- Name: JScott
- Age: 46
- Surgery: Gastric Plication
- Surgery date: February 5th, 2013
- Testimonial date: March 5th, 2013
- Surgeon: Dr. Almanza
I had surgery on the 5th of December and am currently 23 pounds lighter and feeling great. I was apprehensive during the days leading up to the surgery as I had no idea what to expect. I had close contact with the clinic's staff prior to the surgery and had most of my questions answered. I did a great deal of reading on testimonials from people who have gone through this procedure with Dr. Almanza and all of them were positive. I arrived in San Diego and met a couple of people at the airport who were going to have the same surgery as me. We bonded immediately and we all went through this process together. Day one we were taken to the clinic and had all of our pre-op testing performed. The staff were very friendly and helpful and answered any and all questions that we had. They put our minds at ease. I was a little suprised at how small the facility was but they have this process down to an art and everything went very smoothly. The next day, I had the surgery. I had a difficult night of sleep that first night as I felt like my fluid intake was not meeting my needs. It was very difficult to drink more than a sip that first night. The pain was not too bad. It turns out that the drain that they place is actually the most uncomfortable part of the experience. The second day we were moved to a motel which was beautiful. They had a full time nurse on staff at the motel and they would be at the door of our room within minutes of calling them. The third day we were taken to a radiology clinic and had a swallow study performed to make sure that there were no leaks. We were then returned to the clinic were the drain was removed. I felt so much better after the drain was removed as it seemed to be giving me some abdominal discomfort. Not everyone experienced this. Finally, we had our final checkout and we were returned to San Diego. Since the surgery, I have felt great. It has been a month and I have lost about 23 lbs and have not been hungry once. I eat only because my energy feels low. It will amaze you at little you can actually eat and if you eat more than you should it will come back up. I get full after a banana or a cup of yogurt. As far as my experience goes with Dr. Almanza and his clinic, I have nothing but praise. I didn't see Dr. Almanza very much as he is extremely busy, but he is a very nice and competent surgeon. The staff are wonderful and have tremendous amount of patience. I have to say that I would recommend Dr. Almanza to anyone considering this procedure. You will spend three to four times more money to have this procedure performed in the States. You may have a little nicer facility if you have it in the States but the surgery is the same and you will not find a nicer staff. This was a no nonsense experience. We flew down, had the procedure and flew home. The experience was terrific and the results are so far amazing. Thank you Dr. Almanza and your beautiful staff.
