that showed the ride from hotel to hospital and back. You could see it just wasn't a big deal at all.

Good luck!

I am almost 4 weeks out from Dr. A. I am a RN and always look for the surgeon that has the most experience with a procedure whenever I need a surgery. Dr. A has done more than 1700 VSG's. and I know he does lapbands too. I couldn't find anyone with as much experience in Mexico or the USA. He and his staff have it down to perfection. I have seen people on these boards complain about a number of things - itchy skin, heartburn, pain, vomiting. I had none of it. A little bit of pain when turning in bed, relieved by medication, but nothing else.  I wasn't crazy about the nursing staff in the hospital, but at least it was clean. . Susan went above and beyond for me when I was dealing with a picky employer that required numerous letters/forms for FMLA.
You won't regret your decision

IMO, you have made a great choice.  Dr. A did my surgery on 4/7 and it was great.  I have been a nurse for 29 years and have had 7 other abdominal surgeries (2 of which were laprascopic).  My VSG was the ONLY surgery I ever had where I did not have some level of a wound infection.

I had very little pain.  The only incision that EVER hurt was the large one on the left that they pulled the stomach thru.  In fact, I slept on my stomach the second night after surgery.  I would've slept on it the first night if it hadn't been for the IV. 

Ditto about the couch for your significant other.  My husband complained the whole time.

Susan, Dr. A, Dr. Gabe, Jessica, Christina, Dr. Santos are all great.

I would do it again in a heartbeat.

One warning---it will be really HOT, HOT, HOT down there then.  It was in the upper 90s when I was there and the AC was more than adequate.  Not sure how it will be in August.

lol, its the upper 90s here now! ;)

I just received my "Cleared for Procedure" email from susan today and I am truly excited that this is finally going to happen.  My surgery is scheduled for August 26th and I am so happy that the time will be here before you know it.  I live in Orlando so I'm not too concerned about the heat in Mexico.  I will start posting once I start my all liquid diet before the surgery.  Good luck to you!