Surgery in Mexico with Dr. Alvarez...is it safe?

Had my VSG with Dr. A on 5/31/11. Never once did I question my safety while I was in Mexico.

They picked me up from the airport in San Antonio, drove me to Eagle Pass for the night and then picked me up and drove me over the border to the hospital the next morning.

I agree with a previous poster, I KNOW I got better care from Dr. Alvarez than I would have here in the States.

I am 5'4" and started my liquid diet weighing in at 330lbs. Day of surgery I weighed 303lbs. I'm currently under Dr. A's goal weight for me (145) currently weighing in at 142.5 lbs. I'm starting maintenance right now so my weight will probably slide around a bit until I figure out my cals/carbs balance.

This is completely doable, have faith in yourself and know that it won't be easy... But it'll be worth it.

Thank you, LeahBea! How long did you have to do the liquid diet before hand? Just curious. I bought Dr. A's book and have been wondering how long. Not worried about it, just curous.

 My pre-op liquid diet was 21 days... And I'll be honest when I say it was ROUGH that first week. After the first 3-5 days you get kind of used to it and fall into a routine though.

I also had surgery with Dr. Alvarez this valentines day. Everything was as perfect as all the previous posters portrayed it to be. The comment about not receiving that much quality care and attention from a doctor here was the most impressive part about the whole experience. He is truly wonderful. My husband is Mexican. His entire family could not believe I was going to go to Mexico right now. They stopped going several years back due to the drug cartel stuff. Every one was filling my head with negativity about my decision and I almost changed my mind and lost my deposit. I stood strong though and boy am I glad I did. I have extensive travel experience in Mexico and Piedras Negras was the cleanest most well kept border town I have ever been in. The whole place just looked better and well maintained. The streets were even cleaner. I would say do it. He is pretty well famous with the VSG and if it were dangerous he would loose buisness so i'm sure he would be moving if it were an issue. This is his livlihood here.   As for the liquid diet prior to surgery that will depend on your starting BMI i'm not sure what the guidelines are but you could contact Susan his coordinator and she could tell you. Best of luck to you friend!

I was decided on him, until the naysayers came along. They have me pretty scared. I'm sorry they made ya scared too, but I'm glad I'm not the only one who has experienced it. Lol 
Even though I talked to Susan a couple weeks ago on the phone, just asking questions, and I found her to be so extremely nice and kind, I started thinking "Well of course she's gonna tell you it's safe because you have to have patients to make money and if you say it's unsafe, you won't have patients." Which is not really rational thinking when you see all of the raving revues about not only Dr. A, but also his staff. But when you're scared, you start freaking out a little.

I'm still scared, but I'm not ruling him out yet.  Thank you so much for sharing about your experience! 

 I am going to have surgery with Dr. A on June 8th.  I also live in Texas, and have heard about all of the violence going on in Mexico.  I have decided not to tell anyone about my surgery because I made my decision after a lot of research, and frankly I did just not want to hear any negativity.  I don't want someone telling me to try different diets, or cautioning me about the drug violence there.  Please, the biggest threat on my life right now is this weight I am carrying around that will eventually lead me to diabetes, heart attack, high blood pressure, and other health risks associated with being morbidly obese.  I prayed about my decision, and feel comfortable with it.  Best of luck in your decision making process wherever it leads you.