Originally Posted by
POSH
I posted a thread a couple months ago that I was thinking about going to Mexico to get my gyno surgery. After hearing some good and bad responses, I decided to get it done. For anyone who is considering, here is my experience.............................
First I called a few doctors and all of them sounded like scam artists or didn't sound like they knew what they were talking about. I was very skeptical, especially with the supposed doctor who kept dropping his price every 5 minutes. I luckily got a referral from a member on this board of a doctor in Mexico (Tijuana) that he had been to and had a good experience with.
I went to this doctors website and was surprised at how professional it was. I sent him an email and he promptly called me back from Mexico. He spoke EXCELLANT english, which was a huge plus for me and he knew all the terminoligy I knew. Now mind you, if I had the money, I would of gotten it done in the states, but I had to get this done quickly for a variety of reasons. I was very skeptical during this entire process.
But anyway, I researched this doctor and it turns out he is board certified in Mexico and was referred by many sites. I also found out his father, who he works with had been doing plastic reconstructive surgery in Mexico for something like 40 years. So I set a date that I could get off work for a week, borrowed some money from my boss and set out on my trip. I took my best friend with me to drive me around and sort of take care of me. We booked a flight to San Diego for the 4th of Feb. That cost about $250, because I didn't purchase my ticket that far in advance. We stayed at the Super 8 motel that was about 4 miles from the Mexican border in southern San Diego.
Let me back up a little. The member from this board said that he paid a VERY low price about a year ago. When I originally called this doctor, he quoted me a price that was higher than that. I explained to him that I had a very mild case of gyno and I thought that I wouldn't need lipo, just the glands cut out. After I emailed him my pics, he agreed that it was a more mild case and he gave me a discount. I agreed that I would not tell anyone the price he gave me. Now this price included the anesthesia and all I can tell you is it is about 1/3 of the the price you will pay in the states. That is one-third of the price, not 1/3 off. example - u.s.-$9////mex.-$3. a pretty good deal if you ask me. He was very honest with me about complications he has had in past surgerys. He has had 0 infections and 3 cases of something(i don't remember the word he used) like internal bleeding from the glands after surgery. Now mind you he told me all three of those cases were from patients who didn't take enough rest time after the surgery. They tried to go back to everyday life and lifting too soon. Regardless, he told me, they were very simply treated by making an incision and draining the fluid. These are common complication from U.S. doctors as well.
Anyway I was not allowed to eat of drink the night before and we made a trial run into Tijuana the night before the surgery, so we knew where the office was located. We arrived around 11am that Saturday, but I didn't get into the operating room until about 1p.m., because the appointment they had before me go there late (she was American). We first waited in the waiting room, which was not very fancy. I felt better when I saw the sign that read that they were in the middle of renovating the waiting room. At about 11:30 the secretary told us it was going to be a while and we could wait in the recovery room. Now the recovery room was VERY nice. It was like a hospital room with a NICE marble bathroom, bed, leather Lazy-boy, and a flat-screen tv. I felt a little better. The difference was like night and day. I went out of the room and peeked into another door while I was waiting and saw an equally nice surgery room that was only half complete, so I wasn't able to be operated in on that one. Basically this Doc is in the middle of renovating his entire office to be just as good and better than any American doctor. So I finally get told that they are almost ready for me and the doctor takes me into his office and we go over any last minute question. Then he takes the "before" pictures of me. Then I talk to the anesthialigist (sp?) and go over all the "are you allergic to...." questions. I got really freaked out when I finally went into the operating room. It wasn't quite as nice as I was expecting, and I saw all the stuff they were going to cut me with and I got freaked out. Now mind you, this was mostly me just panicking. I asked a dumb question like, "Is everything here steralized" as they were laying me down on the table. They reassured me that everything was and I had nothing to worry about. The operating room in all actuality was decent, but I had a head full of horror stories in my mind and it is hard to trust anyone to cut you open. I heard later that after they gave me the initial sedative before they knocked me out, I was mumbling stuff like, "I am ****ing crazy", and "Why the **** did I come down here for this".
Well, I am very glad I did. God was definately watching out for me, because this guy did an awesome job. Anyway back to the story.
So I wake up in the recovery room about 4 hours later or so. I try to be a bad-ass when they offer me the wheel-chair and decide to walk. Well, I am not as cool as I think I am. After a half of a step, I decide to take the chair. The doctor gave me a script for antibiotics and non-narcotic pain killers and we drove to the pharmacy. The pharmacy banged me out about $50 for all of the stuff. In general I was surprised about how high the prices on all of the medical drugs were in some areas during my stay, but at that point I was in no condition to bargain. I am just glad I got real stuff.
I examined my wounds the next day and there was a "drain" coming out of each incision. A drain is basically a very skinny hose that drains out any excess fluids from your wound or any blood from any blood vessels that were not carterized properly. I didn't really "drain" that much until the second night. I over-exerted myself that day by helping some mexicans who had locked themselves out of their car. I woke up and had a small batch of light blood on my shirt from beside my right drain. Anyway, we stayed for a total of 5 days in San Diego. I went back and saw the doc before I left so he could change my bandages and examine everything. He said I would have no complications as long as I took it VERY EASY. So for the next week and a half I didn't do ****. It wasn't that I couldn't or didn't feel like it, but just didn't want to take a risk of messing up any of the internal mechanics of this surgery and have to get my incision drained at the local hospital at home. That would of been at least $500. He gave me a vest to wear for about one week after I went back to work. That really helped with discomfort and such.
As for the drains, I took them out myself the day I got home. It was kind of freaky pulling a tube out of my chest, but my chest was so numb I couldn't feel a thing. Another good thing....every time I had a question or potential problem, this doctor was happy to take time out to take all of my calls. Three weeks after the surgery, he told me how to take out the stitches, which was very easy.
Today will be 4 weeks since my surgery, and I am very happy so far. My scars look very good, and are not noticable. Once I get my stuff together, I will post before and after pics. I was afraid that my nipple would become concave, but so far they are not. My right side has been healing faster than the left, but I was told they would not heal at the same rate before the surgery. The best part is my chest does not hurt every day. My chest was sooooo sensitive, it was a relief to have it numb for a couple weeks, although the sensitivity is coming back.
Before I went to Mexico, EVERYONE in my family hated the idea. They were extremely worried about me. My mom only felt safe and gave me her blessing to go after I had the doctor call her and talk to her. He also agreed to call her directly after surgery to report how everything went, which he did.
If you have the money to spend, and you need gyno surgery, I would definately get it done in the US, for obvious reasons. But I for some reason you HAVE to get it done before you have enough money, I would give this doctor an A++.
There are lots of horror stories in Mexico with cosmetic surgery, especially lately in the news. Although, I truelly believe I got lucky and found a very good doctor. Since this is not an advertisement for this guy I didn't put his name or website. If you want to check him out, pm me and I will let you know, and any other subject related topics, lay them out, or at least give me a bump.
I hope this ends up helping someone, because I was scared sh**less when I was trying to make my gyno surgery decision. Any questions or feedback are appreciated.
God Bless,
POSH
