How did you decide on Dr. Ortiz

[ClaireinCO]

I was just wondering if you wouldn't mind talking about how you decided on Dr. Ortiz? I have been researching so many Mexican surgeons and I'm just overhwhelmed! Ortiz seems to have great credentials and San Diego is an easy flight from Denver. I was really looking at Sanchez in Monterrey, but the flights are expensive, and I'll have my hubby, too. I know flights aren't a reason to chose one surgeon over another, but it is a factor. So how did you decide on him? How was your surgery? How many days were you there? I have heard some vague stuff about feeling a little bit like being on an assembly line. Is there truth to that? How about any one out there with complications? How was that handled? Thanks so much!

[Freetobeme]

I decided to use Dr. Ortiz because of his excellent experience. Also, the flight being cheaper is a consideration because if it is too expensive you might put off follow up care. Since the price of a flight is about the same as what a fill would cost here, we can plan little mini-trips to San Diego and see some sights.

My husband and I had our surgeries on July 11th and it was fantastic! I have NEVER had such great care and attention. Dr. Ortiz sat down on the couch in my room and talked to my husband and I for about 15 minutes before the surgery, I'm sure he would have spent a longer time, but we had no questions.

While my IV was being put in, one nurse was doing that while another held my hand and rubbed my arm to relax me! It was unbelievable. I felt very comforted.

When I woke up from surgery (the first time) the nurse told me to wave to my husband, who was on his way into surgery. When I said I wanted to get up and walk, she told me to close my eyes and go to sleep, I thought I still wanted to get up, but she said, "no, close your eyes and you will go to sleep." Sure enough, I did and she was right next to me the whole time!

When my husband was done with surgery, the Doctor came and talked to me. DH is a cancer survivor and Dr. Martinez told me that he had so much scar tissue, they would not have been able to band him in the US. Luckily, we had picked DR. Ortiz and with his experience, he was able to overcome the problem. In my mind I saw extra charges for a difficult surgery, like when you take your car in to the shop and they charge extra cause of some unforseen problem, this did NOT happen. NOthing like surviving cancer to die from being too fat, but now we are on the losing side!

When my husband woke up, the nurse woke me up and said he wanted to see me, so that is when I started walking. DH and I walked all around the clinic and even went outside to enjoy the sun! We talked with the other 2 who had had surgery that day and everyone was feeling fine.

We watched some TV, the channels at the clinic are much better than those at the hotel, if you care about those things. Slept, walked, ate popsicles and drank water. Felt fine. We were given something to sleep that night and slept the whole night!

The next day, we say Dr. Martinez again and he talked to us about how to treat the band and all that. We had a few questions, the nurses had decided to put my husband on the monitor all night, but not me so we asked about that, but it was no big deal.

Mrs. Ortiz gave us a ride back to the hotel and we felt great. We even went to the San Diego Zoo and Sea World 3 and 4 days after surgery and had a lot of fun. Although, we decided not to go on the rides, even though DH really wanted too!

I thought the whole experience was great. I was quite apprehensive about the whole thing, but so far it has worked out great. We are still both on clear liquid diet and not hungry. My husband, with the pre-op diet has lost 30 lbs (10 since surgery) and I have lost 13 (3 since surgery).

I hope this information helps you in your decision. I know that Chelley has written extensively about her banding experience (although she has not updated in a while, hint hint ) .

196/ 185.5/120

[ginipat]

I was just wondering if you wouldn't mind talking about how you decided on Dr. Ortiz? I have been researching so many Mexican surgeons and I'm just overhwhelmed! Ortiz seems to have great credentials and San Diego is an easy flight from Denver. I was really looking at Sanchez in Monterrey, but the flights are expensive, and I'll have my hubby, too. I know flights aren't a reason to chose one surgeon over another, but it is a factor. So how did you decide on him? How was your surgery? How many days were you there? I have heard some vague stuff about feeling a little bit like being on an assembly line. Is there truth to that? How about any one out there with complications? How was that handled? Thanks so much!

Dr. Ortiz is a pioneer surgeon--if not the pioneer. He and one other doctor in Tijuana, Dr. Kuri, have done more surgeries between them than all the other lapband doctors together, I'd wager. I've been following Dr. Ortiz's work ever since a friend had the surgery by him--about four years ago--before anyone in the States had heard of lapband surgery. (He helped Dr. Ortiz write his book about it.) My friend lost 100 lbs. and has kept it off. Need I say he's a big fan both of the surgery and Dr.Ortiz?

Gini

[LoriBecky]

Hi,

Feel free to call me anytime for informatin about Dr. Ortiz, you can also look at this site Dr Ortiz it has great information.

If you call, feel free to ask me about my own experience with Dr. Ortiz. I don't just work for him, I'm a patient as well!

[Chelley]

The first thing that led me to Dr. Ortiz was the cost. I'd written off ever being able to have the lapband because it was not affordable here in the USA for me. Imagine my suprise and the hope I had when I discovered that Dr. Ortiz is one of the most highly regarded lap band surgeons in the WORLD and is considered an expert among his colleagues. I carefully researched his background and found that his credentials are what he says they are and then some! I am very pleased with the experience I had at the OCC with Dr. Ortiz and his staff, both as a patient and a healthcare professional.

[Darrin S.]

I was referred to Dr. Ortiz by a another doctor in TJ. My wife had gone through breast augmentation with Dr. Alejando Quiroz. She stayed up to date with him (after 5 years) and saw that he was involved in gastric bypass.

