Lap Band Surgery In Mexico

Family seeks answers after woman's Lap-Band death

Williams, a 33-year-old from Chula Vista, did not survive the May 26 surgery.

This week, Williams’ family filed a complaint with the Baja California Attorney General’s Office against Dr. Pedro Kuri, a Tijuana physician with years of experience in Lap-Band surgery who operates at a top private hospital. The office has launched an investigation.

“I have never been explained what really happened to my daughter and why,” her mother, Phyllis Ackerman-Gainer, said from her home in the Eastlake community. Gainer said even though Kuri has delivered the news by phone and in person in Tijuana, she still wonders about the cause of death and how it could have happened.

Williams’ death comes as Mexico is preparing a major campaign to promote medical tourism among U.S. and Canadian patients in search of lower-cost medical care. Baja California’s tourism secretariat said medical tourism generated about $89 million in revenue for the state last year as an estimated 455,000 foreigners came for a broad range of procedures, from bariatric surgery to dental work to LASIK eye surgery.

Both the Mexican government and medical leaders have been trying to ensure a consistent, high-quality standard of care. Across Mexico, nine hospitals are now certified by Joint Commission International, a branch of the U.S. nonprofit Joint Commission that accredits and certifies medical facilities and services.

Authorities in Baja California said they also are working to bolster patient’s rights by giving more visiblity to the state’s 15-year-old Medical Arbibration Commission, which takes up the cases of dissatisfied patients and negotiates solutions with doctors.

At a Thursday conference in Tijuana, Yolanda Revetti, a 69-year-old cosmetologist from Escondido, praised the commission for fighting on her behalf after a dental procedure went awry. The commission arranged for another dentist to fix the damage.

“Thanks to them, I am smiling again,” Revetti said.

Several thousand U.S. patients — an exact number is not available — come to Baja California for stomach-banding surgery each year, according to health experts there. Kuri alone performed the Lap-Band procedure 900 times in 2010, according to state health officials.

Lap Band Surgery in Mexico | Gastric Banding Mexico | Bariatric ...

A study documented on The Journal of the American Medical Association states that around 280,000 deaths among adults in the United States can be attributed to obesity. Obesity is considered a preventable disease. However, if you are unable to fight it with normal non-surgical methods, there are a number of surgical procedures designed to combat it, one of which is the use of the laparoscopic adjustable banding system or lap band. The procedure usually costs a ton, but the costs of lap band surgery in Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, and other Mexican cities are quite affordable. What is Obesity? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is defined as having a body mass index beyond 30. Body mass index or BMI is computed by dividing a person’s weight in kilograms by the square of their height in meters. According to the World Health Organization, obesity raises the risks of contracting several chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular ailments. Lap Band Surgery The lap band system is comprised of a band-like device surgically placed around the top stomach to restrict opening and create a small pouch. Therefore, it controls food intake and slows down the passage of food, eventually leading to weight loss. Lap band is an invasive procedure, but it is considered least invasive among similar treatments available. Lap band surgery is performed by forming a few incisions on the stomach that will accommodate a viewing tube and other small surgical tools. The lap band system is designed to be adjustable – the band itself has an inflatable portion than can be controlled by an access port of sorts. Such an arrangement allows adjustment of the band without the need for further surgical procedures. In Mexico, lap band surgery has been offered since the 1990s, ensuring you that some of the doctors and hospitals in the country have extensive experience doing the procedure. Should You Get Lap Band Surgery? If you are morbidly obese, which is defined as having a BMI of more than 40, lap band surgery is a good option to cut the excessive weight. You can also get the surgery if your BMI is less than 40 as long you’re still considered obese, and have an obesity-related ailment such as diabetes. It is also a possible option if you can’t undergo the more invasive but permanent gastric bypass procedure due to the risks involved.

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