- Name: Dianna
- Age: 40
- Surgery: Gastric Sleeve
- Surgery date: September 4th, 2015
- Testimonial date: July 21st, 2016
- Surgeon: Dr. Mario Almanza
I am a Registered Nurse. All of my adult life I struggled with obesity. As a nurse I had the tools to lose weight. I was trained in nutrition,diet and exercise. I would lose up to 40 pounds at a time and then put the weight right back on- almost yearly. Also as a nurse I care for a lot of patients that also struggle with obesity. Many not having the money and resources to get help. Long term effects of Hypertension, diabetes, arthritis, COPD, and depression. Some so overweight not even being able to care for themselves any longer. My heart breaks for my patients. When checking into the procedures offered for weight loss in the U.S I quickly became discouraged- in order to get the procedure such as the sleeve or bypass it would take months of test and jumping through hoops to get it paid for or even get the procedure costing upwards of $22,000. Many of us don't have that kind of money. Therefore, I began to visit with friends about the Gastric sleeve and have friends that have had the procedure done in Mexico. Scary right?? Well I continued to research- and there were as always pros and cons. One of course wondering about safety- crossing the border! Yikes then the hospital and kind of care one would receive in Mexico. The cost was so much less only bring more questions. Through my research I found a couple of cases on the internet of folks that had complications. I read about them. Then looked at how many surgeries Doctor Almonza has done. As we all know there is always risk. However- for the number of surgeries performed - in ratio the complications were rare. My friends and there friends that have gone to Dr. Almonza totaling more then Fifteen of us are all doing well. We had one women the got a hernia due to not following instructions. Most have lost over 100 pounds. Looking and feeling amazing. Sure it's not easy at first- your stomach is small. But for years many of us have over eaten and and food is a huge part of our culture. This will change after surgery. The care we all received there was amazing. I was never scared. The equipment in the hospital may have been a little dated- but everything was very clean and sanitary. The nurses were amazing! I have no regrets. I feel so good. At first I didn't want to tell others about going - but now I tell everyone. I hope this helps you make your decision. Blessings to you on your journey.