Well I scheduled a consult, but Dr. Quiroz doesn't do the surgery, he takes care of the tucks after the weight is lost. But he said I would be a good candidate for Lapband surgery. He had one of his staff lead us over to Dr. Ortiz' office, where my wife and I waited about an hour.

He was nice and apologetic about the wait, but he had been in surgery. I told him I wasn't going to rush him, since I wouldn't want anyone to rush him through my surgery. I paid a deposit and scheduled my surgery at the same time.

I've been post op for 4 1/2 weeks and have lost 25 lbs. I have scheduled my first fill with OCC for August 10th. My father is looking at this surgery and will be getting evaluated the same day.

No regrets here.... and I've been lucky to have only PBed only twice... both times because I wasn't paying attention to my eating and didn't chew enough!

Darrin

[the Koala's DH]

I intend to make a much more detailed post about our experience at Dr. Ortiz's Obesity Control Center when I don't have to type on this laptop's keyboard, but here are some initial thoughts at one day post op.(We are still in Tijuana and this keyboard is too annoying to use for long.)

My wife had surgery yesterday and I can say, without hesitation, that I do not believe that you could go anywhere and receive better treatment for any amount of money.

Dr. Ortiz is fantastic. He is an expert at this since he's been doing it longer than anyone in the United States and it is the entire focus of his practice. He spent quite a bit of time talking with us and he managed to state all of my thoughts about band vs. bypass with no prompting from me.

I liked him a lot, as well as the other doctors who work with him. (BTW, the nutritionist is a doctor, as well.)

As for the actual surgical center, I can honestly state that it is equal to or surpasses any similar center in the United States. Any surgeon in the US would be proud to own a clinic like OCC.

The place looked like it was brand new. They've been open since February 06. If anyone knocks this place, I guarantee that they have never seen it. One of the things that impressed me was the required use of "booties" over your shoes. I've never seen that in the states. They also don't have anyone sick at the facility like you would at a hospital, so the risk of infection is greatly reduced.

I haven't read any "assembly line" comments yet, but I certainly didn't get that feeling. They are very efficient, though. Think about fixing your car. If your transmission goes out, most people would opt for a transmission shop for the repair rather than the guy down the street. Now imagine going to a shop that only repairs transmissions on your specific vehicle.

How much more efficient would the repair be at "The BMW Z3 Transmission Shop" vs "Bob's Quick Lube, Towing, and Auto Service"?

That said, there were some minor baubles, but I will detail those later when we're back in the states.

I can highly recommend Dr. Ortiz's program without reservation.

...and if you're located anywhere within driving distance (personal preference, obviously), it's almost a no-brainer.

Jason

[Guest marys]

Everyone is different and bases their decision on their own hierarchy of needs so don't feel bad. Here's how I made my decision - First I looked at price and quickly discarded that because 1) most mexican doctors are within a few 1000 dollars and 2) experience and safety quickly took over as my number one criteria. So once I decided that Dr. Ortiz moved to the top of my list as he truly is the most experienced, most respected, etc. Second, I live in the west - Utah and while I initially considered a Monterrey doctor I knew I wanted my fills in mexico with Dr Ortiz - at least for the first two years of aftercare so getting to San Diego was a bit closer to get too. then after a bout of nerves I talked to Dr. Ortiz on the phone and that absolutely clenched for me. I also like all of his staff and was very concerned about the anesthesia - his anesthesiologist is top notch and uses a revolutionary type of anesthesia and you don't have to be intibated so that super duper closed the deal for me.

My husband was at first very nervous about the procedure but soon and is now a huge convert for Dr. Ortiz and the procedure, facilities, etc. His entire staff are the best - from the drivers to the office staff to the docotrs and the nurses, don't get me started ....they are true angels and will give you the best/BETTER care than you would ever get in the U.S. And I'm not knocking US docs and nurses but every time a family member has been in the hospital you can't get a nurse to come to the room - they are just too overwhelmed. You have your own nurse in Mexico and they are sweet and kind and competent.

I've never ever felt like an assembly line - in fact, I've always felt very cared for, never rushed, etc.

So, why most of us aren't made of money, don't skimp when it comes to surgery and put your health and literally your life in the BEST hands. Dr. Ortiz and his entire medical and office staff are the BEST.

Good Luck to you and keep us posted!

[Littleroo27]

I was just wondering if you wouldn't mind talking about how you decided on Dr. Ortiz? I have been researching so many Mexican surgeons and I'm just overhwhelmed! Ortiz seems to have great credentials and San Diego is an easy flight from Denver. I was really looking at Sanchez in Monterrey, but the flights are expensive, and I'll have my hubby, too. I know flights aren't a reason to chose one surgeon over another, but it is a factor. So how did you decide on him? How was your surgery? How many days were you there? I have heard some vague stuff about feeling a little bit like being on an assembly line. Is there truth to that? How about any one out there with complications? How was that handled? Thanks so much!

I have not been banded yet, but I can give you my reasons for picking him as the person who will do it.

1) I read "Lap-Band For Life." Dr. Ortiz obviously knows what he's talking about. It was very informative and I think that every pre-bander should read it before having the procedure done. It pretty much answered any question I could have possibly had for my doctor.

2) I was doing pre-op appointments at Scripps in La Jolla, CA, which I liked just fine, but the surgery there is $18,000, plus the required pre-op doctor's appointments (I can't wait to get THAT bill!!!) and the fills are nearly $500 each (and that does not include fills under X-Ray!!!)

3) I do live in San Diego, so for me, Dr. Ortiz would be nearly as local as going to Scripps. I just have to deal with crossing the border.

Also, I did e-mail Dr. Kuri and never heard back from anyone. I figured if they don't care enough to respond, I am not going to pursue them!