• Name: Terri Jolly
• Age: 54
• Surgery: Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy
• Surgery date: August 17th, 2012
• Testimonial date: August 27th, 2012
• Surgeon: Dr. Mario Almanza

I had a sleeve done on 08/17/2012, and I couldn't ask for a better experience. I was a little reluctant about having my surgery in Tijuana, but after research on the Internet decided to go ahead and have it done. My family was very concerned about me going to Mexico, especially my daughter. She was afraid that I would get kidnapped or have my vital organs stolen while I was there. Well, I arrived back in the States yesterday and I have all my parts except 85 % of my stomach.

The only part of my journey that frightened me was arriving at the hospital. When you arrive you see it is in a strip mall and looks like a store front. When you first go inside you are in a very small lobby with a desk and chairs and that is it. If you are expecting a big hospital this can be alarming. But, ....once I got into the actual clinic part I was totally at ease. Everyone is so friendly and experienced. I have bad veins, but the nurse that took my pre-op blood and started my IV did not even hurt me.

Dr. Almanza comes and introduces himself and meets each one having surgery and he explains everything and answers questions. He evens takes a picture with you so he has a before picture. He is very handsome and oozes confidence so you trust him. I went next to last for surgery because I had had a band and removal done a long time ago and was going to have a lot of scar tissue to remove before he could do my sleeve. He told me that because of this I would most likely wake up with a Nasal gastric tube and I did. The surgical suite was very modern and immaculate.

After I woke up they walked me to my recovery room at the clinic. I was in minimal pain from the surgery but the NG tube wasn't very pleasant. I got up and walked after the surgery a lot.

The next day they came and took us to the recovery house. All I can say about the recovery house is that I have never been taken better care of. There were two nurses with us the entire time we were there and they were so caring and fun. I can not ever thank those two guys enough. Again I had minimal pain and most of that came from the NG tube. I was not able to drink water or eat Popsicles when every one else started because of the tube but on Sunday I got that taken out and I ate my first Popsicle. It was heavenly. I also had my IV taken out and I have not taken any pain meds since.

Sorry this is so long. It is now 5 days post-op and I feel good and am feeling better every day. I say thanks to Dr. Almanza and his team for taking such good care of me.

* This is an actual testimonial, however, your results may vary. For more information, please read our Testimonial Disclaimer and Risks of Surgery.