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Updated List of Board-Certified Bariatric Surgeons
This link is updated each time the test for board certification is offered. This is THE most up to date link available in Mexico to see if your bariatric surgeon is board certified in bariatric surgery.
Keep in mind, being board certified in GENERAL surgery is a whole different group than board certified in BARIATRIC surgery. You need a board certified surgeon in bariatrics.
If your surgeon is not on this list, s/he is not board certified in bariatric surgery.
A Message From The Group's Admin
Jul 01, 2015
Some people have asked me why I started this group and it's a fair question.
I do work for a surgeon, I work for one of the best surgeons in Mexico. He's the VP of the Mexican College of Bariatric Surgeons. He is on the handful of surgeons in Mexico who is Board-certified in Bariatrics. The list is endless, my point is that he is one of the best surgeons and it is his job to clean up the messes of wls patients who went to non-board certified doctors.
I started this group because I am tired of people calling me in tears because they ruined their surgery. They dilated their sleeve, that is the usual issue. They are in tears and debating if they should put their family in more debt by fixing the dilation.
They are under the impression they over ate and dilated their sleeve. When they come to us for a sleeve to sleeve revision it is then we can see they never had a sleeve to begin with. Perhaps 20% of their stomach was removed (vs. 85%) and the 20% was stapled, the other 75-80% was plicated. That is how these cheap surgeons do surgery.
So during surgery the surgeon goes in and he sees the majority of the stomach is still remaining, it was never removed. There is not a single staple in the upper stomach, merely scars from the sutures where it was plicated. The revision surgeon then has the tricky job and riskier job of doing an actual sleeve on these folks.
All the pain and anguish these people go through, thinking they did this to themselves by abusing their sleeves and in truth, they merely trusted these medical tourism companies and cheap surgeons.
Well, it's not right. It is unethical, it is wrong, it is a horror. These people should have their medical license taken from them.
They lie. The medical tourism companies, referral service companies, coordinators, facilitators, lie. They do it daily, all the time, all day long. They tell you anything you want to hear to convince you that everyone else is wrong and they are the only respectable people in this business. They are convincing, too! They are like seasoned used car salesmen. They are slick and they are good, their paychecks depend on it because they work off commission.
I was approached by a medical tourism coordinator a few days ago, maybe 3 days ago. She worked for one of the worst, yet busiest surgeons in Mexico. She told me she just can't do it anymore. She admitted greed was a big reason for sending people to slaughter, but call it "coming to Jesus" or "getting a conscience." Call it whatever you want, she's ready to talk.
She admitted she's known about the partial sleeve/majority plication for a long time. This surgeon in Tijuana she admits in the last 2 years has had about 40 perforations (stomach, liver, colon, etc.), maybe 75 infections, she has no idea how many leaks, and SIX DEATHS.
Six, people. Six deaths. Most surgeons doing mere sleeves never have a death in their career. This guy has had six just in the last 2 years.
There are different kinds of patients. The cheap surgeons prey on the obese desperate types. They only read the good, they don't want to hear the bad because THIS surgeon, they can afford. They just want to be thin. If you tell them their sleeve won't really be a sleeve but mostly plication they will say that's okay, they will take the chance. If they can *just* get to goal, they are sure they can stay there.
Well, they can't. We are a population that if we can eat, we *do* eat. When the plication blows out and your stomach is almost normal size again, the regain *will* happen in exactly 95-97% of patients. Those are the stats for anyone that loses restriction after any wls type for any reason. 3-5% can maintain on their own. Again, we are a population that if we can eat, we do eat.
Other patients really do their research and they know these surgeries cannot be done for that price. It's impossible. So, they work and save a bit longer for an ethical surgeon and safe sleeve.
I do not know how to do this page in an ethical manner. I am not promoting my boss, a surgeon in Mexico. I am merely telling you how cheap surgery is done. I am in this business, I see the costs, I know what is required. You cannot do any sleeve for $3500-$5800. It's impossible. The $2,900 - $3,500 surgeons aren't using medical tourism coordinators, they typically have their own employee. They get quantity business due to their price just as the $4500 - $5500 surgeons who are paying medical tourism coordinators.
I live in Mexico. So I see first hand how these surgeons are getting their supplies. I know the coordinators, I know how they do it. One guy (the worst) buys metal, veterinary staples from China. There is no way this is safe. This is clearly one of the reasons he has the most leaks, perforations, infections, and deaths. He uses the surgical equipment more than enough times, and ends up having to do open surgery in patients who are coming for laparoscopic surgery, because the malfunctioning equipment is still being used when it should have been disposed of long ago. The surgical stapler is rusty, meaning its old, and should no longer be used to perform surgery.
I am telling you the truth, take it or leave it. Do what you believe is right. If you feel safe with a cheap surgeon knowing how they do these surgeries then you need to do what you need to do.
Regardless, we are all in this together. We need to work with one another and those that went ahead of newbies need to pay it forward.