Hello...newbie from Texas

[Queen V]

No. I'm a complete f'in idiot.

Maybe I'm the idiot. Lol I was asking because I don't know what it entails. I see it used alot but I don't know what a dr does to be considered vetted.

 

[BebeZed]

Hello all. I am actively researching DS. I live in San Antonio and will be self pay. I am torn between Dr. Esquerra in Mexicali and Dr. Greenbaum in NJ. I will be making calls to their office this week. I look forward to this journey.

Hi @Queen V and welcome! I, too, went to Dr Esquerra in Mexicali and I also will gladly answer any questions you may have about the MBC experience. My cc is 100cm so it is absolutely untrue that he does not do a cc less than 125cm. Dr Esquerra was proctored by Dr Ungson and has performed over 500 DS surgeries over the last three years, both in Mexicali and Hermosillo.

I have heard nothing but good things about Dr Greenbaum too. I chose not to go to him because he does not do laparoscopic procedures, and I had two very painful open procedures in the past and I just couldn't see myself going through all that again. But... I'm older and really a wuss about pain so your mileage may vary

No matter what, I wish you the best.

 

[JuliaDS]

Hello all. I am actively researching DS. I live in San Antonio and will be self pay. I am torn between Dr. Esquerra in Mexicali and Dr. Greenbaum in NJ. I will be making calls to their office this week. I look forward to this journey.

Welcome @Queen V! You'll find high quality information and support here!

 

[Clematis]

Sorry, Queen V. I thought you were being insulting, as in I didn't know what I was talking about. Vetted just means examined. By vetted we generally mean we know with whom the surgeon trained, s/he has a substantial quantity of successful true DS performed, there are members who have used the surgeon and can attest to his/her skill and the surgeon has answered our basic questions (a list of questions to ask appears here at least once a week). The DS vets here (not to be confused with the word vetted) have been around long enough to have heard of almost all DS surgeons so if someone shows up here saying they are getting the DS from Joe Schmo and our vets have never heard of him... be very wary.

 

[southernlady]

Welcome, @Queen V

Both would be good options. Don't let Greenbaum's policy of only open scare you. There are up and down sides to both lap and open. I've had both and honestly, the lap HURT worse due to trapped gas. Open just took longer to heal. And your insides are gonna take 6-8 weeks to heal either way.

While Esquerra is not a LONG term vetted DS surgeon, he is getting there cause those individuals willing enough to ask questions and report back and use him add to his vetted status. And having proctored with a vetted surgeon goes a LONG way.

Honestly when I had my surgery, my surgeon was not on the vetted list but there were many who had used him. He has since moved up to the small handful of vetted RNY to DS vetted surgeons.

Surgeons cut. That's what they have been trained to do and all they really want to do. There is no reason to see one again unless you are having problems.

BUT not all PCP's are comfortable handling the labs we need and want your surgeon to handle those particular to having the DS (I am running into this now). One member of our local FB (local as in a 150 mile radius) had Ungson (Esquerra's mentor) and can NOT find a doctor here in the US willing to pull her needed labs. So while surgeons cut, getting even basic help is sometimes an issue after that.

 

[Clematis]

Labs can be pulled without a crabby PCP via Star and perhaps some other services. I told my new PCP that she didn't have to become an expert on DS lab results. All she had to do was order the labs, I would put the results in an Excel spreadsheet and would adjust my vitamin intake accordingly. We could then discuss tricky things, like if I needed iron infusions.

Perhaps some difficulties lie in a pervasive arrogance by US doctors that doctors from Mexico (or any non-English speaking country) are somehow less competent. My (former) PCP said no one would do my follow up care if I had surgery in Mexico. But she did go on to say that no one would probably want me if I had surgery anywhere else in the US either. This is important because if you have to have surgery out of town (whether Mexicali or Minneapolis) because no one does the DS where you live, you will always have to travel if you want follow up specifically by the surgeon who performed the DS.

BTW, Mexicali videos the entire surgery so if a future surgeon wants to know exactly what they did in there, it is available.

 

[Queen V]

Hi @Queen V and welcome! I, too, went to Dr Esquerra in Mexicali and I also will gladly answer any questions you may have about the MBC experience. My cc is 100cm so it is absolutely untrue that he does not do a cc less than 125cm. Dr Esquerra was proctored by Dr Ungson and has performed over 500 DS surgeries over the last three years, both in Mexicali and Hermosillo.

