"I underwent a sleve gastrectomy on 07/05/2016. My beginning weight was 362 and today I weigh 250! The good news is I am still losing and still have 2 months to go until my 1 year anniversary (by which time I hope to be down to at least 240 lbs. I still have a long way to go before I am down to my ideal weight of 150 but I have lost 112 lbs so far and I am hopeful that I will lose the rest! I plan to return for plastic surgery after I get down to a BMI of 28 (roughly 180lbs). I wouldn't go anywhere else because I feel so safe and reassured at OCC.
On my trip, I flew into San Diego a few days early and spent time visiting Sea World (on 4th of July), San Diego Safari Park and whale watching tour. The driver picked me and my husband up at our hotel and drove us across the border (he knew a route with less traffic so no traffic jam). We left our rental car at our hotel. The staff was friendly and knowledgeable, the facility was modern and clean. The surgeons and anesthesiologist came in to introduce themselves prior to surgery. They were doing some patient teaching but I had just had sedative in my IV and was having trouble keeping my eyes open. As soon as I laid down on the operating table I was about to go to sleep and Dr. Ortiz asked me how I was doing as he was scrubbing in and I lifted my head and smiled and said doing great and then I went straight to sleep. My husband said it took about an hour and he was informed when I went to recovery area. He said I slept about an hour and he was there to welcome me back from la la land! I was tranferred to my room and went back to sleep. My surgery went great, with only minimal incusional pain (more like a mild discomfort). That night, my husband spent the night at the Marriott but I was kept company by the other patients who came in on the same day as me. I think there were about 5 of us. The next day, my husband was brought back to the clinic and then all of us were tranferred to the Marriot for the night. My husband said the food was good. All I had was broth and popcicles. The next day, me and the other patients were brought back to the clinic for barium swallow. Because I was not flying back home to Texas right away, I was allowed to go ahead and leave Tijuana and we were transported back to our hotel in San Diego. We put our bags in our rental car and headed up the coast to LA. We went to Universal Studios the next day! I rented a scooter to avoid too much exertion. We stayed another night and drove back to San Diego to airport the next day! It was a nice trip.
I would highly recommend Dr. Ortiz and OCC. I am a nurse practitioner by trade and I have knowledge about hospitals and surgery, and this was a top-notch facility! I was recommended by another nurse (my sister) and since going, I have met several nurse practitioners that have gone to Tijuana for gastric sleeve surgery. Dr. Ortiz has so many accolades and certifications, as well as being a Surgeon of Excellence and International Center of Excellence and Joint Commission Internnational certified. Those certifications mean a lot and not something that can just be bought.
I had never had surgery of any kind before this and would not have gone had I had any reservations about my safety, the cleanliness of the facility or the qualifications of the surgeon and surgical team. Dr. Ortiz and OCC are the best of the best of surgeons in Tijuana (even when compared to surgeons in the USA as well) and I would not recommend going anywhere else in Mexico for this type of surgery.
Again, I am very pleased with my results so far and I am still losing!
Lisa
Dallas, TX.
"