I have heard nothing but good things about Dr Greenbaum too. I chose not to go to him because he does not do laparoscopic procedures, and I had two very painful open procedures in the past and I just couldn't see myself going through all that again. But... I'm older and really a wuss about pain so your mileage may vary

No matter what, I wish you the best.

Thank you. It is great to hear about people having great experiences in Mexico. I hate pain too, so I really will have to give that some thought. Thanks again

 

[Queen V]

Sorry, Queen V. I thought you were being insulting, as in I didn't know what I was talking about. Vetted just means examined. By vetted we generally mean we know with whom the surgeon trained, s/he has a substantial quantity of successful true DS performed, there are members who have used the surgeon and can attest to his/her skill and the surgeon has answered our basic questions (a list of questions to ask appears here at least once a week). The DS vets here (not to be confused with the word vetted) have been around long enough to have heard of almost all DS surgeons so if someone shows up here saying they are getting the DS from Joe Schmo and our vets have never heard of him... be very wary.

No problem at all. Its hard to determine tone behind a post sometimes. Thank you for explaining. I didn't know if it was some kind of test or something. That is good information to know. These were the 2 dr's brought up alot who offered affordable plans and were vetted according to most. It seems to be boil down to travel, open vs lap, and accomdations after the surgery; so I will have to do some thorough thinking after having a conversation with both offices. Thanks for the help.

 

[Queen V]

BUT not all PCP's are comfortable handling the labs we need and want your surgeon to handle those particular to having the DS (I am running into this now). One member of our local FB (local as in a 150 mile radius) had Ungson (Esquerra's mentor) and can NOT find a doctor here in the US willing to pull her needed labs. So while surgeons cut, getting even basic help is sometimes an issue after that.

That is my concern as well. I just recently moved to Texas, so I don't have a PCP yet. I am concerned about finding someone to order labs. Is that something I should ask when finding a PCP- if they wold provide after care if I have a procedure in Mexico? Or do I look for a ds surgeon close by to do that?

 

[Queen V]

Labs can be pulled without a crabby PCP via Star and perhaps some other services. I told my new PCP that she didn't have to become an expert on DS lab results. All she had to do was order the labs, I would put the results in an Excel spreadsheet and would adjust my vitamin intake accordingly. We could then discuss tricky things, like if I needed iron infusions.

Perhaps some difficulties lie in a pervasive arrogance by US doctors that doctors from Mexico (or any non-English speaking country) are somehow less competent. My (former) PCP said no one would do my follow up care if I had surgery in Mexico. But she did go on to say that no one would probably want me if I had surgery anywhere else in the US either. This is important because if you have to have surgery out of town (whether Mexicali or Minneapolis) because no one does the DS where you live, you will always have to travel if you want follow up specifically by the surgeon who performed the DS.

BTW, Mexicali videos the entire surgery so if a future surgeon wants to know exactly what they did in there, it is available.

Oh wow that is great to know about the video. Aftercare is my main concern since I know how important the lab work will be after the procedure. I don't have a PCP yet but I will have to do some research definitely.

 

[southernlady]

That is my concern as well. I just recently moved to Texas, so I don't have a PCP yet. I am concerned about finding someone to order labs. Is that something I should ask when finding a PCP- if they wold provide after care if I have a procedure in Mexico? Or do I look for a ds surgeon close by to do that?

I would start by finding a willing PCP, one fresh out of med school who is teachable would be preferred.
If you go to a local support group and ask other post ops who they use as a PCP and are they willing to pull labs, it might help.

Most surgeons do not want to accept other surgeons patients. Which is really an issue when you move or when a surgeon retires/passes away, etc.

 

[aaa]

Hello.

 

[Soonerjoseph]

I also had the ds with Dr. Esquerra, in October. I have only good things to say about him and my whole experience. I've had many surgeries through the years, from head trauma to herniated disks. My surgery in Mexico went as smoothly as any of them (smoother, really). Dr. Esquerra's a very talented cutter judging from my, Clematis', and Bebezed's awesome postoperative recovery.

I haven't heard one bad thing about Dr. Greenbaum in all of my research. It just comes down to which choice you're most comfortable with.

 

[BebeZed]

BTW, Mexicali videos the entire surgery so if a future surgeon wants to know exactly what they did in there, it is available.

I did not know that. I want to see my surgery!

 

[Clematis]

I want to see my surgery!

Of course you would! My husband is adamant that I get it to have around, just in case. But I so do NOT want to watch it.